| Ireland is an island in the Atlantic Ocean just west of Britain. |
| For much of its history, it has been an advantage to Ireland to be far from the mainland. |
| The Romans or the other early Empires never conquered Ireland. |
| It was the remoteness of Ireland that helped preserve much of Christian and classical culture. |
| After the fall of the Roman Empire, wandering tribes destroyed much of what remained on the continent. |
| Finally, it was Ireland’s turn to be invaded. |
| First, the Norsemen or Vikings attacked during the 800s and 900s. |
| Then in the 1100s, the English invaded Ireland. |
| Since that time, there has always been an English presence in Ireland. |
| The conflict between the English and the Irish grew worse in the 1500s. |
| Then the English became Protestant, and the Irish remained Catholic. |
| In the 1600s, Oliver Cromwell tried to make Ireland Protestant by driving out the Catholics and bringing in Protestant settlers. |
| In the centuries following, Irish Catholics had very few rights in their own country. |
| The Catholic Irish were not allowed to vote until 1829. |
| Since Irish Catholics were not allowed to own land, |
| they were poor tenant farmers. |
| They paid rent to the English landlords. |
| The main food crop in the 1840s was potatoes. |
| When these became infected by blight, thousands of Irishmen starved. |
| Many others were evicted from their dwellings because they couldn’t pay the rent. |
| Hundreds of thousands of Irish took ship for North America. |
| The Catholic Irish preferred to go to the United States because Canada was under British influence. |
| However, many Protestant Irish went to Canada. |
| The influence of the Irish on North American culture has been very great in many areas. |
| Prominent Irish-Americans include Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. |
| Meanwhile, in Ireland itself, a strong independence movement developed. |
| A rebellion against England in 1916 began a struggle that resulted in independence for most of Ireland. |
| Some Protestant areas in Northern Ireland preferred to stay with England. |
| Republican groups such as the Irish Republican Army wanted to “liberate” the north from British rule. |
| Nowadays, conflict between Protestants and Catholics is limited to these northern counties. |
| Constant attempts are being made to bring the conflict there to an end. |
| Meanwhile, the Irish Republic, or Eire, has become prosperous again. |
| It can sell its agricultural products to the European Common Market. |
| Irish beer and whisky are sold all over the world. |
| Ireland is also becoming known for its high-tech industries. |
| Because of this relative prosperity, the population is increasing again, |
| after a century and a half of decline. |
| The Irish differ from other people because the vast majority of Irishmen live away from their homeland. |
| However, this exodus from Ireland has helped to spread Irish music, culture and products around the world. |
| On St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th), nearly everyone becomes Irish for the day. |
| Then there is a great party with Celtic music, |
| Irish dancing, green beer and the wearing of the green. |
