1.
2007 in Ireland
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Events from the year 2007 in Ireland. President, Mary McAleese Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern Tánaiste, Michael McDowell, Brian Cowen Chief Justice, John L. Murray Dáil,12 March – Docklands railway station opened in its temporary location, the first new station in Dublins city centre since Tara Street Station in 1891. 17 March – Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated Saint Patricks Day throughout the country with 650,000 of those in the streets in Dublin,30 April – President Mary McAleese dissolved the 29th Dáil at the request of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. The general election was fixed for 24 May,24 May – Irish general election,2007. 14 June – the first meeting place of the 30th Dail. 17 July – the meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council included the Democratic Unionist Party for the first time,19 July – Red kite reintroduced in the Wicklow Mountains. 23 March – John Carneys musical film Once had its Irish release, may – Michael Scotts fantasy fiction The Alchemyst, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel was published. 5 October – the film Garage was released, kevin Barrys short story collection There are Little Kingdoms was published and won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Anne Enrights novel The Gathering was published and won the Man Booker Prize, tana Frenchs debut crime novel In the Woods was published. Derek Landys childrens novel Skulduggery Pleasant was published and won the Red House Childrens Book Award, the club was issued a First Division Licence in place of the revoked licence. 2007 Cricket World Cup, In a successful world cup debut, Pádraig Harrington won the British Open in Carnoustie, Scotland. Rory McIlroy won the medal for leading amateur. Irish Open was won by Pádraig Harrington,23 January – Jimmy Murray, Roscommon Gaelic footballer and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship-winning captain. 28 January – Bertie Troy, Roman Catholic priest and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship-winning manager with Cork,5 February – John S. Beckett, musician, composer and conductor. 8 February – Benedict Kiely, writer, broadcaster and journalist,17 February – Dermot OReilly, musician, producer and songwriter. 25 February – Jackie Gilroy, former Dublin Gaelic footballer,11 March – Dave Creedon, former Cork hurler. April to June 2 April – Emma Groves, blinded by a bullet in 1971, leading campaigner for banning the use of plastic bullets. 24 April – Kate Walsh, Progressive Democrats Senator,29 April – Con Murphy, Cork hurler and former President of the Gaelic Athletic Association
2.
2006 in Ireland
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Events from the year 2006 in Ireland. 9 January – Steve Staunton is appointed the new manager of the Republic of Ireland football team,17 January – the GAA, FAI and IRFU announce that a deal has been reached which will allow soccer and rugby to be played in Croke Park. 25 February – Rioting in Dublin as Republican protestors condemn the right for a Love Ulster parade in the city. 11 March – the last ever competitive rugby international takes place at the oldest rugby venue in the world, Lansdowne Road, after 128 years of use, before the ground is redeveloped. 17 March – over 400,000 people take to the streets of Dublin to celebrate St. Patricks Day as part of the worlds largest St. Patricks Day Festival. 16 April – up to 120,000 people line the streets of Dublin to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising,23 April – the 2006 census takes place in the Republic of Ireland. 26 April – Prince Philip of the United Kingdom meets President Mary McAleese,14 May – Fianna Fáil celebrates its 80th anniversary with a day of celebrations at the Mansion House, Dublin. Patricks cathedral, Dublin after a one-week hunger-strike 22 May – Belfast City airport is renamed George Best Belfast City Airport on what would have been George Bests 60th birthday,24 May – Prime Minister of Australia John Howard formally addresses Dáil Éireann. 16 June – the state funeral of the former Taoiseach Charles Haughey takes place in Dublin,18 June – Irish Government announces plans to spend €3.8 billion on scientific research over 7 years to grow world-class research capabilities. 19 July – the warmest temperature this century is recorded at Elphin, July 2006 is the warmest, on average, since records began in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. 19 July – CSO preliminary 2006 census findings indicate that the population of the Republic of Ireland is 4,234,925 million, the total population for the island now stands at just under 6 million. 1 September – 150th anniversary of the birth of John Redmond,7 September – Mary Harney resigns as leader of the Progressive Democrats. She has led the party since October 1993,11 September – Michael McDowell becomes, by consensus, leader of the Progressive Democrats 18 October – Northern Ireland overtake the Republic of Ireland in the Fifa rankings for the first time. 24 November – Loyalist Michael Stone, attempts to bomb the NI Assembly on the day nominations for first,20 December – Dublin Port Tunnel officially opened. 5 January – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a young peoples novel by John Boyne, is published,2 March – Ireland, Awakening, an historical novel by Edward Rutherfurd, is published. June – Ciaran Creaghs play Last Call, based loosely on the hanging of murderer Michael Manning in 1954 as witnessed by the father, is staged in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. 13 June – Colm Tóibíns novel The Master wins the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and he is the first Irish writer to win. His short story collection Mothers and Sons is published this year,26 July – Sesquicentennial anniversary of the birth of George Bernard Shaw
3.
2005 in Ireland
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Events from the year 2005 in Ireland. 1 January – Cork officially becomes the European Capital of Culture for 2005,8 January – Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD, begins a visit to the area in South-East Asia that was devastated by the recent tsunami. 12 January – body of Robert Holohan is found 18 January – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and he is accompanied by one third of the Cabinet, including Micheál Martin, Mary Hanafin, Mary Coughlan and Noel Dempsey. 20 January – the Republic of Ireland officially changes all road signage, distance and speed in Northern Ireland remain in miles per hour. 24 January – former Minister for Justice Ray Burke is jailed for six months for tax evasion and he is the first Cabinet minister to be jailed as a result of the tribunals of inquiry. 30 January – Belfast man Robert McCartney is killed outside a bar in the city by members of the Provisional IRA,7 February – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern lays the foundation stone of a new town called Adamstown, just outside Lucan, County Dublin. 17 February – seven people are detained by the Gardaí for suspected activities in relation to the bank heist in Belfast in December 2004, £2.3 million sterling is seized in County Cork. 4 March – the 100th Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis opens at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge,11 March – the Irish Sugar Company factory in Carlow closes for good with the loss of several hundred jobs. The factory was Irelands oldest sugar factory,17 March – St. Patricks Day, The sisters and fiancée of murdered Belfast-man, Robert McCartney, meet US President George W. Bush in the United States. 27 March – Cian OConnor is stripped of his Olympic gold medal after the ruling body find that his horse. 2 April – there is prayer, mourning and remembrance in honour of Pope John Paul II following his death in Rome at 20,37 Irish time. 4 April – the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD, is appointed one of four special envoys for United Nations reform by the UN Secretary General,8 April – the late Pope John Paul II is laid to rest in Rome. President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern represent the Irish people at his funeral, there is a remembrance service under the papal cross in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. 16 April – the annual congress of the Gaelic Athletic Association votes to open up Croke Park and allow soccer, the President and her driver escape injury. 23 May – five schoolgirls die and many people are injured in a collision involving a crowded Bus Éireann school bus. 13 June – the Irish language is granted status as a working language within the European Union. 30 June – the M50 motorway is completed,34 years after the route was first envisaged and 17 years after construction began. 7 July – Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, meets Pope Benedict XVI for an audience in Rome
4.
2004 in Ireland
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Events from the year 2004 in Ireland. 1 January – Scouting Ireland was founded,28 February – five people were killed in a bus crash at Wellington Quay, Dublin. 16 March – the cooling towers of Rhode Power Station, near Kilbeggan,27 March – Irelands rugby team won the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985. 29 March – a smoking ban introduced by Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, came into effect in all pubs, restaurants, and work places. The Irish drinkers could travel to Wales by ferryboat for as little as £10 for a ticket, smoke cigarettes while drinking. 1–25 May – heads of government celebrated in Dublin as the European Union admitted ten new member states, June – the first phase of the Arklow Bank Wind Park, Irelands first offshore wind farm, was commissioned. 16 June – the Grangegorman Development Bill was published by the Irish Government,25 June – US President George W. Bush arrived at Shannon Airport for an EU-U. S. 30 June Ireland was congratulated on its presidency of the European Commission, operations commenced on the Luas Green Line in Dublin. 20 July – Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, was appointed as Irelands next European Commissioner,7 August – athlete Cathal Lombard was accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs at the Olympic Games. 13 August – Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, announced his retirement from the Cabinet after seven years and he was the longest-serving agriculture minister in Europe. 27 August – Cian OConnor won a medal for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Athens. 8 September – former Taoiseach John Bruton was appointed EU Ambassador to the United States,14 September – Mary McAleese announced her intention to run for a second term as President of Ireland. 29 September – Mary Coughlan was appointed Irelands first female Minister for Agriculture,30 September leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Ian Paisley, made an historic first visit to Dublin for political talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Luas Red Line commenced operation from Tallaght to Connolly Station,1 October – as nominations for Presidential candidates closed, Mary McAleese was re-elected unopposed for a second term as President of Ireland. 2 October – Irelands second national television channel, N2, reverted to its name of RTÉ Two. 5 October – the Irish Government issued an Irish passport to British hostage Ken Bigley in an effort to secure his release from his Iraqi captors,16 October – Bertie Ahern held discussions with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Dublin. 19 October – Dublin-born aid worker Margaret Hassan was kidnapped in Iraq,3 November – Fran Rooney resigned as chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland. 9 November – banned substances were confirmed in the B blood sample of the horse,11 November – Mary McAleese was inaugurated for a second term as President of Ireland
5.
2003 in Ireland
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Events from the year 2003 in Ireland. President, Mary McAleese Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern Tánaiste, Mary Harney Chief Justice, Ronan Keane Dáil,16 February –100,000 people in Dublin, and 30,000 in Belfast marched to express their opposition to the imminent invasion of Iraq. 7 April – President Bush of the United States arrived in Northern Ireland for discussuions with British Prime Minister and he also met Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and the leaders of the pro-agreement parties. 21 June – the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games were opened by the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, in Croke Park, Dublin. 31 August – the remains of Belfast mother Jean McConville were found 31 years after she was abducted and murdered by the Provisional IRA,15 September – for the first time the All-Ireland Football Final was contested by two teams from the same province. Tyrone were victorious over Armagh in the first All-Ulster Final,27 November – the people of Northern Ireland went to the polls. The Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin made massive gains at the expense of more moderate unionist and nationalist parties, may – Claire Kilroys debut novel All Summer was published. 25 November – the contents of Lissadell House in County Sligo were auctioned, hugo Hamiltons memoir The Speckled People was published. Paul Murrays comic novel An Evening of Long Goodbyes was published and my Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk won the International Dublin Literary Award. All-Ireland Hurling Final – Kilkenny 1–14, Cork 1–11, All-Ireland Football Final – Tyrone 0–12, Armagh 0–9. Nissan Irish Open was won by Michael Campbell, rugby World Cup – Ireland reached the quarter-finals of the competition before being beaten by France. 2003 Six Nations Championship, Ireland lost only to England, who won the tournament with a grand slam, 2002–03 Heineken Cup, Munster and Leinster advanced from the pool stage and both were defeated in the semi-finals. The final was played in Lansdowne Road, the League of Ireland moved from a predominantly winter season to a Scandinavian style summer season. Bohemians won the transitional 2002/03 season and Shelbourne won the 2003 championship, January to June 8 January – Patrick Pery, 6th Earl of Limerick, peer and public servant. 21 January – Tony OMalley, painter,23 January – Aodhagán Brioscú, last surviving founder of Irish cultural organisation Gael Linn. 29 January – Mary Reid, one of the Irish of Vincennes,16 February – Seán Ó Cionnaith, Workers Party of Ireland politician. 25 February – Tom OHiggins, barrister and judge, Irish Chief Justice, Fine Gael TD,11 March – Brian Cleeve, writer and television broadcaster. 17 March – Linda Kavanagh, Workers Party activist and Dublin City Council member,2 April – Pat Leavy, actress
6.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
7.
2009 in Ireland
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Taoiseach Brian Cowen described 2009 as the most challenging of his career in politics. President, Mary McAleese Taoiseach, Brian Cowen Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan Chief Justice, John L. Murray Dáil, 30th 1 January – the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs commenced in Ireland. 8 January – Post-2008 Irish economic downturn, Dell announced the axing of almost 2,000 jobs at their factory in Limerick,9 January – confidential documents from Letterkenny General Hospital were revealed to have been discovered in a public area of Derry. 11 January – a woman died in childbirth at Kerry General Hospital in Tralee,17 January – a County Down woman was killed in extreme weather when her car was struck by a tree. 21 January – Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy, Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised when the President, Mary McAleese,22 January – a County Roscommon woman was jailed for seven years after her conviction for incest, sexual abuse and neglect of her children. The sit-in continued until 22 March,2 February – extreme weather across the country disrupted transport services, including flights, and bus routes. 4 February – unemployment reached 9.2 percent with a record 326,100 people signing onto the live register and it was the highest monthly increase in 40 years with an average 1,500 people being laid off daily. 4 February – an estimated 15,000 students protested in Dublin at the reintroduction of university fees. 12 February – a man was arrested after threatening to set fire to himself outside Government Buildings in Dublin,17 February – Irish Nationwide Chairman Michael Walsh resigned over his involvement in the Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy. 21 February – up to 120,000 people marched in Dublin in protest at how the Government was handling the economic crisis,24 February – Gardaí raided the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank in St Stephens Green, Dublin. 25 February – two thousand members of the Garda Síochána marched through the streets of Dublin to protest against a pension levy,25 February – The Irish Times suspended supply of its newspapers to the retailer Dunnes. 27 February – the Bank of Ireland robbery took place,2 March – the left door of a helicopter carrying politician Martin Cullen fell off at a height of 150 metres but no-one was hurt. 5 March – items belonging to singer Michael Jackson went on view in County Kildare,6 March – the Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed an appeal by Joe OReilly against his conviction for the murder of his wife, Rachel Callely, in October 2004. 7 March – two gunmen opened fire on soldiers in County Antrim, two were killed and two injured while two civilian pizza delivery men, one Polish, were seriously injured. The Real IRA later claim responsibility, March – Odyssey Marine Exploration announced the discovery of the wreck of RMS Laconia 6 mi northwest of Fastnet Rock. 8 April – the Supplementary Budget was announced by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan,25 April – an opinion poll showed a five percent drop to 23 percent in support for the governing Fianna Fáil party in the wake of early Aprils Supplementary Budget. Fine Gael, in opposition, was ten points clear at 33 percent,27 April – four people were tested after swine flu broke out from Mexico. 28 April – tests on all four Irish people with suspected cases of swine flu proved negative
8.
2010 in Ireland
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This is a summary of 2010 in Ireland. 7 January – schools remain shut following the period due to extreme weather. Taoiseach Brian Cowen makes his first comments on the matter, Minister for Education and Science Batt OKeeffe later changes his mind. 13 January – an Arkefly Boeing 767 flying from Amsterdam to the Netherlands Antilles is grounded at Shannon Airport after a man there is a bomb on board. All 242 passengers and crew are evacuated, 44-year-old Jorge Flores appears in court in Ennis to be charged for this the following day. 22 January – the internationally renowned Waterford Crystal tourist centre in Kilbarry,26 January – Edwin Curry from Kilkenny is sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of 189 counts of indecent assault against children between 1964 and 1985. 3 February – a fireball is seen across Ireland when a meteoroid explodes at an altitude of 100 miles, subsequent public excitement that night causes Astronomy Irelands website to crash. 8 February – George Lee resigns from Fine Gael and Dáil Éireann with immediate effect,12 February – Déirdre de Búrca resigns from the Green Party and Seanad Éireann with immediate effect and criticises her former party leader John Gormley. 12 February – a fire on Dublins Capel Street destroys a head shop,13 February – West Jewellers of Grafton Street closes down. 18 February – Minister for Defence Willie ODea resigns after a controversy surrounding his remarks on a rival relationship with brothels. Taoiseach Brian Cowen assigns himself temporary responsibility for the Department of Defence,8 March – Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen resigns from politics after seeking medical advice. 9 March – seven people are arrested, five in Waterford,18 March – former Chairman of Anglo Irish Bank Sean FitzPatrick is arrested at his home and has it searched under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 in Greystones, County Wicklow. Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Ireland,20 March – Pope Benedict XVIs special pastoral letter to Irish Catholics on the issue is published by the Vatican,23 March – Taoiseach Brian Cowen reshuffles his cabinet. 29 March – the new Limerick to Galway rail line is officially launched, drinkers in Limerick benefited from an area exemption order, which was introduced in section 10 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1962. This exemption was granted by a District Court judge to cover a special event,30 April – RTÉ radio broadcaster Gerry Ryan dies in his home in Dublin, Ireland. 1 May – a carbon tax on home heating oil and other fuels is introduced by the Irish government,2 May – a Red C Poll for The Sunday Business Post shows Labour is the second most popular party in Ireland, and that it has overtaken Fianna Fáil. 3 May – further volcanic ash cloud returns over Irish skies and it goes away again by the 23rd. 5 May – a group of retired and diseased coal miners protest in Dublin in a bid for compensation,5 May – James Dillon is sentenced to life imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court for the murder of Roy Collins in Limerick on 9 April 2009
9.
2011 in Ireland
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Events during the year 2011 in Ireland. Met Éireann confirmed that December 2010 was the coldest on record, with a temperature of -17.5 °C recorded in Straide, County Mayo,5 January Junior Minister for Housing, Fianna Fáils Michael Finneran announced he will not contest the 2011 general election. Minister for Defence, Fianna Fáils Tony Killeen announced he will not contest the 2011 general election,8 January – Fianna Fáil TD for Meath East, Mary Wallace, announced she will not contest the 2011 general election. 18 January – a spectacular fireball that exploded in the clear Irish sky at 18,00 was witnessed across the country, astronomers calculated that it may have landed as a meteorite in County Clare. 22 January – the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, resigned his position as leader of the Fianna Fáil party,23 January – the Green Party withdrew from the coalition government, making an immediate general election necessary. The two Green ministers John Gormley and Eamon Ryan resigned, leaving only seven remaining in the cabinet. 25 January Fianna Fáils Micheál Martin was elected party leader,28 January – another fireball exploded in the Irish atmosphere. Astronomy Ireland appealed to the public to report sightings,1 February Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick West, John Cregan, announced he will not contest the 2011 general election. It was announced that the Sunday Tribune newspaper had gone into receivership following the decision of Independent News & Media to stop funding it, the Taoiseach dissolved the Dáil and went to Áras an Uachtaráin where President McAleese signed a proclamation of dissolution. The Minister for Local Government made an order appointing 25 February as polling day, the Clerk of the Dáil issued a writ to the constituency returning officers to initiate a general election, officially allowing posters of the candidates to be displayed. A Russian agent was expelled from Ireland because of his role in the forgery of Irish passports for use in the Illegals Program spy ring in the United States, a Garda investigation discovered that members of the Russian espionage agency, the SVR, were involved in the forgeries. Alexander Smirnov, the first secretary in the Russian embassys consular section, was instructed to leave Ireland,2 February – Russian deputy foreign minister Vladimir Titov threatened Ireland that Russia will retaliate for the Irish expulsion of a Russian forger. Ireland warned Russia that retaliation would be unjustified, an Irish government spokesman said Irish embassy staff in Moscow perform no spying activity. 7 February – the first gay civil partnership under the newly enacted civil partnership law took place in the Civil Registration Office in Dublin,10 February – a small plane carrying ten passengers and two crew crashed while landing in fog at Cork Airport. 25 February – a general election was held, there were party reverses and gains on a historic scale with support for the outgoing government parties Fianna Fáil and the Green Party collapsing. 9 March – the members of the 31st Dáil convened for the first time, 12–14 April – the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso visited Ireland for the third time. He delivered a speech on the 13th to 2,000 people at a conference in Saggart, the following day, he gave an address to 3,100 people at the University of Limerick entitled The Power of Forgiveness. He last visited Ireland in March 1991, and has also visited Northern Ireland three times, mission to Prey, a television programme presented by Aoife Kavanagh, was aired on RTÉ One, which defamed Fr
10.
2012 in Ireland
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Events during the year 2012 in Ireland. A controversial €100 household charge was applied, as were large increases in fares, motor taxation. 2 January – Ireland was battered by bad weather,3 January – a large fireball was seen across Ireland. Astronomy Ireland calculated that it landed as a meteorite in the Irish Sea off County Louth,3 January – a new €2 coin was issued by the Central Bank of Ireland as it celebrated ten years of the euro. 3 January – Occupy Cork, The NAMA-listed Stapleton House on Oliver Plunkett Street was occupied in the city. 12 January – Ulster Bank announced plans to cut 950 jobs from its Irish operations by the end of the year,13 January – the Criminal Law Act 2012, drafted after the 2004 death of John Ward, came into effect. The new home defence law allowed householders to defend their homes against intruders using reasonable force, including deadly force. 14 January – a couple from Clonmel escaped with their lives after the 114, 500-tonne Costa Concordia, with more than 4,000 people on board, ran aground off the Italian coast,15 January – a fatal fishing disaster occurred off the south west coast. Three bodies were found, two others remain missing. 16 January – Seán Quinn, Irelands richest person as recently as 2008, was declared bankrupt at the High Court,16 January – Proinsias De Rossa resigned as MEP for the Dublin constituency, to be replaced by Emer Costello. 24 January – debt campaigners dressed as zombies converged on the Irish embassy in Britain to highlight the presence of banks such as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation. 25 January – Ireland paid another €1.25 billion to Anglo Irish Bank bondholders against the wishes of the countrys people,25 January – protesters travelled from Galway to Dublin to rally outside Leinster House against the septic tank charge being brought in by the Fine Gael/Labour coalition. 25 January – the websites of the Departments of Justice and Finance were disabled by a denial-of-service attack. 25 January – the Office of the Data Protection Commission wrote to Dublin City Council about its giving the details of 140,000 customers to a private waste company called Greyhound. 26 January – an earthquake classified as minor struck County Donegal,26 January – Dublin officially began its term as the European City of Science 2012. 26 January – Dáil Éireann passed the Water Services Amendment Bill, allowing the government to charge rural dwellers for their septic tanks, as well as to inspect them. 26 January – Taoiseach Enda Kenny, at the World Economic Forum in Davos,26 January – the High Court was told that 11 gardaí were investigating sinister goings-on at Anglo Irish Bank, Mr. Justice Peter Kelly called the revelation extraordinary. 6 February – workers at Galway Airport staged a sit-in to protest at the failure by management to guarantee that they will receive redundancy payments when their contracts expire
11.
2013 in Ireland
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Events during the year 2013 in Ireland. 14 January – music retailer HMV went out of business and thousands of people lost their jobs,15 January – the Food Safety Authority of Ireland confirmed the presence of horse DNA in beef burger products on sale in supermarkets. At least ten million burgers were withdrawn from sale,16 January – former Fianna Fáil politician Pat Melia was fined €500 after pleading guilty to the false claiming of expenses in April 2012. 28 January – protesters against the household tax occupied a gallery in Cork, Cork City Council abandoned a meeting. 28 January – flash flooding occurred in central Galway, elsewhere in the country, flooding occurred in Killarney and between Letterkenny and Stranorlar. 29 January – two people were killed by the collapse of a wall at a garden centre in Longford. 6–7 February – the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation was dramatically liquidated after the Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition passed emergency overnight legislation through the Oireachtas, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny described it as a good day for the country and its people. 9 February – tens of people marched against the bank debt burden in nationwide demonstrations in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford. 11 February – a house was burnt to the ground in County Donegal three weeks after political criticism over a plan assigning it to a family of 13 Travellers. 11 February – protesters against the household tax demonstrated at meetings of South Dublin County Council in Tallaght,18 February – Chris Hadfield transmitted the first message in the Irish language from outer space when he tweeted Tá Éire fíorálainn. * Land of green hills and dark beer. With capital Dublin glowing in the Irish night, the message was accompanied by an orbital photograph by Hadfield of Dublin at night. 19 February – Taoiseach Enda Kenny delivered an apology in Dáil Éireann on behalf of the State to the Magdalene Laundry survivors. The estimated 800 to 1,000 surviving Magdalene women were told that a scheme would be set up for them. 6 March – Thomas Crosbie Holdings, publisher of the Irish Examiner,7 March – The Sunday Business Post went into examinership. 14 March – the Lowry Tapes, containing a telephone conversation between corrupt politician Michael Lowry and land agent Kevin Phelan, were broadcast in full on Tonight with Vincent Browne,17 March – Saint Patricks Day. The government went on a round-the-world Promote Ireland programme. The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, went to Washington, New York, Seattle and Silicon Valley, while Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore went to Atlanta, New Orleans and Washington. Alan Shatter went to the Middle East, Leo Varadkar to Japan, Ruairi Quinn to China, Phil Hogan to Boston, Pat Rabbitte to New York, Joan Burton to Chicago, other destinations included Brussels, Rome, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Hadfield posted a number of Irish-themed tweets during the day, including some in Irish,19 March President Higgins and his wife were greeted by the newly inaugurated Pope in the Vatican
12.
2008 in Northern Ireland
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Monarch - Elizabeth II4 January – An unforecasted blizzard creates havoc across eastern Northern Ireland, with falls of 8 inches in one hour. 22 January – Peter Robinson, Minister of Finance, releases the first final budget and programme for government,23 January – The brother of a Real IRA leader is one of two Irish citizens arrested in Lithuania on suspicion of buying firearms and explosives for the Real IRA. 28 January – The appointment of four Commissioners Designate for Victims and Survivors is announced, Bertha McDougall, Patricia MacBride, Brendan McAllister,29 January – PSNI Historical Enquiries Team is to reopen files on 124 deaths resulting from fatal shootings by British Army soldiers between 1970 and 1973. 1 February – Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, travels to Ballymena to meet First Minister, Ian Paisley,6 February – Éamon Ó Cuív, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, announces €250,000 grant to allow Orange Lodges to employ a development officer. 7 February – Northern Ireland Policing Board decide to appoint a panel of independent experts to carry out a review of the investigation into the Omagh bombing. Relatives still seek a public inquiry,8 February, Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward reveals that the Bloody Sunday Inquiry is still costing £500,000 a month although it has not held hearings since 2005. The total cost of the Inquiry has reached £181. 2m,8 February – Economy Minister, Nigel Dodds, officially opens Invest NIs first office in India, in Mumbai. 6 March – Victoria Square, commercial, residential and leisure development in Belfast is opened,7 August – DUP NI Assembly member, Mervyn Storey, who chairs the Assembly education committee, calls for creationism to be taught alongside evolution in schools in Northern Ireland. 16 August – Flash floods occurred over all of Northern including Counties Antrim, Down, many rivers were flooded, cutting off traffic to several towns. The newly constructed Broadway Underpass in west Belfast was under 15 ft of flood water, 3/4 of the rain in August fell in a 24-hour period. Sam Millars detective novel Bloodstorm, introducing Belfast private investigator Karl Kane, is published, David Parks novel The Truth Commissioner is published. 26 –27 January – Irish Indoor Athletics Championships, Odyssey Arena,5 May – 27th Belfast City Marathon takes place. Internationals 18 January – Nigel Worthington is reappointed as manager of the Northern Ireland International team,1 June – Prohibition on Sunday football in Northern Ireland lifted. 20 July – Fermanagh and Armagh draw 1–11 to 2–08 in the final of the Ulster Senior Football Championship 2008,27 July – Armagh defeat Fermanagh 1–11 to 0–08 in the replay. 20 September – Tyrone defeat Kerry 1–15 to 0–14 to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2008,16 May – William Blease, Baron Blease, trade unionist and politician. 19 July – Sarah Conlon, housewife and successful campaigner for the release of the Guildford Four,25 August – David Hammond, singer, film-maker and broadcaster
13.
2008
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January 14 – At 19,04,39 UTC, the MESSENGER space probe is at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury. January 21 – Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U. S. recession, january 24 – A peace deal is signed in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ending the Kivu conflict. February 4 – Iran opens its first space center and launches a rocket into space, february 5 – U. S. stock market indices plunge more than 3% after a report shows signs of economic recession in the service sector. The S&P500 fall 3. 2%, The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 370 points, february 13 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations. February 17 – Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, with a response from the international community. March–April – Rising food and fuel prices trigger riots and unrest in the Third World, march 2 – Venezuela and Ecuador move troops to the Colombian border, following a Colombian raid against FARC guerrillas inside Ecuadorian territory, in which senior commander Raúl Reyes is killed. March 9 – The first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, march 24 – Bhutan holds its first-ever general elections following the adoption of a new Constitution which changed the country from an absolute monarchy to a multiparty democracy. March 25 – African Union and Comoros forces invade the island of Anjouan. April 22 – Surgeons at Londons Moorfields Eye Hospital perform the first operations using bionic eyes, may 3 – Cyclone Nargis passes through Myanmar, killing over 100,000 people. May 12 – An earthquake measuring 7.9 Moment magnitude scale strikes Sichuan, China, may 23 The Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental organization between states in South America, is founded. The International Court of Justice awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, may 25 – NASAs Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first to land on the northern polar region of Mars. May 28 – The Legislature Parliament of Nepal votes overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing the countrys 240-year-old monarchy, may 30 – The Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted in Dublin. June 11 The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologizes, on behalf of the Canadian government, to the countrys First Nations for the Canadian Indian residential school system. June 14 – Expo 2008 opens in Zaragoza, Spain, lasting to September 14, with the topic Water, July 2 – Íngrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages are rescued from FARC rebels by Colombian security forces. July 21 – Radovan Karadžić, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, on allegations of war crimes, august 6 – President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi of Mauritania is deposed in a military coup détat. August 7 – Georgia invades the breakaway state of South Ossetia, august 8–24 – The 2008 Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China. September 20 – A suicide truck bomb explosion destroys the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing at least 60, September 28 – SpaceX Falcon 1 becomes the worlds first privately developed space launch vehicle to successfully make orbit. October 21 – The Large Hadron Collider is officially inaugurated and it is a collaboration of over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories
14.
Taoiseach
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The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The current Taoiseach is Enda Kenny, TD, who was appointed on 9 March 2011, on 10 March 2016, at the first sitting of the 32nd Dáil, Kenny failed to gain the support of the house and tendered his resignation to the President. He remained in office in a capacity until being re-elected on 6 May 2016. The word means chieftain or leader in Irish and was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title of the head of the Government, Taoiseach is the official title of the head of government in both English and Irish. Outside of Ireland, the Taoiseach is often referred to as the Prime Minister of Ireland, under the Constitution of Ireland, the Taoiseach is nominated by a simple majority of Dáil Éireann from among its members. He/she is then appointed to office by the President, who is required to appoint whomever the Dáil designates. For this reason, it is said that the Taoiseach is elected by Dáil Éireann. The Taoiseach may lose the support of Dáil Éireann by the passage of a vote of no confidence, or the failure of a vote of confidence, or alternatively, the Dáil may refuse supply. In the event of the Taoiseachs resignation, he/she continues to exercise the duties, the Taoiseach nominates the remaining members of the Government, who are then, with the consent of the Dáil, appointed by the President. The Taoiseach also has authority to advise the President to dismiss cabinet ministers from office, advice the President is required to follow by convention, the Taoiseach is further responsible for appointing eleven members of the Seanad. The Department of the Taoiseach is the government department which supports, since 2013, the Taoiseachs annual salary is €185,350. It was cut from €214,187 to €200,000 when Kenny took office, a proposed increase of €38,000 in 2007 was deferred when Brian Cowen became Taoiseach and in October 2008, the government announced a 10% salary cut for all ministers, including the Taoiseach. However this was a cut and the salaries remained nominally the same with ministers. This courted controversy in December 2009 when a cut of 20% was based on the higher figure before the refused amount was deducted. The Taoiseach is also allowed an additional €118,981 in annual expenses, there is no official residence of the Taoiseach. The house, which part of the Farmleigh estate acquired by the State in 1999 for €29. 2m, was renovated at a cost of nearly €600,000 in 2005 by the Office of Public Works. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did not use it as a residence, the words Taoiseach and Tánaiste are both from the Irish language and of ancient origin. Though the Taoiseach is described in the Constitution of Ireland as the head of the Government or Prime Minister, Tánaiste in turn refers to the system of tanistry, the Gaelic system of succession whereby a leader would appoint an heir apparent while still living
15.
Brian Cowen
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Brian Bernard Cowen is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party. Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May 2008 until 22 January 2011 and he was a Teachta Dála for the Laois–Offaly constituency from 1984 to 2011. He became leader of Fianna Fáil on the resignation of Bertie Ahern, on 7 May 2008, following the resignation of Ahern as Taoiseach, Cowen was nominated by Dáil Éireann to replace him and was appointed by the President later that day. Cowens administration coincided with the Irish financial and banking crises, Cowens leadership saw record low levels of public support for Fianna Fáil, his government, and the Taoiseach himself. With approval at 8 percent by the time the 30th Dáil was dissolved, as Taoiseach, said The Sunday Times, he has proved to be a dismal failure. In 2011, the Irish Independent called Cowen the worst Taoiseach in the history of the State, Brian Cowen was born in Tullamore, County Offaly on 10 January 1960. He grew up at the home in Clara. He is the son of May and Bernard Cowen, a former Fianna Fáil TD, the family owned a public house in Clara town, beside the family home. His father also worked as an auctioneer, Cowen often worked as a barman in his fathers pub when he was growing up. He has two brothers – Christopher and Barry and his brother Barry is also involved in politics and is a TD for Laois Offaly. His other brother, Christopher, is a publican, who runs the pub and is the oldest of the Cowen brothers. The old Cowen family home and pub are soon to be demolished to make way for a new development, Cowen was educated at Clara National School, Árd Scoil Naomh Chiaráin, in Clara and the Cistercian College of Mount St. Joseph in Roscrea, County Tipperary. He was twelve years old when he entered Mount St. Joseph College, after secondary school, he attended University College Dublin where he studied law. He subsequently qualified as a solicitor from the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland and he is a member of the Gaelic Athletic Association and continues to serve as president of Clara club. He also played with the Offaly Gaelic football team in the early 1980s, Cowen likes to socialise with his constituents in some of the local pubs in his native Offaly. In May 2003, he took part in a charity CD project organised by The Brewery Tap pub in Tullamore, the CD featured 28 songs, including Cowen singing the Phil Coulter song, The Town I Loved So Well. In May 2007, Cowen told Jason OToole of Hot Press that, as a student, I would say there were a couple of occasions when marijuana was passed around – and, unlike President Clinton, there wasnt a whole lot in it really
16.
President of Ireland
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The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland and the Supreme Commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The President holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms, unless a candidate runs unopposed, the President is directly elected by the people. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute discretion, the President acts as a representative of the Irish state. Former President Mary McAleese described the office as the guardian of the constitution, the Presidents official residence is Áras an Uachtaráin, which is located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The office was established by the Constitution of Ireland in 1937, the current president is His Excellency Michael D Higgins, who was elected on 29 October 2011. His inauguration was held on 11 November 2011, President Higgins is a veteran left-wing politician and human rights campaigner. As a member of the Labour Party, he has served in both houses of the Oireachtas, President Higgins is also a poet and speaks the Irish language fluently. The Constitution of Ireland provides for a system of government. The President is formally one of three parts of the Oireachtas, which also comprises Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, unlike most other parliamentary democracies, the President is not even the nominal chief executive. Rather, executive authority is vested in the Government. The Government is obliged, however, to keep the President generally informed on matters of domestic, most of the functions of the President may be carried out only in accordance with the strict instructions of the Constitution, or the binding advice of the Government. The President does, however, possess certain personal powers that may be exercised at his or her discretion, the main functions are prescribed by the Constitution, Appoints the government The President formally appoints the Taoiseach and other ministers, and accepts their resignations. The Taoiseach is appointed upon the nomination of the Dáil, ministers are dismissed on the advice of the Taoiseach and the Taoiseach must, unless there is a dissolution of the Dáil, resign upon losing the confidence of the house. Appoints the judiciary The President appoints the judges to all Courts of the Republic of Ireland, convenes and dissolves the Dáil This power is exercised on the advice of the Taoiseach, government or Dáil approval is not needed. The President may only refuse a dissolution when a Taoiseach has lost the confidence of the Dáil, signs bills into law The President cannot veto a bill that the Dáil and the Seanad have adopted. However, he/she may refer it to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality, if the Supreme Court upholds the bill, the President must sign it. If, however, it is found to be unconstitutional, the President will decline to give assent, represents the state in foreign affairs This power is exercised only on the advice of the Government. The President accredits ambassadors and receives the letters of credence of foreign diplomats, ministers sign international treaties in the Presidents name
17.
Mary McAleese
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Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson. She was re-elected unopposed for a term in office in 2004. McAleese is the first President of Ireland to have come from either Northern Ireland or Ulster, McAleese graduated in Law from Queens University Belfast. In 1994, she became the first female Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Queens University and she worked as a barrister and also worked as a journalist with RTÉ. McAleese used her time in office to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and she described the theme of her Presidency as Building Bridges. This bridge-building materialised in her attempts to out to the unionist community in Northern Ireland. Despite being a practising Roman Catholic, she holds liberal views regarding homosexuality and she is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders and was ranked the 64th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. In spite of minor controversies, McAleese remained popular and her Presidency is regarded as successful. Born Mary Patricia Leneghan in Ardoyne, north Belfast, McAleese was the eldest of nine children and her family was forced to leave the area by loyalists when The Troubles broke out. Educated at St Dominics High School, she spent some time when younger with the Poor Clares, Queens University Belfast. She was called to the Northern Irish Bar in 1974, in 1976, she married Martin McAleese, an accountant and dentist. He has assisted his wife with some of her initiatives as president, emma, born in 1982, graduated as an engineer from University College Dublin and is a dentistry student at Trinity College, Dublin. Twins were born in 1985, Justin, an accountant with a degree from University College Dublin, and SaraMai. Ahead of the 2015 Marriage Equality referendum, Justin spoke for the first time growing up gay. In 1975, she was appointed Reid Professor of Criminal law, Criminology and Penology in Trinity College, succeeding Mary Robinson. Also in 1975, McAleese chaired a meeting at Liberty Hall that advocated a right to choose and was quoted as saying that I would see the failure to provide abortion as a human rights issue. She later claimed that she misunderstood the nature of the meeting, during the same decade she was legal advisor to and a founding member of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform
18.
Bertie Ahern
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Patrick Bartholomew Bertie Ahern is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008. Ahern served as a Teachta Dála from 1977 to 2011, representing Dublin Finglas from 1977 to 1981, before he became Taoiseach, he served in the governments of Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds as Minister for Labour and Minister for Finance. He also served briefly as Tánaiste after the break-up of Albert Reynolds coalition government, in 1994, Ahern was elected sixth leader of Fianna Fáil. Under Aherns leadership Fianna Fáil led three coalition governments, after Éamon de Valera, Bertie Aherns term as Taoiseach is the longest. Ahern resigned as Taoiseach on 6 May 2008, in the wake of revelations made in Mahon Tribunal, the Mahon Tribunal in 2012 found that Ahern, while not judged corrupt, had received monies from developers and the Tribunal disbelieved his explanations of those payments. Fianna Fáil proposed to expel politicians censured by the tribunal, in November 2016, it was announced that a decision had been made by Fianna Fáil to give Ahern the option of rejoining the party. Ahern was born in Drumcondra, Dublin and this is an area within the Dublin Central constituency where he has lived all his life. Ahern is the youngest of five children of Con Ahern and Julia Ahern, Con Ahern and Julia Hourihane were married in October 1937 and settled at Church Avenue, Drumcondra, where they resided for the rest of their lives. The other four children are Maurice, Kathleen, Noel and Eileen, in Dublin, Aherns father worked as a farm manager at All Hallows College, Drumcondra. Aherns brother Noel is also involved in politics and represented Dublin North-West in Dáil Éireann, Bertie Aherns father Con was born into a farming family near Ballyfeard, which is located near Kinsale, County Cork, in 1904. His mother also came from a background and was from near Castledonovan. Aherns father, Con, initially left County Cork and went to Dublin in the early 1930s to train for the priesthood and he had fought in the Civil War and was a supporter of Éamon de Valera and the Anti-Treaty IRA. He was a member of the 3rd Cork Brigade of the IRA and he remained a militant Irish Republican for decades after the War of Independence. Bertie Aherns mother, Julia, died in 1998, aged 87 years, Ahern was educated at St. Patricks National School in Drumcondra and at St. Aidans Christian Brothers in Whitehall. He received his third level education at the College of Commerce, Rathmines, the Irish Independent described him as an accounts clerk. Ahern is an enthusiastic and vocal fan of sport and he is a supporter of Dublin GAA and attends Dublin matches in Croke Park. He also supports Manchester United F. C. and attends matches at Old Trafford and he appeared as a pundit on RTÉ Twos The Premiership programme in 2001. Ahern first became involved in a Fianna Fáil by-election campaign in 1965, during the campaign, Ahern met his political mentor and future Taoiseach, Charles Haughey
19.
Mary Coughlan (politician)
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Mary Coughlan is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála for the Donegal South-West constituency from 1987 to 2011, latterly attaining the office of Tánaiste of Ireland. She lost her Dáil seat in the 2011 general election, Coughlan was born in Donegal town in the south of County Donegal in 1965. Her father was Cathal Coughlan, a Fianna Fáil TD, who died in office in June 1986 and she was educated at the Ursuline Convent in Sligo – where she was a boarder from 1978 to 1983 – and at University College Dublin, graduating with a Social Science degree. She worked as a worker for a brief period before becoming involved in politics. Coming from a family, Coughlan was always interested in politics. Coughlan was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Donegal South-West constituency, at the age of 21 years and nine months, Coughlan was the youngest member of the 25th Dáil. Her uncle Clement Coughlan was a TD from 1980 until his death in 1983 in a traffic accident. The death of her father resulted in Coughlan being co-opted onto Donegal County Council in 1986, Coughlan remained on the backbenches of the Dáil for the first thirteen years of her career as a TD, before being appointed a Junior Minister. Coughlan was also a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Body, in 1994 Bertie Ahern became leader of Fianna Fáil and Leader of the Opposition. In early 1995 he named his new front bench, including Coughlan as Spokesperson on Educational Reform and she served in this position until 1997 but was not included in the cabinet or junior ministerial team when the party came to power. In February 2001, Coughlan received her first ministerial position, that of Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. She also oversaw the coming into force of an amended Gaeltacht Housing Act, the Commission on Irish in the Gaeltacht also completed its work under her guidance and Coughlan saw its report approved and published. During her time in this role, she established a Working Group on the Creation of Employment in the Gaeltacht. After the 2002 general election Coughlan was promoted to the cabinet as Minister for Social and her time in Social and Family Affairs saw increases in social welfare payments and the extension of family supports. Coughlan received criticism for changes she made regarding the availability of rent supplement and this was portrayed as targeting the weaker sections of society at a time when the Irish economy was reasonably strong. She was also criticised for cuts she made as Minister to entitlements for widows. The cuts were part of a drive for a reduction in government spending in autumn 2002. However, many considered these and other similar cutbacks to have forced upon her by Charlie McCreevy – who was Minister for Finance at the time
20.
Chief Justice of Ireland
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The Chief Justice of Ireland is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. Under Constitution of Ireland, the Chief Justice of Ireland also occupies several positions ex officio, a member of the Council of State. A member of the Presidential Commission, under s.2 of the Referendum Act 1998, the Chief Justice nominates the chairperson of the Referendum Commission. The Twenty-second Amendment of the Constitution Bill,2001 was not passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas, before 1924 the Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland The Supreme Court sits in the Four Courts. When the Supreme Court sits as it mostly does in two chambers, the second chamber sits in the Hugh Kennedy Court, named after the First Chief Justice
21.
Tallaght
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Tallaght is the largest town, and county seat, of South Dublin, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 1st century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the part of the island. Suburban development began in the 1970s and a town area has been developing since the late 1980s. There have been calls in recent years for Tallaght to be declared a city, the place name Tallaght is said to derive from támh-leacht, meaning plague pit in Irish, and consisting of támh, meaning plague, and leacht, meaning grave. The earliest mention of a Tallaght is in Lebor Gabála Érenn and he and many of his followers were said to have died of the plague. The burials that have found in the Tallaght area, however, are all normal pre-historic interments, mainly from the Bronze Age. The Annals of the Four Masters record the event as follows. Cúig míle dferoibh, & ceithre míle do mnáibh, conadh de sin ata Taimhleacht Muintere Parthalain. Trí ced bliadhain ro caithsiot i n-Erinn, in translation, Nine thousand of Parthalóns people died in one week on Sean Mhagh Ealta Edair, namely, five thousand men, and four thousand women. Whence is named Taimhleacht Muintire Parthalóin and they had passed three hundred years in Ireland. Upon Mount Seskin can be seen numerous stone structures, the one that lies a top this mountain is commonly referred to as The Hell Fire Club and was built by a man called Speaker Conolly. It was built upon a tomb, this one known locally as a fairy ring. Thus was created the location for very many myths and legends, as the destruction of these structures. Today all across the countryside of Ireland can be found random mounds of earth, such fairy rings are avoided by farmers, as they would rather leave them than risk the wrath of the good people, the Sí. Places near Tallaght featured in the ancient legends of the Fianna, with the foundation of the monastery of Tallaght by St. Maelruain in 769 A. D. we have a more reliable record of the areas early history. The monastery was a centre of learning and piety, particularly associated with the Céli Dé spiritual reform movement and it was such an important institution that it and the monastery at Finglas were known as the two eyes of Ireland. St. Aengus, an Ulsterman, was one of the most illustrious of the Céli Dé, wherever he went he was accompanied by a band of followers who distracted him from his devotions. He secretly travelled to the monastery at Tallaght where he was not known and he remained unknown for many years until his identity was discovered by Maeilruain
22.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
23.
South Pole
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The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earths axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth, situated on the continent of Antarctica, it is the site of the United States Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, which was established in 1956 and has been permanently staffed since that year. The Geographic South Pole should not be confused with the South Magnetic Pole, the South Pole is at the center of the Southern Hemisphere. For most purposes, the Geographic South Pole is defined as the point of the two points where the Earths axis of rotation intersects its surface. However, the Earths axis of rotation is actually subject to very small wobbles, the geographic coordinates of the South Pole are usually given simply as 90°S, since its longitude is geometrically undefined and irrelevant. When a longitude is desired, it may be given as 0°, at the South Pole, all directions face north. For this reason, directions at the Pole are given relative to grid north, along tight latitude circles, clockwise is east, and counterclockwise is west, opposite to the North Pole. The Geographic South Pole is located on the continent of Antarctica. It sits atop a featureless, barren, windswept and icy plateau at an altitude of 2,835 metres above sea level, and is located about 1,300 km from the nearest open sea at Bay of Whales. The ice is estimated to be about 2,700 metres thick at the Pole, the polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 metres per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea. Therefore, the position of the station and other artificial features relative to the geographic pole gradually shift over time. The Geographic South Pole is marked by a stake in the ice alongside a small sign, these are repositioned each year in a ceremony on New Years Day to compensate for the movement of the ice. The sign records the respective dates that Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the Pole, followed by a quotation from each man. A new marker stake is designed and fabricated each year by staff at the site, the Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at the South Pole Station. It is located around 180 metres from the Geographic South Pole, Amundsens Tent, The tent was erected by the Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen on its arrival on 14 December 1911. It is currently buried beneath the snow and ice in the vicinity of the Pole and it has been designated a Historic Site or Monument, following a proposal by Norway to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. In 1820, several expeditions claimed to have been the first to have sighted Antarctica, with the very first being the Russian expedition led by Faddey Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The first landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John Davis, the basic geography of the Antarctic coastline was not understood until the mid-to-late 19th century
24.
Fermoy
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Fermoy is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2011 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people and it is located in the barony of Fermoy. The towns name comes from the Irish and refers to a Cistercian abbey founded in the 13th century, the ringfort at Carntierna, located 2.4 km south of Fermoy, was an important Iron Age site. A Cistercian abbey was founded in Fermoy in the 13th century, at the dissolution of the monasteries during the Tudor period, the abbey and its lands passed through the following dynasties, Sir Richard Grenville, Robert Boyle and William Forward. However, the site could hardly have been regarded as a town and, by the late 18th century, was more than a few cabins. In 1791, the lands around Fermoy were bought by a Scotsman and he was an entrepreneur who developed the roads and started the mail coach system in Ireland. He designed the town and the streets remain much the same as they were originally built, in 1984, some of his descendants, living in Australia, named a winery, Fermoy Estate, after the town he established. A plaque and bust in his honour were unveiled by the park in 2001. Fermoy was the site of a large British Army barracks, when Ireland was under British rule, in 1797, when the army was looking to establish a new and permanent base, Anderson gave them the land as an inducement to locate in Fermoy. Anderson and the town received economic benefit from the arrangement, in 1806 the first permanent barracks, the East Barracks, were built. They were located on 16½ acres of land, and provided accommodation for 112 officers and 1478 men of infantry, and 24 officers,120 men, a general 130-bed military hospital was also built. In 1809, the West Barracks was built and this also had a 42-bed hospital. When both barracks were complete, there was accommodation for 14 field officers,169 officers,2,816 men, by the 1830s, this was the largest military establishment on the island of Ireland. The town of Fermoy expanded around these facilities and retained its British military facilities until 1922, during the War of Independence, Fermoy was the scene of the first attack for arms by the IRA against British troops, during which a Private Jones was killed. This resulted in reprisals, including when British troops looted and burned part of the town centre. One of those who led the raid, IRA Commandant Michael Fitzgerald, was subsequently captured and he later became the first IRA man to die on hunger strike during the War of Independence. Fermoy is situated on the river Blackwater and has steep hills corresponding to the river valley, the downtown area of Fermoy is located in a flood plain and has flooded relatively often in the late 20th and early 21st century. Industries in and around the town include chemical production, ice-cream manufacturing, the towns industries also include electronics manufacturing and assembly by Sanmina-SCI Corporation, formerly Space Craft Incorporated
25.
Mallow, County Cork
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Mallow is a town in County Cork, Ireland, about thirty-five kilometres north of Cork. Mallow is in the barony of Fermoy and it is the administrative centre of north County Cork and has been nicknamed the Crossroads of Munster. The Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Council are located in the town, the earliest form of the name is Magh nAla, meaning plain of the stone. In the anglicisation Mallow, -ow originally represented a reduced schwa sound, in 1975, Mala—a shortening of Magh nAla—was among the first Irish placenames adopted by statute, on the advice of the Placenames branch of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland. In the Annals of the Four Masters, compiled in the 1630s, Magh nAla is misrepresented as Magh Eala, P. W. Joyce in 1869 surmised that in Magh Eala, Ealla referred to the river Blackwater, and connected the name to the nearby barony of Duhallow. Professor T. F. ORahilly in 1938 interpreted Magh Eala as plain of the swans and this false etymology remains widely cited and has caused resentment of the official Mala as being a gratuitous simplification of Magh Eala. However, the name Mala has been used in Irish for more than 300 years, evidence of pre-historic settlement is found in Beenalaght, where an alignment of six standing stones lie on a hill to the west of the Mallow-Coachford Road. During the Irish War of Independence, the town was the HQ of the North Cork Militia – known as North Cork Rifles, the towns RIC barracks was the only one captured nationwide during the war. In retaliation, several main street premises were subsequently torched by the British Army, mrs King, wife of Captain W H King, RIC was killed during an attack on her husband near Mallow Railway station. In retaliation, British military and Black and Tans killed three railway workers-Patrick Devitt, Daniel Mullane and Bennett, the killings prompted industrial action by the National Railworkers Union in Britain and Ireland. Some of the highest naturally occurring readings of radon ever have been recorded in Mallow, the urban area has a population of 7,864 and with improved road and rail since the mid-1980s, has developed significant student and worker commuter traffic with Cork city. Mallow developed as a defensive settlement protecting an important ford on the River Blackwater, Mallow developed in the late 16th century as a plantation town. It has prospered throughout the centuries as a town due to its rich agricultural hinterland. Irish states-men such as Thomas Davis and William OBrien were both born in Mallow in the 19th century, the main street in Mallow is called Davis Street, and joins with William OBrien Street outside Mallow Town Hall. At the point where Davis Street meets OBrien Street there is a monument to J. J, fitzgerald, a little-known local politician who was instrumental in establishing both Mallow Urban District Council and Cork County Council. Changes in the European Union sugar subsidy programme resulted in the closure of the Sugar Beet factory in mid-2006, one of the last sugar beet plants to be closed in Ireland. The development of Market Square in 2006 effectively relocated the town centre, Mallow is a stop on the Bus Éireann 51 bus service from Cork to Galway and 243 bus service from Cork to Newmarket service. Mallow is also served by the Citylink Galway-Cork Airport service, the Mallow railway viaduct which straddles the Blackwater, commonly known as the Ten Arch Bridge, was bombed and destroyed during the Irish Civil War
26.
Aer Lingus
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Aer Lingus, is the flag carrier airline of Ireland and the second-largest airline in Ireland. Founded by the Irish government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a subsidiary of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, the airlines head office is on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Cloghran, County Dublin, Ireland. The airline has codeshares with Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam members, as well as interline agreements with Etihad Airways, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines. Aer Lingus has a business model, operating a mixed fare service on its European and North African routes and full service. Ryanair used to own over 29% of Aer Lingus stock and the Irish state owned over 25% and these shareholders were lost after IAG bought the airline. The state had previously held an 85% shareholding until the Governments decision to float the company on the Dublin, the principal group companies include Aer Lingus Limited, Aer Lingus Beachey Limited, Aer Lingus Limited and Dirnan Insurance Company Limited, all of which are wholly owned. On 26 May 2015, after months of negotiations on a possible IAG takeover, Ryanair retained a 30% stake in Aer Lingus which it agreed to sell to IAG on 10 July 2015 for €2.55 per share. In August 2015, Aer Lingus shareholders officially accepted IAGs takeover offer, IAG subsequently assumed control of Aer Lingus on 2 September 2015. Aer Lingus was founded on 15 April 1936, with a capital of £100,000 and its first chairman was Seán Ó hUadhaigh. Aer Lingus Teoranta was registered as an airline on 22 May 1936, the name Aer Lingus was proposed by Richard F OConnor, who was County Cork Surveyor, as well as an aviation enthusiast. Aer Lingus was originally pronounced air ling-us and only later did the change to the air ling-gus used now. Later that year, the airline acquired its second aircraft, a four-engined biplane de Havilland DH.86 Express named Éire and this aircraft provided the first air link between Dublin and London by extending the Bristol service to Croydon. At the same time, the DH.84 Dragon was used to inaugurate an Aer Lingus service on the Dublin-Liverpool route, the airline was established as the national carrier under the Air Navigation and Transport Act. In 1937, the Irish government created Aer Rianta, a company to financial responsibility for the new airline. In April 1937, Aer Lingus became wholly owned by the Irish government via Aer Rianta and he retired 30 years later in 1967 at the age of 60. In 1938, a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide replaced Iolar, two Lockheed 14s arrived in 1939, Aer Lingus first all-metal aircraft. In January 1940, a new airport opened in the Dublin suburb of Collinstown and it purchased a new DC-3 and inaugurated new services to Liverpool and an internal service to Shannon. The airlines services were curtailed during World War II with the route being to Liverpool or Barton Aerodrome Manchester depending on the fluctuating security situation
27.
Shannon Airport
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Shannon Airport is one of Irelands three primary airports, along with Dublin and Cork. In 2016, around 1.75 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the country after Dublin, Shannon Airport is in Shannon, County Clare, and mainly serves Limerick, Ennis, Galway and the south-west of Ireland. In the late 1930s, transatlantic air traffic was dominated by flying boats, however, it was realised that changing technology would require a permanent runway and airport. In 1936, the Government of Ireland confirmed that it would develop a 3.1 km2 site at Rineanna for the countrys first transatlantic airport, the land on which the airport was to be built was boggy, and on 8 October 1936 work began to drain the land. By 1942 a serviceable airport had been established and was named Shannon Airport, by 1945 the existing runways at Shannon were extended to allow transatlantic flights to land. When World War II ended, the airport was ready to be used by the many new commercial airlines of Europe. On 16 September 1945 the first transatlantic proving flight, a Pan Am DC-4, on 24 October, the first scheduled commercial flight, an American Overseas Airlines DC-4, passed through Shannon Airport. An accident involving President Airlines on 10 September 1961 resulted in the loss of 83 lives, the Douglas DC-6 aircraft crashed into the Shannon River while leaving Shannon Airport for Chicago. Shannon became the most convenient stopping point before and after a trip across the Atlantic, the longest runway in Ireland, at 3,199 metres, is located at Shannon. It was a landing site for the Space Shuttle. On 4 July 2014, the Bank of Ireland Runway Night Run featured 1,200 people running along the runway to raise money for charity, Ryanair increased services and passenger numbers at the airport through 2008. In 2007, Shannon carried 3.2 million passengers, however, after a disagreement with the Dublin Airport Authority in 2008, Ryanair announced that the number of based aircraft would reduce from 4 to 1 and 150 jobs would be lost. Services were cut by 75% and 32 Ryanair routes from the airport were reduced to 8, CityJet launched a twice-daily route to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2008 when Aer Lingus closed its London Heathrow flights. The company based an Avro RJ85 at Shannon, more services were under consideration, including a route to London City Airport, however CityJet pulled out of Shannon in October 2009 after Aer Lingus reinstated its Heathrow flights. In December 2012, it was announced that Shannon Airport would separate from the Dublin Airport Authority, on 31 December 2012 at 11,59 pm, Shannon Airport became a publicly owned commercial airport and is now operated and run by the Shannon Airport Authority plc. In March 2013, the new company appointed Neil Pakey as its first CEO, traffic figures for June 2013 report an 8% increase on the previous year, the first time a traffic increase has been recorded in three years. On 21 March 2013, Ryanair announced a new route to Alicante. That brought Shannons total to 33 seasonal scheduled summer routes, in October 2013, United Airlines confirmed it will increase capacity by 88% on its Shannon-Chicago route for 2014
28.
Heathrow Airport
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Heathrow Airport is a major international airport in London, United Kingdom. In 2016, it handled a record 75.7 million passengers, Heathrow lies 14 miles west of Central London, and has two parallel east–west runways along with four operational terminals on a site that covers 12.27 square kilometres. London Heathrow is the hub for British Airways and the primary operating base for Virgin Atlantic. In September 2012, the UK government established the Airports Commission, in July 2015, the commission backed a third runway at Heathrow and the government approved a third runway in October 2016. Heathrow is 14 mi west of central London, near the end of the London Borough of Hillingdon on a parcel of land that is designated part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The airport is surrounded by the areas of Harlington, Harmondsworth, Longford and Cranford to the north and by Hounslow. To the south lie Bedfont and Stanwell while to the west Heathrow is separated from Slough in Berkshire by the M25 motorway, Heathrow falls entirely under the TW postcode area. As the airport is west of London and as its runways run east–west, for a chronicled history of Heathrow Airport, see History of Heathrow Airport. Heathrow Airport originated in 1929 as an airfield on land south-east of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name. At that time there were farms, market gardens and orchards there, there was a Heathrow Farm about where Terminal 1 is now, a Heathrow Hall and a Heathrow House. This hamlet was largely along a lane which ran roughly along the east. Development of the whole Heathrow area as a much larger airport began in 1944. But by the time the airfield was nearing completion, World War II had ended, the government continued to develop the airport as a civil airport, it opened as London Airport in 1946 and was renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966. Heathrow Airport is used by over 80 airlines flying to 185 destinations in 84 countries, the airport is the primary hub of British Airways and is a base for Virgin Atlantic. It has four terminals and a cargo terminal. Of Heathrows 73.4 million passengers in 2014, 93% were international travellers, the busiest single destination in passenger numbers is New York, with over 3 million passengers flying between Heathrow and JFK Airport in 2013. As the required length for runways has grown, Heathrow now has two parallel runways running east–west. These are extended versions of the two east–west runways from the original hexagram, from the air, almost all of the original runways can still be seen, incorporated into the present system of taxiways
29.
Irish Stock Exchange
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The Irish Stock Exchange is Irelands main stock exchange, and has been in existence since 1793. The Irish Stock Exchange is a leader in the listing of debt and fund securities and is a European gateway exchange for companies seeking to access investors in Europe. With over 35,000 securities listed on its markets, the ISE is the exchange of choice for over 4,000 issuers from more than 85 countries to raise funds and access international investors. It also found that having a domestic securities industry centered on the Irish Stock Exchange generates €207m in estimated direct economic impact, in 2017, the ISE was named the #2 Best Medium Workplace in Ireland at the Great Place to Work Awards. In 2015, the ISE won a GPtW Inspiring Award for work it completed on its history and was ranked in the Top 50 Great Places to Work Europe, there are currently 50 companies with shares listed on the markets of the Irish Stock Exchange. New equity listings in 2016 came from Venn Life Sciences, Draper Esprit, and Dalata Hotel Group, three other IPOs took place in 2015 raising a further €650m, Applegreen, Permanent TSB and Hostelworld. These three companies raised a total of €484m at IPO. Total fund raisings in 2014 of listed companies was €1. 3bn, the second #IPOready programme will commence in 2017. The ISE’s electronic trading platform is called ISE Xetra and is provided in partnership with Deutsche Börse since the ISE closed its trading floor in Anglesea Street Dublin 2 on 6 June 2000. Shares trading on the ISE are settled by Euroclear UK & Ireland via the CREST system, the ISE is the main centre of liquidity in Irish shares. The company with the highest turnover on the ISE in 2016 was CRH and this was followed Ryanair, Paddy Power Betfair, Bank of Ireland and Kerry Group. Trading volumes on the exchange in 2011 were about a quarter of the 2007 peak, in June 2012, following the collapse of a stockbrokers, the Irish Independent asked Will there even be a stand-alone Irish equity market in five years time. The ISE is among the leading centres globally for the listing of securities with statistics showing debt listings growing by more than 7% in 2016 to reach over 29,000 securities. The ISE was ranked at #2 among global exchanges according to released by the World Federation of Exchanges at the end of December 2016. Global investment managers can choose one of two markets when listings funds, the MSM or GEM. Notable investment managers listing funds on ISE markets include Tideway, BNY Mellon, PIMCO, in 2014 the ISE launched www. isefundhub. com, an information portal for funds listed on the ISE and funds domiciled in Ireland. LEIs are codes designed to create a reference data system that uniquely identifies every legal entity or structure, in any jurisdiction. Businesses may apply for an LEI code through ISEdirect, lEIs were brought in by global regulators as part of the response to the global financial crisis
30.
Real Irish Republican Army
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The Real Irish Republican Army or Real IRA, also referred to as the New IRA, is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a united Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members and it is an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated as a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States. Since its formation, RIRA has waged a campaign in Northern Ireland against the Police Service of Northern Ireland —formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary —and the British Army, the RIRA is the largest and most active of the dissident republican paramilitary groups operating against the British security forces. It has targeted the security forces in gun attacks and bombings, the organisation has also been responsible for bombings in Northern Ireland and England with the goal of causing economic harm and/or disruption. The most notable of these was the 1998 Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people, after that bombing the RIRA went on ceasefire, but began operations again in 2000. In March 2009 it claimed responsibility for an attack on Massereene Barracks which killed two British soldiers, the first to be killed in Northern Ireland since 1997, the Real IRA has also been involved in vigilantism, mainly against alleged drug dealers and organised crime gangs. In Dublin in particular it has accused of extortion and engaging in feuds with these gangs. In July 2012 it was reported that Republican Action Against Drugs, as before, the group continues to refer to itself as the Irish Republican Army, but the new group has been referred as the New IRA in the press. In July 1997 the Provisional IRA called a ceasefire, on 10 October 1997 a Provisional IRA General Army Convention was held in Falcarragh, County Donegal. He was backed by his partner and fellow Executive member Bernadette Sands McKevitt, the two dissidents were outmanoeuvred by the leadership and were left isolated. The convention backed the line, and on 26 October McKevitt. In November 1997 McKevitt and other dissidents held a meeting in a farmhouse in Oldcastle, County Meath, the name Real IRA entered common usage when members set up a roadblock in Jonesborough, County Armagh and told motorists Were from the IRA. The RIRAs objective is a united Ireland by forcing the end of British sovereignty over Northern Ireland through the use of physical force, the organisation rejects the Mitchell Principles and the Good Friday Agreement, comparing the latter to the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty which resulted in the partition of Ireland. The organisation aims to uphold an uncompromising form of Irish republicanism and opposes any political settlement that falls short of Irish unity and he did not die for nationalists to be equal British citizens within the Northern Ireland state. The RIRA adopted a tactic of bombing town centres to damage the infrastructure of Northern Ireland. The organisations first action was a bombing in Banbridge, County Down on 7 January 1998. The intention was to explode a 300 lb car bomb, the RIRA continued its campaign in late February with bombings in Moira, County Down and Portadown, County Armagh. On 9 May the organisation announced its existence, in a telephone call to Belfast media claiming responsibility for a mortar attack on a police station in Belleek
31.
Lithuania
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Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in Northern Europe. One of the three Baltic states, it is situated along the shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of Sweden. It is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, Lithuania has an estimated population of 2.9 million people as of 2015, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. The official language, Lithuanian, along with Latvian, is one of two living languages in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. For centuries, the shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, the King of Lithuania, and the first unified Lithuanian state, with the Lublin Union of 1569, Lithuania and Poland formed a voluntary two-state union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772–95, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuanias territory. As World War I neared its end, Lithuanias Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1918, in the midst of the Second World War, Lithuania was first occupied by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. As World War II neared its end and the Germans retreated, Lithuania is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, a full member of the Eurozone, Schengen Agreement and NATO. It is also a member of the Nordic Investment Bank, the United Nations Human Development Index lists Lithuania as a very high human development country. Lithuania has been among the fastest growing economies in the European Union and is ranked 21st in the world in the Ease of Doing Business Index, the first people settled in the territory of Lithuania after the last glacial period in the 10th millennium BC. Over a millennium, the Indo-Europeans, who arrived in the 3rd – 2nd millennium BC, mixed with the local population, the first written mention of Lithuania is found in a medieval German manuscript, the Annals of Quedlinburg, in an entry dated 9 March 1009. Initially inhabited by fragmented Baltic tribes, in the 1230s the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, after his assassination in 1263, pagan Lithuania was a target of the Christian crusades of the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order. Despite the devastating century-long struggle with the Orders, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania expanded rapidly, by the end of the 14th century, Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe and included present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia. The geopolitical situation between the west and the east determined the multicultural and multi-confessional character of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the ruling elite practised religious tolerance and Chancery Slavonic language was used as an auxiliary language to the Latin for official documents. In 1385, the Grand Duke Jogaila accepted Polands offer to become its king, Jogaila embarked on gradual Christianization of Lithuania and established a personal union between Poland and Lithuania. It implied that Lithuania, the fiercely independent land, was one of the last pagan areas of Europe to adopt Christianity, after two civil wars, Vytautas the Great became the Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1392. During his reign, Lithuania reached the peak of its expansion, centralization of the state began
32.
Jacob's
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Jacobs is a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The brand name is owned by the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, part of Valeo Foods, in the UK, the brand name is used under licence by United Biscuits, part of Pladis. The originator of the Jacobs brand name was the small biscuit bakery, W & R Jacob, founded in 1851 in Bridge Street, Waterford, Ireland by William Beale Jacob and it later moved to Bishop Street in Dublin, Ireland, with a factory in Peters Row. A factory in Liverpool was opened in 1914, the well-known activist and trade union organizer Rosie Hackett worked for some years as a messenger for Jacobs. At that time the conditions in the factory were poor. On 22 August 1911 Rosie helped organize the withdrawal of womens labor in Jacobs factory to support their colleagues who were already on strike. With the womens help, the men secured better working conditions, two weeks later, at the age of eighteen, Rosie co-founded the Irish Women Workers Union with Delia Larkin. During the 1913 Lockout Rosie helped mobilize the Jacobs workers to come out in solidarity with other workers, in 1914 her Jacobs employers sacked her over her role in the Lockout. Jacobs Bishop Street premises was one of several prominent Dublin buildings occupied by rebels during the Easter Rising of 1916 In 1922 a separate English company was formed, W & R Jacob Ltd. The two branches separated, with the Dublin branch retaining the W & R Jacob name while the Liverpool branch was renamed Jacobs Bakery Ltd. In the 1970s, W & R Jacob in Dublin merged with Bolands Biscuits to form Irish Biscuits Ltd. and moved to Tallaght, the Liverpool factory joined Associated Biscuits in 1960, which was purchased by Nabisco in 1982. In 1990, the two once again came under common ownership and became Jacobs Biscuit Group when they were acquired by the French company Groupe Danone. In July 2004, Groupe Danone and United Biscuits announced that they had made an agreement for the latter to acquire Jacobs Biscuit Group. With the acquisition of Groupe Danones biscuit division by Kraft Foods, Fruitfield Foods was subsequently renamed the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group and is now part of the Valeo Food Group. Valeo Foods was established in September 2010 through the merger of Batchelors, since their acquisitions, United Biscuits and Jacob Fruitfield Food Group have sparred in court over the use of the Jacobs brand name. In 2009, after 156 years of making biscuits in Ireland,220 jobs were lost while the company retained around 100 staff in a variety of roles
33.
Ballymena
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Ballymena /ˌbæliˈmiːnə/ is a large town in County Antrim, and the eighth largest in Northern Ireland. It is part of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and it had a population of 29,467 people in the 2011 Census. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I in 1626, as of 2016, the Saturday market still runs. Ballymena is the hometown of notable actor Liam Neeson, who was awarded Freedom of the Borough in 2013, the town used to host Irelands largest one-day agricultural show at the Ballymena Showgrounds. The town centre has many historic buildings, the Town Hall was built in 1924 on the site of the old Market House, and was refurbished in 2007 at a cost of roughly £20 million. The recorded history of the Ballymena area dates to the Early Christian period from the 5th to the 7th centuries, ringforts are found in the townland of Ballykeel and a site known as Camphill Fort in the townland of Ballee may also have been of this type. There are a number of sites within a 1 1⁄4 miles radius of the centre of Ballymena. Two miles north in the townland of Kirkinriola, the ancient parish church and graveyard possess several indicators of Early Christian settlement, also in 1868, a gravedigger found a large stone slab on which was carved a cross with the inscription ord do degen. This refers to Bishop Degen, who lived in Ireland during the 7th century and this stone is now in the porch of St. Patricks Church at the end of Castle Street. At the end of the 5th century, a church was founded in Connor and this was followed by a monastery at Templemoyle, Kells. In 831, however, the Norse invaded the Ballymena area, in the 12th century, the Normans conquered much of County Antrim and County Down after having taken over England the century before. They created the core of the Earldom of Ulster, during this campaign, they built great mounds of earth topped by wooden towers, referred to as mottes, as defensive structures. The Harryville areas motte-and-bailey is one of the best examples of type of fortification in Northern Ireland. In 1315, Edward Bruce invaded Ireland, on 10 September 1315, at the Battle of Tawnybrack, Edward conquered the army of Richard De Burgo, the Norman Earl of Ulster. In 1576, Queen Elizabeth I granted land, including the town of Ballymena, the lands had been forfeited to the crown after Shane ONeills resistance in the 1560s. Smith brought English settlers to the area, among the first pioneers in planting English, by 1581, Smiths settlement failed and the lands reverted to the crown. On 10 May 1607, King James I granted the native Irish chief, the estate passed through several owners, eventually passing into the possession of William Adair, a Scottish laird from Kinhilt in southwestern Scotland. The estate was temporarily renamed Kinhilstown after Adairs lands in Scotland, the original castle of Ballymena was built in the early 17th century, situated to take advantage of an ancient ford at the River Braid
34.
Executive Office (Northern Ireland)
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The Executive Office is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive. The Ministers with overall responsibility for the department are the First Minister, the department was originally known as the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, with the same capitalisation used in the departments logo. Following a change in policy in 2007, the deputy was then spelt with a lower-case d. In May 2016, the department was renamed the Executive Office as a result of the Fresh Start Agreement, until 9 January 2017, the First Minister and deputy First Minister were Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness respectively. On 9 January 2017, McGuinness resigned, forcing the vacancy of Fosters position under the rules of the Assembly and they were assisted by two junior ministers, Alastair Ross and Megan Fearon. Both roles are currently vacant as a result of McGuinness resignation. The Executive Offices overall aim is to “deliver a peaceful, fair, equal, the Northern Ireland Act 1972 transferred the powers of the Prime Minister to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland within the British Government. A Chief Executive of Northern Ireland briefly held office in the 1974 Northern Ireland Executive, the Secretary of State was supported by the Northern Ireland Office, which was responsible for security and political affairs during the Troubles. The process was known as devolution and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland, OFMDFM was one of five new devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments Order 1999. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister first took office on 2 December 1999, since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption
35.
Ian Paisley
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Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland. He became a Protestant evangelical minister in 1946 and remained one for the rest of his life, in 1951 he co-founded the fundamentalist Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and was its leader until 2008. Paisley became known for his sermons and regularly preached and protested against Catholicism, ecumenism. He gained a group of followers who were referred to as Paisleyites. Paisley became involved in Ulster unionist/loyalist politics in the late 1950s, in the mid-late 1960s, he led and instigated loyalist opposition to the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. This led to the outbreak of the Troubles in the late 1960s, in 1970 he became Member of Parliament for North Antrim and the following year he founded the Democratic Unionist Party, which he would lead for almost forty years. In 1979 he became a Member of the European Parliament, throughout the Troubles, Paisley was seen as a firebrand and the face of hardline unionism. He opposed all attempts to resolve the conflict through power-sharing between unionists and Irish nationalists/republicans, and all attempts to involve the Republic of Ireland in Northern affairs and his efforts helped bring down the Sunningdale Agreement of 1974. He also opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, with less success and his attempts to create a paramilitary movement culminated in Ulster Resistance. Paisley and his party opposed the Northern Ireland peace process. In 2005, Paisleys DUP became the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland, displacing the Ulster Unionist Party, in 2007, following the St Andrews Agreement, the DUP finally agreed to share power with republican party Sinn Féin and consent to all-Ireland governance in certain matters. Paisley and Sinn Féins Martin McGuinness became First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively in May 2007 and he stepped down as First Minister and DUP leader in mid-2008, and left politics in 2011. Paisley was made a peer in 2010 as Baron Bannside. Paisley married Eileen Cassells on 13 October 1956 and they had five children, daughters Sharon, Rhonda and Cherith and twin sons, Kyle and Ian. Three of their children followed their father into politics or religion, Kyle is a Free Presbyterian minister, Ian is a DUP MP, and Rhonda and he had a brother, Harold, who is also an evangelical fundamentalist. Paisley saw himself primarily as an Ulsterman, however, despite his hostility towards Irish nationalism and the Republic of Ireland, he also saw himself as an Irishman and said that you cannot be an Ulsterman without being an Irishman. When he was a teenager, Paisley decided to follow his father and he delivered his first sermon aged 16 in a mission hall in County Tyrone. In the late 1940s he undertook training at the Barry School of Evangelism
36.
Orange Order
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The Loyal Orange Institution, more commonly known as the Orange Order, is a Protestant fraternal organisation based primarily in Northern Ireland. It also has a significant presence in the Scottish Lowlands and lodges throughout the Commonwealth, the Orange Order was founded in County Armagh in 1795, during a period of Protestant–Catholic sectarian conflict, as a Masonic-style brotherhood sworn to maintain the Protestant Ascendancy. It is headed by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, which was established in 1798 and its name is a tribute to the Dutch-born Protestant king William of Orange, who defeated the army of Catholic king James VII & II in the Williamite War in Ireland. Its members wear orange sashes and are referred to as Orangemen, the Order is best known for its yearly marches, the biggest of which are held on or around 12 July. Politically, the Orange Order is a conservative British unionist organisation with links to Ulster loyalism and it campaigned against Scottish independence in 2014. The Order sees itself as defending Protestant civil and religious liberties, whilst critics accuse the Order of being sectarian and it has also been criticised for associating with loyalist paramilitary groups. As a Protestant society, it does not accept non-Protestants as members unless they convert and adhere to the principles of Orangeism, Orange marches through mainly Catholic and nationalist neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland are controversial and have often led to violence. In particular, the Institution remembers the victories of William III and his forces in Ireland in the early 1690s and these followed a tradition started in Elizabethan England of celebrating key events in the Protestant calendar. By the 1740s there were organisations holding parades in Dublin such as the Boyne Club, throughout the 1780s, sectarian tension had been building in County Armagh, largely due to the relaxation of the Penal Laws. Here the number of Protestants and Catholics were of equal number. Drunken brawls between rival gangs had by 1786 become openly sectarian, in September 1795, at a crossroads known as The Diamond near Loughgall, Defenders and Protestant Peep o Day Boys gathered to fight each other. When a contingent of Defenders from County Tyrone arrived on 21 September, however, the Peep o Day Boys quickly regrouped and opened fire on the Defenders. According to William Blacker, the battle was short and the Defenders suffered not less than thirty deaths. After the battle had ended, the Peep o Days marched into Loughgall, and in the house of James Sloan they founded the Orange Order, the principal pledge of these lodges was to defend the King and his heirs so long as he or they support the Protestant Ascendancy. At the start the Orange Order was an organisation to the Defenders in that it was a secret oath-bound society that used passwords. One of the few landed gentry that joined the Orange Order at the outset. He says that a determination was expressed to driving from this quarter of the county the entire of its Roman Catholic population, with notices posted warning them to Hell or Connaught. Other people were warned by notices not to inform on local Orangemen or I will Blow your Soul to the Low hils of Hell And Burn the House you are in, within two months,7,000 Catholics had been driven out of County Armagh
37.
Giovanni Trapattoni
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Giovanni Trapattoni, sometimes popularly known as Trap or Il Trap, is an Italian football manager and former footballer, considered the most successful club coach in the history of Serie A. A former defensive midfielder, as a player he spent almost his entire career with A. C. Milan. Internationally, he played for Italy, earning 17 caps and participating in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, alongside Udo Lattek, he is the only coach to have won all three major European club competitions and the only one to make it with the same club. Also, he is the one to have won all official continental club competitions. He is one of the few to have won the European Cup. Trapattoni was most recently the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team and he led them to their first European Championships in 24 years, enjoying a successful UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. This followed narrowly missing out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Trapattoni also played for the Italian national team, earning 17 caps and scoring 1 goal. Most notably, he played at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, Trapattoni began coaching at Milan as a youth team coach, before becoming caretaker coach. Trapattoni was caretaker coach from 9 April 1974 to 30 June 1974 and his first match was the UEFA Cup Winners Cup semi–final first leg against Borussia Mönchengladbach. They got to the final after losing the second leg 1–0. Milan lost the final 2–0 to East German club 1, Milan finished seventh in Serie A. He was appointed first team coach in 1975, Trapattoni was head coach for Juventus for ten consecutive years, from 1 July 1976 to 30 June 1986. Trapattoni won all UEFA club competitions, during his years managing Juventus, Trapattoni established himself as one of the best managers in football history, well-known and respected among fans and journalists throughout Europe. He was renowned for combining expert man-management with almost unmatched tactical knowledge, Trapattoni coached Inter Milan from 1 July 1986 to 30 June 1991. While in charge of the nerazzurri, he won the Serie A in 1988–89, the Supercoppa Italiana in 1989 and he then managed Juventus for a second time between 1991 and 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1992–93. Trapattoni became coach of Bayern Munich in the summer of 1994, however, he left at the end of the 1994–95 season. Trapattoni coached Cagliari in the 1995–96 season and his first match was a 1–0 loss to Udinese on 26 August 1995. The clubs board of directors decided to dismiss him in February 1996, after a string of bad results and his final match was a 4–1 loss to Juventus
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