1.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%
2.
Regional road (Ireland)
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A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route, but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads, Regional roads are numbered with three-digit route numbers, prefixed by R. Until 1977, classified roads in Ireland were designated one of two prefixes, T for Trunk Roads and L for Link Roads. I. Many of the remaining classified roads became Regional roads and their routes were designated under a Statutory Instrument in 1994, the latest SI designating the routes of Regional roads was published in 2012, the Roads Act 1993 Order 2012. Other roads formerly classified as Trunk or Link roads eventually became Local roads, older signs showing the former Trunk and Link road designations are still to be seen in some locations. The L prefix on these signs is not connected to the network of Local roads currently in place, unlike national roads, regional roads are maintained by local county or city councils rather than the National Roads Authority. The vast majority of the road network is made up of single-carriageway roads although some roads are dual-carriageway. Regional roads are subject to a speed limit of 80 km/h. Prior to 20 January 2005, when Ireland adopted metric speed limits, Regional roads, however, pass through towns, villages and built-up areas frequently, so even lower local speed restrictions are often in place. However, certain regional roads, often sections of national roads which have been bypassed by motorways or other road improvements, have speed limits of 100 km/h. The R132 is an example of a Regional road with a 100 km/h speed limit, as of 2009, directional signposting on some regional roads in Ireland remains poor, with even modern signage usually relying on fingerpost signposts located directly at junctions. However, work on improving signposting on regional roads has been continuing since 2003, in 2007, a total of €7 million to continue progress on the regional roads signposting programme, which commenced in 2003 was granted to local authorities. There are some higher-capacity sections of road, most notably the R113 and R445, R132 Swords Inner By-pass. In many other cases, upgraded roads were previously part of a national primary road. In most cases, when a primary road is changed by the creation of a bypass. The current routes of all roads in Ireland – as defined by Statutory Instrument No 54/2012 Order 2012 under the Roads Act 1993 – are listed below. The S. I. North Circular Road, Dublin Blanchardstown – Malahide Road, Dublin Finglas – Killester, Dublin Finglas – Kilbarrack, Dublin Dublin – Howth, Dublin Sutton – Malahide – Swords, Co. Louth Chapelizod – Wolf Tone Quay, Dublin St Stephens Green – Red Cow, Dublin Conyngham Road – Beach Road, Sandymount, Dublin Chapelizod – Churchtown – Mount Merrion, Dublin Dublin – Rathfarnham – Brittas, Co
3.
Gaelic football
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Gaelic football, commonly referred to as football or Gaelic, is an Irish team sport. It is played two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the teams goals or between two upright posts above the goals and over a crossbar 2.5 metres above the ground. Players advance the football, a leather ball, up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing. In the game, two types of scores are possible, points and goals, a point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball under the crossbar into the net, positions in Gaelic football are similar to that in other football codes, and comprise one goalkeeper, six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards, with a variable number of substitutes. Gaelic football is one of four sports controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association, along with hurling and camogie, Gaelic football is one of the few remaining strictly amateur sports in the world, with players, coaches, and managers prohibited from receiving any form of payment. Gaelic football is played on the island of Ireland, although units of the Association exist in other areas such as Great Britain, North America. Outside Ireland, football is played among members of the Irish diaspora. Gaelic Park in New York City is the largest purpose-built Gaelic sports venue outside Ireland, the All-Ireland Senior Championship is considered the most prestigious event in Gaelic football. Under the auspices of the GAA, Gaelic football is a sport, however. Gaelic football was first codified in 1887, although it has purported links to varieties of football played in Ireland. Consequently, the name caid is used by people to refer to present day Gaelic football. Dublin is still known as the football field, the Statute of Galway of 1527 allowed the playing of foot balle and archery but banned hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves as well as other sports. By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably, the games had grown in popularity and were widely played. This was due to the patronage of the gentry, now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants, wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas. The earliest record of a precursor to the modern game date from a match in County Meath in 1670
4.
Tullamore
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Tullamore is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offalys county town and is located in the centre of the county, Tullamore was designated a gateway town, along with Mullingar and Athlone, in late 2003 by the Irish Government, making it eligible for increased infrastructural investment. The town retained Gold Medal status in the National Tidy Town Awards in 2015, the Tullamore Show is held near the town every year. The towns most famous export is Tullamore Dew – an Irish whiskey distilled by Tullamore Distillery – that can be traced back to 1829, the original distillery shut down in the 1954, with the brand later being resurrected and produced at the Midleton Distillery, in Cork. However, the new owners, William Grant & Sons, invested in a new distillery near Tullamore. In ancient Gaelic Ireland, Tullamore was located in what was known as the landfill territory of Firceall ruled by the OMolloy clan. Firceall was then part of the ancient Kingdom of Meath, following the plantation of Offaly in the 16th and 17th centuries, Firceall was divided into the baronies of Ballycowan, Ballyboy and Eglish, with Tullamore located in Ballycowan. Tullamore was part of the first English plantation of Offaly in the 1570s, by the mid-1500s the lands that were originally ruled by the OMolloy clan were securely planted and in the hands of the Moore family. From this point on a dynasty was established which endured into the nineteenth century, commencing with the grant of the Tullamore area, comprising some 5000 acres. At that time the Tullamore estate included a castle, ten cottages. Sir Robert Forth, who leased the lands from Thomas Moore, Charles Moore, Lord Tullamore, grandson of Thomas, eventually regained possession of the estate and when he died in 1674 it went via his sister to Charles William Bury. Charles William was later created the 1st Earl of Charleville in a creation of the title. To this day, the shield depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes. The event is commemorated by the Phoenix festival which celebrates Tullamores resurrection from the ashes following the accident. The Grand Canal linked Tullamore to Dublin in 1798, during the Napoleonic Wars, a clash between troops of the Kings German Legion and a regiment of British Light Infantry who were both stationed in the town, became known as the Battle of Tullamore. Tullamore became county town of County Offaly in 1835, replacing Daingean, Tullamore has a long history of whiskey distilling, with two distilleries known to have operated in the two in the 1780s, though closed some years later. Subsequently, a new distillery, was established by Michael Molloy, when Molloy died, the distillery first passed to his brother Anthony, before eventually making its way into the hands of his nephew, Bernard Daly. When Daly died, his son, Captain Bernard Daly took ownership of the business, Williams brought electricity to Tullamore in 1893
5.
Birr, County Offaly
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Birr is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. It was formerly called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. The town lies within a parish of the name in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. Birr is a designated Irish Heritage Town with a carefully preserved Georgian heritage, Birr itself has graceful wide streets and elegant buildings. Many of the houses in Johns Place and Oxmantown Mall have exquisite fanlight windows of the Georgian period. The town is known for Birr Castle and its gardens, home of the Parsons family, the town is situated at the meeting of the Camcor and Little Brosna rivers which flow on into the River Shannon near Victoria Lock. Birr railway station opened on 8 March 1858, but finally closed on 1 January 1963, the Ormond Flying Club has been in operation at Birr Airfield for over 30 years. The area has been linked with aviation for some time – as a British Army airstrip was previously near the current field, Birr lies on the N52 and N62 national secondary roads. The routes are combined as they pass through Birr, the R439, R440 and R489 regional roads also terminate in the town. Bus Éireann provide public services to the town. The Athlone to Limerick service regularly passes through the town daily, kearns privately owned bus service provides a number of direct bus services to Dublin from Birr. A monastery was founded here by St Brendan of Birr and it produced the MacRegol Gospels, named after the abbot at the turn of the 8th/9th century and now to be seen in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The Synod of Birr, held in 697, was the occasion on which the Cáin Adomnáin, in Gaelic Ireland, Birr was located in the OCarroll territory of Éile. This petty kingdom formed an area now forms the south of County Offaly. The tuatha was subject to the overkingdom of Munster and formed a border with the Kingdom of Meath to the east, the boundary between Ely OCarroll and the ancient Meath is co-terminous with the present boundary between the Diocese of Killaloe and the Diocese of Meath. The OCarroll family had a located at the present site of Birr Castle. Following the Plantations of Ireland, Birr was located in the Barony of Ballybritt following the formation of Kings County in 1556, the town itself is an old market and former garrison town dating to the 1620s. The town was also the location of the Crotty Schism, one of the few schisms to affect the Catholic Church in Ireland in the 19th century
