1.
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
2.
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%
3.
Abbey Theatre
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The Abbey Theatre, also known as the National Theatre of Ireland, in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day. The Abbey was the first state-subsidized theatre in the English-speaking world, since July 1966, the Abbey has been located at 26 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1. In its early years, the theatre was associated with the writers of the Irish Literary Revival, many of whom were involved in its founding. The Abbey served as a nursery for many of the leading Irish playwrights and actors of the 20th century, including William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, Seán OCasey and John Millington Synge. In addition, through its programme of touring abroad and its high visibility to foreign, particularly American, audiences. The Abbey arose from three bases, the first of which was the seminal Irish Literary Theatre. Founded by Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and W. B, Yeats in 1899—with assistance from George Moore—it presented plays in the Antient Concert Rooms and the Gaiety Theatre, which brought critical approval but limited public interest. The second base involved the work of two Dublin directors, William and Frank Fay, William worked in the 1890s with a touring company in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, while his brother Frank was involved in amateur dramatics in Dublin. In April 1902, the Fays gave three performances of Æs play Deirdre and Yeats Cathleen Ní Houlihan in a hall in St Theresas Hall on Clarendon Street, the performances played to a mainly working-class audience rather than the usual middle-class Dublin theatregoers. The run was a success, thanks in part to the beauty and force of Maud Gonne. The company continued at the Antient Concert Rooms, producing works by Seumas OCuisin, Fred Ryan, the third base was financial support and experience of Annie Horniman. Horniman was a middle-class Englishwoman with previous experience of production, having been involved in the presentation of George Bernard Shaws Arms. She came to Dublin in 1903 to act as Yeats unpaid secretary and her money helped found the Abbey Theatre and, according to the critic Adrian Frazier, would make the rich feel at home, and the poor—on a first visit—out of place. Encouraged by the St Theresas Hall success, Yeats, Lady Gregory, Æ, Martyn and they were joined by actors and playwrights from Fays company. At first, they staged performances in the Molesworth Hall, on 11 May 1904, the society formally accepted Hornimans offer of the use of the building. As Horniman did not usually reside in Ireland, the letters patent required were granted in the name of Lady Gregory. The founders appointed William Fay theatre manager, responsible for training the actors in the newly established repertory company
4.
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
5.
Culture of Ireland
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The culture of Ireland includes customs and traditions, language, music, art, literature, folklore, cuisine and sports associated with Ireland and the Irish people. For most of its history, Irelands culture has been primarily Gaelic. It has also influenced by Anglo-Norman, English and Scottish culture. The Anglo-Normans invaded Ireland in the 12th century, while the 16th/17th century conquest, today, there are notable cultural differences between those of Catholic and Protestant background, and between travellers and the settled population. Due to large-scale emigration from Ireland, Irish culture has a reach and festivals such as Saint Patricks Day. Irish culture has to some degree been inherited and modified by the Irish diaspora, in historic times, texts such as the Táin Bó Cúailinge show a society in which cattle represented a primary source of wealth and status. Little of this had changed by the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, giraldus Cambrensis portrayed a Gaelic society in which cattle farming and transhumance was the norm. The Normans replaced traditional clan land management with the system of land tenure. This led to the imposition of the village, parish and county over the system of townlands. In general, a parish was a civil and religious unit with a manor, a village, each parish incorporated one or more existing townlands into its boundaries. With the gradual extension of English feudalism over the island, the Irish county structure came into existence and was completed in 1610 and these structures are still of vital importance in the daily life of Irish communities. Apart from the significance of the parish, most rural postal addresses consist of house. This situation continued up to the end of the 19th century, in this process of reform, the former tenants and labourers became land owners, with the great estates being broken up into small- and medium-sized farms and smallholdings. The process continued well into the 20th century with the work of the Irish Land Commission and this contrasted with Britain, where many of the big estates were left intact. One consequence of this is the widely recognised cultural phenomenon of land hunger amongst the new class of Irish farmer. In general, this means that families will do almost anything to retain land ownership within the family unit. The majority of the Irish calendar today still reflects the old pagan customs, christmas in Ireland has several local traditions, some in no way connected with Christianity. On 26 December, there is a custom of Wrenboys who call door to door with an arrangement of assorted material to represent a dead wren caught in the furze, the festival is in remembrance to Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland
6.
Culture of Northern Ireland
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The culture of Northern Ireland relates to the traditions of Northern Ireland. Elements of the culture of Ulster and the culture of the United Kingdom are to be found, since 1998, the Ulster Museum, Armagh Museum, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and the Ulster American Folk Park have been administered by the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland. The best known dish in Northern Ireland is the Ulster fry. Two other popular meals are fish and chips or Bangers and Mash A unique speciality to Northern Ireland is Yellowman, dulse is commonly used in Ireland, where it can be used to make white soda bread. It can be found in health food stores or fish markets. It is also sold at the Ould Lammas Fair. It is particularly popular along the Causeway Coast, although a fast-dying tradition, many gather their own dulse. Along the Ulster coastline from County Down to County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, english is the most spoken language in Northern Ireland. There are also two recognised regional languages in Northern Ireland, the Irish language and the variety of Scots known as Ulster Scots. Northern Ireland Sign Language and Irish Sign Language have been recognised since 29 March 2004, a third, British Sign Language is also used. At the 2001 census, Chinese was the most widely spoken minority language in Northern Ireland, with Shelta, Arabic, since the census, however, an influx of people from recent EU accession states is likely to have significantly increased numbers of speakers of languages from these countries. Detailed figures on these changes are not yet available, some team sports are played on an all-Ireland basis, while in others Northern Ireland fields its own team. Irish language literature was the predominant literature in the pre-Plantation period, the Ulster Cycle is pertinent to the history of literature in the territory of present-day Northern Ireland. Ulster Scots literature first followed models from Scotland, with the weavers, such as James Orr. Writers in the counties which now form Northern Ireland participated in the Gaelic Revival, John Brown Ciarán Carson Mairtín Crawford Brian Friel Seamus Heaney John Hewitt C. S. Down, is creator of popular Vertigo series Preacher Terry George, born in Co. Down, director of Hotel Rwanda John Kindness, Painter and Sculptor Sir John Lavery, neil Shawcross, painter Paul Seawright, Photographer & Professor at the University of Ulster Victor Sloan, MBE, Photographer Sir Hans Sloane, Born in Killyleagh, Co. Among the works it has supported is the 2011 HBO television series Game of Thrones, Belfast hosts the Belfast Film Festival and the CineMagic film festival, as well as several independent cinemas including Queens Film Theatre and Strand Cinema. It is organised by Craft Northern Ireland, traditional songs commonly associated with Northern Ireland, and Belfast in particular would be Ill Tell Me Ma and Mickey Marleys Roundabout
7.
Letters patent
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Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations or government offices, or for the granting of city status or a coat of arms. Letters patent are issued for the appointment of representatives of the Crown, such as governors and governors-general of Commonwealth realms, in the United Kingdom they are also issued for the creation of peers of the realm. A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern patent granting exclusive rights in an invention. e, the opposite of letters patent are letters close, which are personal in nature and sealed so that only the recipient can read their contents. Letters patent are thus comparable to other kinds of open letter in that their audience is wide, letters patent are so named from the Latin verb pateo, to lie open, exposed, accessible. The originators seal was attached pendent from the document, so that it did not have to be broken in order for the document to be read. Thus letters patent do not equate to a letter but rather to any form of document, deed, contract, letter, despatch, edict, decree. Letters patent are a form of open or public proclamation and an exercise of extra-parliamentary power by a monarch or president. Prior to the establishment of Parliament, the monarch ruled absolutely by the issuing of his written orders. They can thus be contrasted with the Act of Parliament, which is in effect an order by Parliament. No explicit government approval is contained within letters patent, only the seal or signature of the monarch, in their original form they were simply written instructions or orders from the sovereign, whose order was law, which were made public to reinforce their effect. According to the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice, there are 92 different types of letters patent. The Patent Rolls are made up of copies of English royal letters patent. In 1634, during the Thirty Years War, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II became convinced that his general Albrecht von Wallenstein was plotting treason, on 24 January 1634 the Emperor signed a secret patent removing him from his command. Finally an open patent, charging Wallenstein with high treason, was signed on 18 February, in the patent, Ferdinand II ordered to have Wallenstein brought under arrest to Vienna, dead or alive. On the basis of patent, several of Wallensteins officers assassinated him and were rewarded by the Emperor. The form of patent for creating peerages has been fixed by the Crown Office Order 1992. Part III of the schedule lays down nine pro forma texts for creating various ranks of the peerage, lords of appeal in ordinary, gender-specific differences are highlighted in italics. In Commonwealth realms, letters patent are issued under the powers of the head of state
8.
Theatre Royal, Dublin
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Over the centuries, there have been four theatres in Dublin called the Theatre Royal. Many such theatres had other names, the first Theatre Royal was opened by John Ogilby in 1662 in Smock Alley. Ogilby, who was the first Irish Master of the Revels, had run the New Theatre in Werburgh Street. This was the first custom-built theatre in the city and it opened in 1637 but was closed by the Puritans in 1641. The Restoration of the monarchy in Ireland in 1661 enabled Ogilby to resume his position as Master of the Revels and this Theatre Royal was essentially under the control of the administration in Dublin Castle and staged mainly pro-Stuart works and Shakespearean classics. In the 18th century, the theatre was managed for a time by the actor-manager Thomas Sheridan, father of playwright, Thomas Sheridan managed to attract major stars of the London stage, including David Garrick and the Dublin-born Peg Woffington. Charlotte Melmoth, later to become The Grande Dame of Tragedy on the American Stage began her career at Smock Alley. The theatre was knocked down and rebuilt in 1735 and closed in 1787, the building saw many different uses in the course of its history. In 1811, after the closure of two churches, it became the Church of St. Michael and St. Johns. In 2012, Smock Alley Theatre was reopened and now offers a range of theatrical and musical events. The reinstated theatre is now home to the Gaiety School of Acting, in 1820, Henry Harris bought a site in Hawkins Street and built the 2, 000-seater Albany New Theatre on it at a cost of £50,000, designed by architect Samuel Beazley. This theatre opened in January of the following year, in August, George IV attended a performance at the Albany and, as a consequence, a patent was granted. The name of the theatre was changed to the Theatre Royal to reflect its status as a patent theatre, the building work was not completed at the time of opening and early audience figures were so low that a number of side seating boxes were boarded up. Wellesleys overreaction, including charging three rioters with attempted murder, undermined his own credibility, in 1830, Harris retired from the theatre and a Mr Calcraft took on the lease. This theatre attracted a number of performers, including Paganini, Jenny Lind, Tyrone Power. By 1851, the theatre was experiencing problems and closed briefly. It reopened in December under John Harris, who had been manager of the rival Queens Theatre, the first production under Harris was a play by Dion Boucicault. Boucicault and his wife were to make their first Dublin personal appearances in the Royal in 1861 in his The Colleen Bawn
9.
Project Arts Centre
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Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts theatre, dance, music and performance. Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm OBriain in 1967 after a festival at the Gate Theatre in 1966. Project Arts Centre was the first such centre in Ireland. The Centre had several homes before it opened for business in a factory on East Essex Street in 1975. The centre has been a venue for many of the performing arts festivals including Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Writers Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival. Since the Irish recession there has been an emphasis on cross cultural productions
10.
Aldborough House
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Aldborough House is a landmark Georgian building in Dublin, Ireland. Built as a residence in 1796, it was used for periods as a school, barracks and post office depot. While vacant the building was subject to vandalism and a fire, the house was commissioned by Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, and the bulk of the structure completed by 1796. Though the foundation had been laid down in 1792, the house was not fully completed by 1798. Edward Stratford died in 1801, and the house remained uninhabited between 1802 and 1813, in 1813, Professor Gregor von Feinaigle leased the building and opened it as a school. To support its use for education, the house was extended to include large classrooms, prof Von Feiangle died in 1819 and by 1830 the school had closed. It was acquired by the Government in 1843, and used as a barracks during the Crimean War. From the late 19th century it was used as the department of the Post Office. The Commissioners of Public Works made alterations to support this purpose in the late 1890s, the house remained in the ownership if the Department for Posts and Telegraphs through the 20th century. Telecom Éireann was replaced by Eircom in 1999, and the Aldborough House site was put up for sale at that time. A number of prospective buyers were identified, with the passing through the hands of the Irish Music Rights Organisation before being sold to a development company in 2005. The house remained uninhabited and undeveloped for some years after the sale, following the theft of lead from the roof, water damage required emergency repair works - funded part by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and part by Dublin City Council. In 2013 a suspected arson attack caused further damage, as of January 2016, the future of the building remains in question, and An Taisce listed the structure as being in very poor condition and at critical risk level
