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History:
Ireland's first settlers arrived about 9,000 years ago as small communities of hunters and gatherers, but the first large settlements only arose in the Neolithic period (around 3,000 BC), and a great many remnants survive of the cultures developed in this period.  These include first and foremost a fascinating range of cairns and other ceremonial graves.  Not least of these are the great megalithic tombs of the Boyne Valley (Newgrange), which are truly unique monuments of European history. Newgrange, which pre-dates the pyramids of Giza, is astonishingly sophisticated in its architectural structure and artistic expression, and is a must on any visit to Ireland.

One of the characteristics of the Irish for many generations has been the devout respect which they have accorded the relics of the past.  It is largely thanks to this respect, that so much has been preserved from long extinct historical eras.

The Bronze and Iron Ages left a rich heritage of dwellings of an abundance and fascination rare in modern Europe.  There are no fewer than 120 dolmens to be found, and the remains of nearly 20,000 Celtic 'ring forts', some in an almost perfect state of preservation, dot the countryside. The Celts dominated the island around the time of Christ.  They reinterpreted the remains of the past, and their mythology is still amazingly alive in many colorful epics that relate the story of the countryside.  The 'Golden Age' of Irish Celtic civilization is without doubt that of the early Christian period, from the 5th to the 8th centuries.  At this time Irish influence spread throughout Europe, bringing literacy and Christianity to many areas of Central Europe.  This Golden Age came to an end with the attacks by the Vikings in the 8th and 9th centuries, and the Norman invasions which succeeded soon after. By the 14th century Ireland had settled down as a mixed Gaelic-Norman society, however, and was counted among the leading nations of Europe.

Gaelic Ireland declined thereafter, and the period from 1600 was one characterized by a process of dispossession and colonization.  For the native population this was a catastrophic period, reaching its zenith with the Great Famine of the 1840s.  On the other hand, the settled colony of English and Scottish 'planters' developed a vibrant economy and culture in the East and North.  By the end of the 18th century Dublin featured as the second great city of the British Empire, reflected in its magnificent Georgian architecture and vigorous cultural life.  In the 19th century, Belfast emerged as a vibrant industrial and commercial city.

In the late 19th century, the twin issues of land reform and a desire for political self-rule led to the emergence of an independence movement in the South of the country.  An independent Free State emerged from a bitter war of independence in 1922.  The majority Protestant population in the North resisted this development and succeeded in retaining Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom (UK).

Ireland Today:
An extraordinary economic transformation has occurred in Ireland over the last decade, and evidence of this will greet the visitor at every turn.  The economy is now one of the most modern and high-tech in Europe, illustrated by the fact that Ireland is now the leading exporter of software in the world.  This is all a far cry from the 1980s, when unemployment soared to 20% and the old scourge of emigration saw over 50,000 mostly young people leave the country every year.  Today there is a palpable confidence in the people and this is reflected in the unique bustle and hum of Irish towns.  The youth of the population - nearly half the population is under 30 years of age - and the liveliness of Irish towns is a regular source of amazement to the foreign visitor.

Geography:
The geography of Ireland is extraordinarily varied over such a small territory.  The West and North West are characterized by the rugged silver-gray Granite Mountains ranging along the coast.  The South of the island, on the other hand, is dominated by the red Sandstone Mountains of Cork and Kerry, monolithic and brown. Between these two great formations on the Western coast is the strange limestone plateau of the Burren, with its bright grays, blues and greens.  The highest mountains today are those found in the Southwest, and though they only are over 1,000 meters high, their impact is that of much greater ranges. There are mountainous areas in the East too, particularly in Counties Down and Wicklow, and a basalt plateau covers much of the Northeast.  The center of the country, with the exception of small ranges in Tipperary and around the Southern Shannon, is characterised by lush green rolling countryside.  The legacy of the last Ice Age is a country of rugged bare mountains, hanging lakes, glacial valleys and the hilly landscapes of the centre of the island.

Another striking feature of Ireland's geography is the extent of peat bog - which covers nearly a fifth of the entire country.  These bogs often present very dramatic landscapes, with strangely shaped trees standing amongst multi-toned patterns of brown and purple.  The turf, a legacy of the rapid warming of the country following the last Ice Age, is still widely worked. The lack of forest cover in Ireland is also immediately noticeable.  Although Ireland's sparse woodlands cover just 6% of the land compared to Germany, for example, where forest cover is nearly 25%, primeval forests can still be found, consisting of ancient oak and the great Scots Pine. Most forests are more recent, mainly of Sitka spruce.

Ireland's regions:
Though different historical paths have shaped the culture and identity of the two states on the island of Ireland, there is much they have in common.  It is regional identities that are flourishing, and in Ireland differences between North and South are not more obviously greater than those between the East and West of the island. Societies North and South share the same environmental conditions, a common language, and much in popular culture, musical tastes and sporting enthusiasms.  In touring the island, it is the continuities across borders as much as the peculiarities of different regions and localities which will strike the visitor.