Ireland

:This page is about the island of Ireland. For the political territories on the island, see Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the History section below.

Demographics

Ireland has been inhabited for at least 9000 years, although little is known about the neolithic inhabitants of the island. Early historical and genealogical records note the existance of dozens of different peoples (Attacotti, Conmaicne, Éoganacht, Éoganacht, Érainn, Soghain, to name but a few).

Related Topics:
Neolithic - Attacotti - Conmaicne - Éoganacht - Érainn - Soghain

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over the last 1000 years, there have been influences by the Vikings, who founded several ports, including Dublin, and Normans, with significant admixture to the gene pool. However the greater part of the Irish population descends from the original inhabitants of the island who came after the end of the Ice Age.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Contrary to popular opinion, the Irish are not descendants of the Celts, being much more closely akin to the Basques (as are much of the population of Great Britain, including England).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ireland's largest religious denomination is Roman Catholicism (about 70%), and most of the rest of the population adhere to one of the various Protestant denominations. The largest is the Church of Ireland. The Irish Muslim community is growing, mostly through increased immigration (see Islam in Ireland). The island also has a small Jewish community, although this has declined somewhat in recent years. Since joining the EU in 2004, Polish people have been the largest source of immigrants from Eastern Europe, followed by other migrants from Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Latvia.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholicism - Protestant - Church of Ireland - Muslim - Islam in Ireland - Jewish community - Polish - Eastern Europe - Lithuania - Czech Republic - Latvia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ireland has also had large numbers of Romanians entering the country since the 1990s. A high standard of living, high wages and EU citizenship attract many of the migrants from the newest of the European Union countries. Nigerians, Chinese and people from other African countries also make up a large proportion of migrants to Ireland.

Related Topics:
Romania - Nigerian - Chinese - Africa

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~