Ireland

Ireland is situated on the British Isles. Republic of Ireland has transformed itself from a largely agricultural society into a modern, technologically advanced Celtic Tiger economy after joining the European Union (EU) in 1973. Agricultural lowlands make up most of the interior, which is broken in places by low hills and includes considerable areas of bogs and lakes. There are coastal mountains to the west, rising to over 1 000m in places. Nearly a third of the population lives in Dublin, the capital of Ireland.

During the late 19th century a movement for Irish independence gathered momentum, and after a bitter war the United Kingdom agreed to partition the island. In 1921 the northeastern portion of Ireland became Northern Ireland, a province of the United Kingdom. The remainder of Ireland became self-governing in 1922 with the establishment of the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Ireland is governed under a constitution adopted in 1937 that provides for a president, a prime minister, and a bicameral (two-chamber) national parliament. The president of Ireland is the head of state and is elected by direct popular vote for a seven-year term. The president has little executive power, but he or she represents Ireland at official state functions. In addition, the president signs and promulgates all laws passed by the legislature. Under certain circumstances, the president can submit a legislative bill to the people in a referendum or ask the Irish Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of a bill.