Lesson 3. IRELAND and IRISHNESS. Today you will get acquainted with some historical facts, cultural peculiarities and stereotypes related to Ireland. Most of them due to the peculiarities of the countries’ development will refer to both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. You will learn to better understand this nation and its values.

1. Pronunciation Drill.

Christianity, Celts, Vikings, Roman Catholic, shamrock, leprechauns, the Irish tricolor, The Claddagh, The Easter Rising, the Potato Famine.

2. Read the text and get ready to identify the statements given by the teacher as right or wrong (the red and the blue cards accordingly).

Early history

Ireland has been inhabited for about 8,000 years. Fishermen and hunters first arrived from England in about 6000 BC. In about 300 BC, invaders from Europe known as Celts overran (наводнили) the island. The Celts wiped out (истребили, уничтожили) almost all of the island's earlier inhabitants and established (основали) vast kingdoms.

In the 5th century AD, Christianity spread to the island, mixing with the region's native traditions. The spread of Christianity was greatly helped by the 5th-century figure St. Patrick. He converted (обратил) almost all of the population to Christianity. St. Patrick is still revered (почитаем) as the father of Ireland's Roman Catholic (римско-католический) tradition.

For centuries after the death of St. Patrick, Ireland was peaceful. From the late 8th to the 10th century, however, Vikings [‘ai] invaded parts of the country. The Irish eventually (в конечном счете) defeated (победили) them, but many Vikings remained in settlements (поселения) along the Irish coast.

The English invade

In 1170–1171, English armies invaded (вторглись, захватили) Ireland and conquered (завоевали, подчинили себе) large parts of the country. Despite Irish resistance (сопротивление), many of these Englishmen settled there. England's rulers (правители) also tried to stamp out (искоренить) Roman Catholicism in Ireland.

In the early 1600s, England sent English and Scottish Protestants to settle (поселяться) in northern Ireland. Irish Catholics revolted (восставать) against these settlers in 1641, but the English crushed (подавили) the revolts and imposed (ввели) strict anti-Catholic laws. England's last Catholic king, James II, who ruled from 1685 to 1688, reversed (отменил) some of these policies but was removed from power (был отстранен от власти). By the end of the 17th century, England firmly controlled the island. In 1801 the Act of Union (Акт об унии, Акт об объединении) joined Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom.

Ireland seeks independence

Irish opposition to British rule remained strong through much of the 19th and 20th centuries. On Easter Monday in 1916, a group calling for (требовавшая) independence staged (организовала) an armed uprising (вооружённое восстание) in Dublin. The Easter Rising (Пасхальное восстание), as it came to be known, was crushed (было подавлено), and 15 of the Irish ringleaders (зачинщики) were executed (были казнены).

In 1918, a political group known as Sinn Fein (партия Шинфейн) established an independent Irish Parliament under its leader, Eamon de Valera (/'eɪmən dɛvə’lɛrə/). An armed struggle broke out between the British Army and the newly formed (вновь сформированая) Irish Republican Army. In 1920, the British divided Ireland into northern and southern provinces. In 1921 the southern part of the island became the Irish Free State (Ирландское Свободное Государство), while six counties of northern Ireland remained under British control. In 1937 the Irish Free State established a new constitution though it still had some ties to Britain.

In 1948, the Irish Free State left the British Commonwealth and became the Republic of Ireland. Struggles between England and Ireland over control of Northern Ireland continued until 1973, when Ireland acknowledged (признала) British rule in the north. However, fighting resumed (возобновляться) and continued throughout Northern Ireland. Steps were taken toward peace over the years, but no permanent arrangement was made.

Potato Famine

In 1845, disaster struck Ireland's potatoes and population. A new type of fungus (грибок) - Phytophthora infestons - hit the potato crop (урожай). The new blight (заболевание растений) was fast-acting (стремительно распространялось) and unpredictable (непрогнозируемо, непредсказуемо), and it reduced entire potato crops to rotted compost in a short time.

The blight then goes into remission (идет на спад), only to resurface (зд. вернуться, вспыхнуть снова) in 1846, preventing the sowing of that year's crop. Finally, in 1847, the disease declines long enough for Ireland's agriculture to get back on its feet... almost.

Ireland, already ravaged (опустошенный), is forced to fight another battle with famine (голод). After this round, Ireland's economy is in shambles (в руинах) and the common people are poor. The laboring class (рабочий класс) is, as usual, hardest hit by the famine. Between 1840 and 1911, the population of Ireland decreases from 8,200,000 to a staggering 4,400,000 due to disease, starvation and emigration (particularly to the USA). As many as a quarter-million people left Ireland each year, and the famine-related death counts are confirmed at around 750,000, and estimated at about 1,500,000.

Ireland was also losing money in its foreign affairs; Ireland imported five times the grain that it exported, and much of the grain it produced was sold to the English by profit-hungry landowners (землевладельцы).