IND times

 

 

"Ind Times"

News of Ireland

 

 

I.                        Belfast troubles

A few weeks ago, a new trouble period burst on the North borderland of Ireland. But what are the reasons of such troubles?

 

At first, we can’t ignore the track of the religious conflict. Indeed, since the colonization and the establishment of Protestantism in north Ireland, a lot of troubles and violence have burst between unionists and loyalists who are protestants and between the Catholics

On 3rd  December, the municipality of Belfast took the decision to change the policy of flying the union flag all year round. The Union Flag would only fly 15 days per year. This decision has resulted in many troubles. Indeed, during a loyalist demonstration, 26 policemen have been injured…

 

 

II.                        The Pope’s Resignation. What consequences?

Last Week, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, event which caused the worry in the Irish church. Indeed, Republic Of Ireland is a very catholic country and this unexpected resignation was a shock for the irish population.   Faces to this, a lot of reactions have been collected. Some people welcome the departure of the pope whereas this decision was frowned on by some other people…

The famous Irish newspaper « IRISH TIMES » reacts:

« New Pope. Same church?

Pope Benedict's resignation is the most radical move in  the Catholic Church in 50 years. Could it open the doors to a wider transformation? Don't count on it

So, ironically, Benedict XVI, a pope widely perceived as a safe pair of hands and even more conservative than his predecessor, may have provoked the greatest change in the Catholic Church’s modern history…”

Anyway, the other Catholics countries seem to be less worried about the future of Catholic Church…

 

III.                     Different newspapers, different points of view…

Since 1920, Ireland has been divided in two parts. Northern Ireland is a loyalist, unionist Protestant country whereas southern Ireland is a Nationalist and catholic country and today, we can still see the tensions between them. But how do they do to transmit their point of view? Mainly by the press.

Indeed, in Ireland, you can find a lot of different newspaper which have all diverging points of view. Some of these Newspapers are unionists, like the Belfast telegraph or the daily mail, and will proclaim that south Irish are terrorists and others are nationalist like the Irish times or the United Irishman, and will claim that the northern Irish are Catholics killers etc… So next time you’ll read a newspaper in Ireland just be careful about the source of your document!

 

 

                                        Article written by Henri Hava & Titouan De Gouyon

 

 

 

 

Express remedial class

IRISH GEOGRAPHY

Ireland is composed of a vast central plateau and many coastal mountains. The highest one is Carrautoohil, which rises to 1040 meters. There are also many lakes such as Lough Corrib in County Galway, the largest lake in the Republic of Ireland, and rivers such as the River Shannon, Ireland's longest one, running over 386 km.

 

HISTORY OF IRELAND 

The Irish country has a unique culture inherited from centuries of history.

Indeed, from -500 to 500 Celts occupied the territory, and the country has retained traces of their passage such as menhirs and dolmens. However, Ireland is also centuries of Christianity. As important as the Celtic culture, the Christian religion is has developed greatly since the arrival of St. Patrick and is now omnipresent.

But in reality, there are not one, but two Ireland(s): The Northern Ireland, which is one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, also called EIRE in irish.

Maybe a few history to explain this:

Originally, all Ireland part of the United Kingdom. However, after the crisis of the potato in 1846 and 1848 and the famine that followed, there were many revolts everywhere in Ireland. People demonstrated to claim independence. The United Kingdom granted independence to the southern part of Ireland with the Treaty of London but retains the north, rich and developed. Since that day, there are two Ireland(s).

 

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND ORGANIZATION

 

Its capital is Dublin. The Republic of Ireland is composed of regional divisions (Munster, Leinster and Connacht) themselves divided into counties (Kerry, Cork, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford in Munster, Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Antrim, Down, Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan and Fermanagh for Leinster, Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon for Connacht), each of these counties has its own capital.

 

NORTHERN IRELAND ORGANIZATION

 

Like the Republic of Ireland, the Northern Ireland is organized in regional divisions, but in Northern Ireland, there is just one region called Ulster and 6 counties: Tyrone, Antrim, Derry, Down, Armagh and Fermanagh. Its capital is Belfast.

 

 Let's see if you remember Ireland's counties' and regions' names with this crosswords

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j

 

 

 

1 : EIRE's capital
 

3 : a county in Munster / Other name for Republic of Ireland

5 : a county in Leinster

7 : a county in Leinster

10 : a regional division

 

a :a county in Connacht

c :a county in Leinster

e :a county in Leinster

i : a county in Munster

 

 

                                                                                         By Tom PHILIPPE 2°2