Ireland

Ireland is an island in Northern Europe, to the west of Great Britain. It is split into two territories; the independent Republic of Ireland, officially known as Ireland, which covers approximately two thirds of the island and Northern Ireland in the north-east, which is part of the United Kingdom.

Although for many years ruled by the English, and later the British, Ireland joined the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 after the Act of Union. Following unrest during the early 20th century, Ireland proclaimed independence which was quashed by the British government. In 1921, the country was split into two, the Catholic-predominant Southern Ireland and the Protestant-predominant Northern Ireland, although they both remained part of the UK. A year later in 1922, the British and Irish governments settled on the creation of the independent Irish Free State. Originally, the newly-formed state covered the entire island but Northern Ireland exercised its right to rejoin the union a few days after independence. The Free State still kept the monarchy and was a Dominion of the British Empire (with equal status to the likes of Australia and Canada) until 1937, when a new constitution saw a newly-elected head of state replace the King. The British government finally recognised the Irish president as official head of state in 1949.