The
culture of Ireland includes customs and traditions,
language,
music,
art,
literature,
folklore,
cuisine and
sports associated with
Ireland and the
Irish people. For most of its recorded history, Ireland's culture has been primarily
Gaelic (see
Gaelic Ireland). It has also been influenced by Anglo-Norman, English and Scottish culture. The
Anglo-Normans invaded Ireland in the 12th century, while the 16th/17th century
conquest and
colonization of Ireland saw the emergence of the
Anglo-Irish and
Scots-Irish (or Ulster Scots). Today, there are notable cultural differences between those of
Catholic and
Protestant (especially
Ulster Protestant) background, and between
travellers and the settled population.
Due to large-scale emigration from Ireland, Irish culture has a global reach and festivals such as
Saint Patrick's Day,
Halloween, are celebrated all over the world.
[1] Irish culture has to some degree been inherited and modified by the
Irish diaspora, which in turn has influenced the home country.
Though there are many unique aspects of Irish culture, it shares substantial traits with those of Britain, other
English-speaking countries, other predominantly Catholic European countries, and the other
Celtic nations.
Farming and rural tradition
Lough Gur, an early Irish farming settlement
As
archaeological evidence from sites such as the
Céide Fields in
County Mayo and
Lough Gur in
County Limerick
demonstrates, farming in Ireland is an activity that goes back to the
very beginnings of human settlement. In historic times, texts such as
the
Táin Bó Cúailinge
show a society in which cattle represented a primary source of wealth
and status. Little of this had changed by the time of the
Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century.
Giraldus Cambrensis portrayed a Gaelic society in which cattle farming and
transhumance was the norm.
Townlands, villages, parishes and counties
The Normans replaced traditional clan land management (Brehon Law) with the
manorial system of
land tenure and social organisation. This led to the imposition of the village, parish and
county over the native system of
townlands.
In general, a parish was a civil and religious unit with a manor, a
village and a church at its centre. Each parish incorporated one or more
existing townlands into its boundaries. With the gradual extension of
English
feudalism over the island, the Irish county structure came into existence and was completed in 1610.
These structures are still of vital importance in the daily life of
Irish communities. Apart from the religious significance of the parish,
most rural postal addresses consist of house and townland names. The
village and parish are key focal points around which sporting rivalries
and other forms of local identity are built and most people feel a
strong sense of loyalty to their native county, a loyalty which also
often has its clearest expression on the sports field.
Land ownership and land hunger
With the
Elizabethan English
conquest, the
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, and the organised
plantations
of English and Scottish settlers, the patterns of land ownership in
Ireland were altered greatly. The old order of transhumance and open
range cattle breeding died out to be replaced by a structure of great
landed estates, small tenant farmers with more or less precarious hold
on their leases, and a mass of landless labourers. This situation
continued up to the end of the 19th century, when the agitation of the
Land League
began to bring about land reform. In this process of reform, the former
tenants and labourers became land owners, with the great estates being
broken up into small- and medium-sized farms and smallholdings. The
process continued well into the 20th century with the work of the
Irish Land Commission.
This contrasted with Britain, where many of the big estates were left
intact. One consequence of this is the widely recognised cultural
phenomenon of "land hunger" amongst the new class of Irish farmer. In
general, this means that farming families will do almost anything to
retain land ownership within the family unit, with the greatest ambition
possible being the acquisition of additional land. Another is that
hillwalkers
in Ireland today are more constrained than their counterparts in
Britain, as it is more difficult to agree rights of way with so many
small farmers involved on a given route, rather than with just one
landowner.
Holidays and festivals
The majority of the Irish calendar today still reflects the old pagan
customs, with later Christian traditions also having significant
influences. Christmas in Ireland has several local traditions, some in
no way connected with Christianity. On 26 December (
St. Stephen's Day), there is a custom of "
Wrenboys"
[2] who call door to door with an arrangement of assorted material (which changes in different localities) to represent a dead
wren "caught in the furze", as their rhyme goes.
The national holiday in the Republic of Ireland is
Saint Patrick's Day,
that falls on the date 17 March and is marked by parades and festivals
in cities and towns across the island of Ireland, and by the Irish
diaspora around the world. The festival is in remembrance to
Saint Patrick,
the patron saint of Ireland. Pious legend credits Patrick with the
banishing of the snakes from the island, and the legend also credits
Patrick with teaching the Irish about the concept of the
Trinity by showing people the
shamrock, a 3-leaved clover, using it to highlight the Christian
belief of 'three divine persons in the one God'.
In
Northern Ireland on
The Twelfth of July, commemorates
William III's victory at the
Battle of the Boyne
is a public holiday. The holiday is celebrated by Irish Protestants the
vast majority of whom live in Northern Ireland and is notable for the
numerous
parades organized by the
Orange Order which take place throughout Northern Ireland. These parades are colourful affairs with
Orange Banners and sashes on display and include music in the form of traditional songs such as
The Sash and
Derry's Walls performed by a mixture of Pipe, Flute, Accordion, and Brass marching bands.
Brigid's Day (1 February, known as
Imbolc or
Candlemas)
also does not have its origins in Christianity, being instead another
religious observance superimposed at the beginning of spring. The
Brigid's cross
made from rushes But today many materials are used. Any material that
is used for making the cross should ideally be blessed. St. Brigid's day
represents a pre-Christian solar wheel.
Other pre-Christian festivals, whose names survive as Irish month names, are
Bealtaine (May),
Lúnasa (August) and
Samhain (November). The last is still widely observed as
Halloween which is celebrated all over the world, including in the
United States followed by
All Saints' Day, another Christian holiday associated with a traditional one. Important church holidays include Easter, and various
Marian observances.
Religion
St Brigid's Crosses are often made for St Brigid's Day
Shamrocks are often worn on St Patrick's Day
Christianity in the form of both
Roman Catholicism and
Protestantism is the most widely practised religion in Ireland.
[3][4] Christianity was brought to Ireland during or prior to the 5th century
[5] and its early history among the Irish is in particular associated with
Saint Patrick, who is generally considered Ireland's
patron saint.
[6] The Celtic festival of
Samhain, known as
Halloween, originated in Ireland and is now celebrated all over the world.
[7]
Ireland is a place where religion and religious practice have always
been held in high esteem. The majority of people on the island are
Roman Catholics; however, there is a significant minority of
Protestants who are mostly concentrated in
Northern Ireland, where they make up a
plurality of the population. The three main Protestant denominations on the island are the
Church of Ireland, the
Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the
Methodist Church in Ireland. These are also joined by numerous other smaller denominations including
Baptists, several American gospel groups and the
Salvation Army. As well as these Protestant Churches, other minority denominations include
Eastern Orthodox,
Jehovah's Witnesses and
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). In addition to the Christian denominations there are centres for
Buddhists,
Hindus,
Bahais,
Pagans and for people of the
Islamic and
Jewish faiths.
In the
Republic of Ireland, the last time a census asked people to specify their religion was in 2011. The result was 84.16%
Roman Catholic, 2.81%
Church of Ireland (
Anglican), 1.07%
Islam, 0.54%
Presbyterian, 0.9%
Christian, 0.99%
Orthodox,
approximately 2.07% other religious groupings and 5.88% identified as
having no religion. About 1.59% did not state their religious identity.
[8]
Amongst the Republic's Roman Catholics, weekly church attendance
dropped from 87% in 1981 to 60% in 1998, though this remained one of the
highest attendance rates in Europe.
In
Northern Ireland
in 2011, the population was 40.8% Roman Catholic, 19.1% Presbyterian,
13.7% Church of Ireland (Anglican), 3% Methodist, 5.8% other Christian,
0.8% other religion and philosophy, 10.1% with no religion and 6.8%
religion not stated.
[9]
Folklore
The
Leprechaun
has been estimated to figure to a large degree in Irish folklore.
According to the tales, the leprechaun is a mischievous fairy type
creature in emerald green clothing who when not playing tricks spend all
their time busily making shoes, the Leprechaun is said to have a
pot of gold hidden at the end of the
rainbow, and if ever captured by a human it has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchange for release.
[10] More acknowledged and respected in Ireland are the stories of
Fionn mac Cumhaill and his followers, the
Fianna, form the
Fenian cycle. Legend has it he built the
Giant's Causeway
as stepping-stones to Scotland, so as not to get his feet wet; he also
once scooped up part of Ireland to fling it at a rival, but it missed
and landed in the
Irish Sea — the clump became the
Isle of Man and the pebble became
Rockall, the void became
Lough Neagh. The Irish king
Brian Boru who ended the domination of the so-called
High Kingship of Ireland by the
Uí Néill, is part of the historical cycle. The Irish princess
Iseult is the adulterous lover of
Tristan in the
Arthurian romance and tragedy
Tristan and Iseult. The many legends of ancient Ireland were captured by
Lady Gregory in two volumes with forwards by
W.B. Yeats. These stories depict the unusual power and status that Celtic women held in ancient times.
A traditional Irish Halloween turnip lantern
Halloween is a traditional and much celebrated holiday in Ireland on the night of 31 October.
[11] The name
Halloween is first attested in the 16th century as a Scottish shortening of the fuller
All-Hallows-Eve,
[12] and according to some historians it has its roots in the
gaelic festival
Samhain, where the Gaels believed the border between this world and the
otherworld became thin, and the dead would revisit the mortal world.
[13]
In Ireland, traditional Halloween customs include;
Guising — children disguised in
costume going from door to door requesting food or coins – which became practice by the late 19th century,
[14][15] turnips hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns,
[14] holding parties where games such as
apple bobbing are played.
[16] Other practices in Ireland include lighting
bonfires, and having
firework displays.
[17] Mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century popularised Halloween in North America.
[18]
Literature and the arts
For a comparatively small place, the island of Ireland has made a
disproportionate contribution to world literature in all its branches,
in both the Irish and English languages. The island's most widely known
literary works are undoubtedly in English. Particularly famous examples
of such works are those of
James Joyce,
Bram Stoker,
Jonathan Swift,
Oscar Wilde and Ireland's four winners of the
Nobel Prize for Literature;
William Butler Yeats,
George Bernard Shaw,
Samuel Beckett and
Seamus Heaney.
Three of the four Nobel prize winners were born in Dublin (Heaney being
the exception, having lived in Dublin but being born in
County Londonderry), making it the birthplace of more Nobel literary laureates than any other city in the world.
[20] The Irish language has the third oldest literature in Europe (after
Greek and
Latin),
[21] the most significant body of written literature (both ancient and recent) of any
Celtic language, as well as a strong oral tradition of legends and poetry. Poetry in Irish represents the oldest
vernacular poetry in Europe, with the earliest examples dating from the 6th century.
The early history of Irish visual art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as
Newgrange and is traced through
Bronze age artefacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the
Celtic brooches and
illuminated manuscripts of the
"Insular"
Early Medieval period. During the course of the 19th and 20th
centuries, a strong indigenous tradition of painting emerged, including
such figures as
John Butler Yeats,
William Orpen,
Jack Yeats and
Louis le Brocquy.
The Irish tradition of
folk music
and dance is also widely known. In the middle years of the 20th
century, as Irish society was attempting to modernise, traditional
Irish music
fell out of favour to some extent, especially in urban areas. Young
people at this time tended to look to Britain and, particularly, the
United States as models of progress and
jazz and
rock and roll
became extremely popular. During the 1960s, and inspired by the
American folk music movement, there was a revival of interest in the
Irish tradition. This revival was inspired by groups like
The Dubliners, the
Clancy Brothers and
Sweeney's Men and individuals like
Seán Ó Riada. The annual
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is the largest festival of Irish music in Ireland.
Before long, groups and musicians like
Horslips,
Van Morrison and even
Thin Lizzy
were incorporating elements of traditional music into a rock idiom to
form a unique new sound. During the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction
between traditional and rock musicians became blurred, with many
individuals regularly crossing over between these styles of playing as a
matter of course. This trend can be seen more recently in the work of
bands like
U2,
Snow Patrol,
The Cranberries,
The Undertones and
The Corrs.
- Irish Nobel Prize in Literature laureates
Languages
An Irish-language information sign in the
Gaeltacht
Irish
and English are the most widely spoken languages in Ireland. English is
the most widely spoken language on the island overall, and Irish is
spoken as a first language only by a small minority, primarily, though
not exclusively, in the government-defined
Gaeltacht regions in the Republic. A larger minority speak Irish as a second language, with 40.6% of people in the
Republic of Ireland claiming some ability to speak the language in the 2011 census.
[22] Article 8 of the
Constitution of Ireland states that
Irish is the
national and
first official language of the Republic of Ireland.
[23] English in turn is recognised as the State's
second official language.
[23] Hiberno-English, the dialect of English spoken in most of the Republic of Ireland, has been greatly influenced by Irish.
[24]
In contrast
Northern Ireland,
like the rest of the United Kingdom, has no official language. English,
however, is the de facto official language. In addition,
Irish and
Ulster Scots
have recognition under the European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages, with 8.1% claiming some ability in Ulster Scots and 10.7% in
Irish.
[25] In addition, the
dialect and accent
of the people of Northern Ireland is noticeably different from that of
the majority in the Republic of Ireland, being influenced by
Ulster Scots and Northern Ireland's proximity to Scotland.
Several other languages are spoken on the island, including
Shelta, a mixture of Irish,
Romany and English, spoken widely by
Travellers. Two sign languages have also been developed on the island,
Northern Irish Sign Language and
Irish Sign Language.
Some other languages have entered Ireland with immigrants – for example,
Polish is now the second most widely spoken language in Ireland after English, Irish being the third most commonly spoken language.
[26]
Food and drink
Early Ireland
There are many references to food and drink in early Irish literature.
Honey seems to have been widely eaten and used in the making of
mead.
The old stories also contain many references to banquets, although
these may well be greatly exaggerated and provide little insight into
everyday diet. There are also many references to
fulacht fia, which are archaeological sites commonly believed to have once been used for cooking
venison. The
fulacht fia
have holes or troughs in the ground which can be filled with water.
Meat can then be cooked by placing hot stones in the trough until the
water boils. Many
fulach fia sites have been identified across the island of Ireland, and some of them appear to have been in use up to the 17th century.
Excavations at the
Viking settlement in the
Wood Quay
area of Dublin have produced a significant amount of information on the
diet of the inhabitants of the town. The main animals eaten were
cattle, sheep and pigs, with pigs being the most common. This popularity
extended down to modern times in Ireland. Poultry and wild geese as
well as fish and shellfish were also common, as were a wide range of
native berries and nuts, especially
hazel. The seeds of
knotgrass and
goosefoot were widely present and may have been used to make a
porridge.
The potato in Ireland
The potato would appear to have been introduced into Ireland in the
second half of the 16th century, initially as a garden crop. It
eventually came to be the main food field crop of the tenant and
labouring classes. As a food source, the potato is extremely efficient
in terms of energy yielded per unit area of land. The potato is also a
good source of many vitamins and minerals, particularly
vitamin C
(especially when fresh). As a result, the typical 18th- and
19th-century Irish diet of potatoes and buttermilk was a contributing
factor in the population explosion that occurred in Ireland at that
time. However, due to the political rule of the time, the majority of
Irish produce (root crops, cereals and animal produce) was exported to
Britain, leaving few strains of potato as the sole food source for the
Irish. This, along with the spread of potato blight led to shortages and
famine, the most notable instance being the
Great Irish Famine (1845–1849),
which more or less undid all the growth in population of the previous
century. The cause of which was partially due to an adherence to laissez
faire economic policies by the government which kept food exports at
the pre famine level leading to disease and emigration.
[27][28]
Modern times
In the 20th century the usual modern selection of foods common to Western cultures has been adopted in Ireland. Both US
fast-food
culture and continental European dishes have influenced the country,
along with other world dishes introduced in a similar fashion to the
rest of the Western world. Common meals include pizza, curry,
Chinese food, and lately, some west
African dishes
have been making an appearance. Supermarket shelves now contain
ingredients for, among others, traditional, European, American (Mexican/
Tex-Mex), Indian, Polish and Chinese dishes.
The proliferation of fast food has led to increasing public health problems including
obesity, and one of the highest rates of
heart disease in the world.
[29]
Due to the current "anti-meat fad", the government has broadcast
television advertisements to discourage meat consumption. In the
Northern Ireland, the
Ulster fry has been particularly cited as being a major source for a higher incidence of
cardiac problems, quoted as being a
"heart attack on a plate". All the ingredients are
fried, although more recently the trend is to
grill
as many of the ingredients as possible. These advertisements however,
do not explain the health and vigor of native Irish people while eating
their traditional diets high in both fat and meat.
[30]
In tandem with these developments, the last quarter of the century
saw the emergence of a new Irish cuisine based on traditional
ingredients handled in new ways. This cuisine is based on fresh
vegetables, fish, especially
salmon and
trout,
oysters and other shellfish, traditional
soda bread,
the wide range of hand-made cheeses that are now being made across the
country, and, of course, the potato. Traditional dishes, such as the
Irish stew, Dublin
coddle, the
Irish breakfast and
potato bread, have enjoyed a resurgence. Schools like the
Ballymaloe Cookery School have emerged to cater for the associated increased interest in cooking with traditional ingredients.
Pub culture
Pub culture pervades Irish society, across all cultural divides. The term refers to the Irish habit of frequenting
public houses
(pubs) or bars. Traditional pub culture is concerned with more than
just drinking, even though Ireland has a recognised problem with
over-consumption of alcohol. In 2003, Ireland had the second-highest per
capita alcohol consumption in the world, just below Luxembourg at 13.5
litres (per person 15 or more years old), according to the
OECD Health Data 2009 survey.
[31]
According to the latest OECD figures, alcohol consumption in Ireland
has dropped from 11.5 litres per adult in 2012 to 10.6 litres per adult
in 2013. However, misuse of alcohol in Ireland remains a problem with
research showing that in 2013, 75% of alcohol was consumed as part of
binge drinking session.
[32]
Typically pubs are important meeting places, where people can gather
and meet their neighbours and friends in a relaxed atmosphere; similar
to the cafe cultures of other countries. Pubs vary widely according to
the clientele they serve, and the area they are in. Best known, and
loved amongst tourists is the traditional pub, with its
traditional Irish music
(or "trad music"), tavern-like warmness, and memorabilia filling it.
Often such pubs will also serve food, particularly during the day. Many
more modern pubs, not necessarily traditional, still emulate these pubs,
only perhaps substituting traditional music for a DJ or non-traditional
live music.
Many larger pubs in cities eschew such trappings entirely, opting for
loud music, and focusing more on the consumption of drinks, which is
not a focus of traditional Irish culture. Such venues are popular
"pre-clubbing" locations. "
Clubbing" has become a popular phenomenon amongst young people in Ireland during the
celtic tiger
years. Clubs usually vary in terms of the type of music played, and the
target audience. Belfast has a unique underground club scene taking
place in settings such as churches, zoos, and crematoriums.
[33]
A significant recent change to pub culture in the Republic of Ireland has been the introduction of a
smoking ban,
in all workplaces, which includes pubs and restaurants. Ireland was the
first country in the world to implement such a ban which was introduced
on 29 March 2004.
[34]
A majority of the population support the ban, including a significant
percentage of smokers. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in pubs has changed
greatly as a result, and debate continues on whether it has boosted or
lowered sales, although this is often blamed on the ever-increasing
prices, or whether it is a "good thing" or a "bad thing". A similar ban,
under the Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 came into effect in
Northern Ireland on 30 April 2007.
[35][36]
Sport
Sport on the island of Ireland is popular and widespread. Throughout
the island a wide variety of sports are played, the most popular being
Gaelic football,
hurling, soccer,
rugby union and
hockey.
Gaelic football
is the most popular sport in Ireland in terms of match attendance and
community involvement, and represents 34% of total sports attendances at
events in the Republic of Ireland and abroad, followed by
hurling at 23%, soccer at 16% and rugby at 8%.
[37] and the
All-Ireland Football Final is the most watched event in Ireland's sporting calendar.
[38]
Swimming, golf, aerobics, soccer, cycling, Gaelic football and
billiards/snooker are the sporting activities with the highest levels of
playing participation.
[39] Soccer is the most popular sport involving national teams. The success of the Ireland team at the
1990 FIFA World Cup saw 500,000 fans in Dublin to welcome the team home.
[40] The team's song "
Put 'Em Under Pressure" topped the Irish charts for 13 weeks.
[41]
In Ireland many sports, such as rugby union, Gaelic football and
hurling, are organized in an all-island basis, with a single team
representing the island of Ireland in international competitions. Other
sports, such as soccer, have separate organising bodies in
Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland.
Traditionally, those in the North who identify as Irish, predominantly
Catholics and nationalists, support the Republic of Ireland team.
[42] At the Olympics, a person from Northern Ireland can choose to represent either the
Great Britain team or the
Ireland team. Also as Northern Ireland is a
Home Nation of the United Kingdom it also sends a
Northern Ireland Team to the
Commonwealth Games every four years.
Media
Print
In the Republic of Ireland there are several daily newspapers, including the
Irish Independent,
The Irish Examiner,
The Irish Times,
The Star,
The Evening Herald,
Daily Ireland, the
Irish Sun, and the Irish language
Lá Nua. The best selling of these is the Irish Independent, which is published in both
tabloid and
broadsheet form.
The Irish Times is Ireland's
newspaper of record.
The Sunday market is quite saturated with many British publications.
The leading Sunday newspaper in terms of circulation is The
Sunday Independent. Other popular papers include
The Sunday Times,
The Sunday Tribune,
The Sunday Business Post,
Ireland on Sunday and the
Sunday World.
In
Northern Ireland the three main daily newspapers are
The News Letter, which is
Unionist in outlook,
The Irish News, mainly
Nationalist in outlook and the
Belfast Telegraph.
Also widely available are the Northern Irish versions of the main UK
wide daily newspapers and some Scottish dailies such as the
Daily Record.
In terms of Sunday papers the Belfast Telegraph is the only one of
the three main Northern Irish dailies that has a Sunday publication
which is called the Sunday Life. Apart from this all the main UK wide
Sunday papers such as
The Sun on Sunday are widely available as are some Irish papers such as the Sunday world.
There are quite a large number of local weekly newspapers both North
and South, with most counties and large towns having two or more
newspapers. Curiously Dublin remains one of the few places in Ireland
without a major local paper since the
Dublin Evening Mail closed down in the 1960s. In 2004 the
Dublin Daily was launched, but failed to attract enough readers to make it viable.
One major criticism of the Republic of Ireland newspaper market is the strong position
Independent News & Media has on the market. It controls the
Evening Herald,
Irish Independent,
Sunday Independent,
Sunday World and
The Star as well as holding a large stake in the cable company
Chorus, and indirectly controlling
The Sunday Tribune. The
Independent titles are perceived by many
Irish republicans as having a pro-British stance. In parallel to this, the
Independent titles are perceived by many opposition supporters as being pro
Fianna Fáil[citation needed].
The Irish magazine market is one of the world's most competitive,
with hundreds of international magazines available in Ireland, ranging
from
Time and
The Economist to
Hello! and
Reader's Digest. This means that domestic titles find it very hard to retain readership. Among the best-selling Irish magazines are the
RTÉ Guide,
Ireland's Eye,
Irish Tatler,
VIP,
Phoenix and
In Dublin.
Radio
The first known radio transmission In Ireland was a call to arms made from the
General Post Office in O'Connell Street during the
Easter Rising. The first official radio station on the island was
2BE Belfast, which began broadcasting in 1924. This was followed in 1926 by
2RN Dublin and
6CK Cork in 1927. 2BE Belfast later became
BBC Radio Ulster and 2RN Dublin became
RTÉ. The first commercial radio station in the Republic,
Century Radio, came on air in 1989.
During the 1990s and particularly the early 2000s, dozens of local
radio stations have gained licences. This has resulted in a
fragmentation of the radio broadcast market. This trend is most
noticeable in Dublin where there are now 6 private licensed stations in
operation.
Television
Different
television stations are available depending on whether you are in
Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland the
main terrestrial television stations are the main UK wide channels
BBC One,
BBC Two,
ITV,
Channel 4 and
Channel 5. Both the BBC and ITV have local regional programing specific to Northern Ireland produced and broadcast through
BBC Northern Ireland and
UTV.
In terms of Satellite-carried channels in Northern Ireland these are the same as for the rest of the
United Kingdom including all
Sky channels.
In the Republic of Ireland some areas first received signal from
BBC Wales and then latter from
BBC Northern Ireland
when it began broadcasting television programmes in 1959 before RTÉ
Television opened in 1961. Today the Republic's main terrestrial
channels are
RTÉ One,
RTÉ Two,
TV3 which began broadcasting in 1998 and
Teilifís na Gaeilge (TnaG), now called
TG4 which started its Irish language service in 1996.
British and satellite-carried international television channels have widespread audiences in the Republic. The
BBC and
ITV
families of channels are available free to air across the Republic and
there is widespread availability of the four main UK channels (BBC1,
BBC2, ITV1 and Channel Four) but only limited coverage from
Five.
Sky One,
E4, and several hundred satellite channels are widely available. Parts of the Republic can access the UK digital TV system
Freeview.
Film
The
Republic of Ireland Film industry has grown rapidly in recent years thanks largely to the promotion of the sector by
Bord Scannán na hÉireann (The Irish Film Board)
[43] and the introduction of generous tax breaks. Some of the most successful Irish films included
Intermission (2001),
Man About Dog (2004),
Michael Collins (1996),
Angela's Ashes (1999),
My Left Foot (1989),
The Crying Game (1992),
In the Name of the Father (1994) and
The Commitments (1991). The most successful Irish film directors are
Neil Jordan,
John Carney, and
Jim Sheridan. Irish actors include
Richard Harris,
Peter O'Toole,
Maureen O'Hara,
Michael Gambon,
Colm Meaney,
Gabriel Byrne,
Pierce Brosnan,
Liam Neeson,
Daniel Day-Lewis,
Cillian Murphy,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers,
Saoirse Ronan,
Michael Fassbender,
Jamie Dornan and
Colin Farrell.
Ireland has also proved a popular location for shooting films with
The Quiet Man (1952),
Saving Private Ryan (1998),
Braveheart (1995),
King Arthur (2004) and
P.S. I Love You (2007) all being shot in Ireland.
Cultural institutions, organisations and events
The Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin.
Ireland is well supplied with museums and art galleries and offers,
especially during the summer months, a wide range of cultural events.
These range from arts festivals to farming events. The most popular of
these are the annual Dublin Saint Patrick's Day Festival which attracts
on average 500,000 people and the
National Ploughing Championships
with an attendance in the region of 400,000. There are also a number of
Summer Schools on topics from traditional music to literature and the
arts.
Major organisations responsible for funding and promoting Irish culture are:
