Southern Ireland's flag

SOUTHERN IRELAND – ÉIRE

INTRODUCTION

Southern Ireland in green

The Republic of Ireland, known also as Éire (in Irish), is a state in Europe which occupies five-sixths of the Ireland island, with a population reaching 4,6 million in 2011. The capital of Southern Ireland is Dublin. Although Southern Ireland is considered a small country, it has made an enormous contribution to the world, in terms of arts, music, literature, sports and many more. Arts has roots that go centuries back, just like music and literature. Both with highly Celtic influence at its beginnings. Later, the influences of other cultures play a major role, but the celtic-style was never lost. Economy, demographics and education in Southern Ireland are topics mentioned in this work. Traditions, myths and legends, cousine and sports can also be found with an enormous celtic root. But in this case, their expansion throughout the world has been bigger.

Newgrange

Book of Horus.
Iluminated manuscript

High Cross Sculpture

Arts and music in Southern Ireland

ARTS AND MUSIC IN SOUTHERN IRELAND

For a small country, Ireland has made an enormous contribution to the world in terms of arts and music, which shall be explained in this post. 

The early history of Irish visual art begins with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and Bronze Age artefacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, Celtic brooches and illuminated manuscripts. During the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, a strong indigenous tradition of painting emerged, including figures such as John Butler Yeats, William Orpen, Jack Yeats and Louis le Brocquy.

The Irish tradition of folk music is also widely known. In the middle years of the 20th century, young people 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.