Ireland

SHORT INFORMATION

Religion in the Republic of Ireland

The predominant religion in Ireland is Christianity, with the largest church being the Roman Catholic Church. Ireland's constitution states that the state may not endorse any particular religion and guarantees freedom of religion.

HOLIDAYS AND TRADITIONS

Culture of Ireland

For a comparatively small country, 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.

FOOD AND BEVERAGES

Irish Tea, Ireland's National Beverage

Irish tea just might be the national beverage of Ireland. Believe it or not, the Irish drink more tea per capita than any other country in the world. There are over 4 million people in Ireland and 3 million are tea drinkers. The average Irishman or Irishwoman drinks about 4 to 6 cups a day.