Ireland is the third-largest island in Europe.  To the east of Ireland is Great Britain, separated from it by the Irish Sea.  The island is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island.

Over sixty years of intermittent warfare in the 1500s during the Tudor dynasty led to English dominion after 1603.  In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century.  In 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom.  

The Irish War of Independence in the early 20th century led to the partition of the island, creating the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades.  Northern Ireland remained a part of the United Kingdom and saw much civil unrest during the period called the Troubles which lasted from the late 1960s until the 1990s.  This subsided following a political agreement, the Belfast Agreement, in 1998.

While it ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world today in terms of GDP, Ireland was one of the most impoverished countries in Europe while it was a part of the United Kingdom and for decades following independence.  Economic protectionism was dismantled in the late 1950s and Ireland joined the European Economic Community in 1973.  Economic liberalism from the late 1980s onwards resulted in rapid economic expansion, particularly from 1995 to 2007, which became known as the Celtic Tiger period.  An unprecedented financial crisis beginning in 2008 ended this era of rapid economic growth.

Today, Ireland is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy with an elected president serving as head of state.  It is a "very highly developed" country with the fifth highest Human Development Index.   The country is highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.  Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland, as well as the second largest city on the island of Ireland.  In the 2001 census, the population within the city limits was 276,459, while 579,554 people lived in the wider metropolitan area, making Belfast the fifteenth-largest city in the United Kingdom.

Belfast is a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education and business, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland.  During the Troubles, Belfast suffered much disruption, conflict, and destruction, but has since experienced a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth.  Nonetheless, West Belfast remains segregated by walls that separate Catholic or "Repulican" and Protestant or Loyalist neighborhoods or zones, commonly known as "peace walls", erected by the British Army after August 1969 to keep violence down, and which still divide 14 districts in the inner city.  These zones are invariably marked by are invariably marked by flags, graffiti and murals.

Ethnic minority communities have been in Belfast since the 1930s.  The largest groups are Chinese and Irish travellers.  Since the expansion of the European Union, numbers have been boosted by an influx of Eastern European immigrants.  The 2001 census showed that Belfast has a total ethnic minority population of 4,584 or 1.3% of the population.  Over half of these live in south Belfast, where they comprise 2.63% of the population.

The IRA Ceasefire in 1994 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 have given investors increased confidence to invest in Belfast.  This has led to a period of sustained economic growth and large-scale redevelopment of the city centre.  Der Spiegel, a German weekly magazine for politics and economy, titled Belfast as The New Celtic Tiger which is "open for business".  The Times wrote about Belfast's growing economy:  "According to the region's development agency, throughout the 1990s Northern Ireland had the fastest-growing regional economy in the UK, with GDP increasing 1% per annum faster than the rest of the country.

As with any modern economy, the service sector is vital to Northern Ireland's development and is enjoying excellent growth.  In particular, the region has a booming tourist industry with record levels of visitors and tourist revenues and has also established itself as a significant location for call centres." Since the ending of the regions conflict tourism has boomed in Northern Ireland, greatly aided by low cost.

Dublin

Dublin is the largest city in Ireland and the capital city of the Republic of Ireland.  Dublin is situated near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast.  Originally founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of Dublin and became the island's primary city following the Norman invasion.  The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century, and for a brief period was the second largest city within the British Empire and the fifth largest in Europe.  Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State and later of the Republic of Ireland.

As an alpha global city, Dublin is among the top 30 cities in the world.  It is a historical and contemporary cultural centre for the country, as well as a modern centre of education, the arts, administration, and industry.  Dublin has been at the centre of Ireland's phenomenal economic growth over the last decade (known as the Celtic Tiger period).

Since the advent of the Celtic Tiger years, however, a large number of global pharmaceutical, information and communications technology companies have located in Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area.  For example, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Yahoo!, Facebook and Pfizer (among others) now have European headquarters and/or operational bases in the city.  Banking, finance and commerce are also important in the city.  Guinness has been brewed at the St.  James's Gate Brewery since 1759.

Dublin has a vibrant nightlife and is reputedly one of Europe's most youthful cities, with an estimate of 50% of citizens being younger than 25.  In 2009, Dublin was listed as the fourth-richest city in the world.  It is also listed as the tenth most expensive city in the world in which to live.

The population of the the city was 505,739 in the 2006 census, while the population of the urban area was the metropolitan area was 1.6 million.  The city's population is expanding rapidly, and it is estimated by the CSO that it will reach 2.1 million by 2020.

Since the late 1990s, Dublin has experienced a significant level of net immigration, with the greatest numbers coming from the European Union, especially the United Kingdom, Poland and Lithuania.  There is also a considerable number from outside Europe, particularly China and Nigeria.  Sixty percent of Ireland's Asian population lives in Dublin.