Ireland:A Lifestyle By: Grace Arnold Fáilte go hÉireann

Living Here Ireland has a maritime climate. They mostly have clouds and rain, but they have real warm summers. Having warm summers would help them with the work they do outside. Also having warm summers helps them grow crops and do work on farms. Ireland has a lot of natural resources, which helps them do there jobs that include mining. Essential Question: How is there geography, climate, and natural resources connected to their daily life and/or jobs?

Working Here Essential Question: What does the economic data reveal about their quality of life? Ireland is a developed country. They have a highly diversified economy. The industries they have are: Technology, including computers and computer hard ware and medical devises. Food products: Beef, sheep, pork and potatoes. Machinery: Wood working tools, laundry equipment, tractors and excavators The standard of living in Ireland is comparable to the United States.

The People Here Essential Question: What do we need to know about these people to understand what makes there culture unique? About 88% of the people are Roman Catholic. They speak Irish Gaelic. The Irish people eat 3 meals a day, and sit down as a family at every meal. Meals usually include fresh vegetables, seafood, and dairy. They eat with a fork in the right hand and a knife in the left hand. Literature is a major part of there culture, the country has produced many distinguished writers. (William Butler Yeats, Oscar Wilde, and Bram Stoker.) The main holidays celebrated in Ireland are: Christmas, Easter, New years, St Patricks day, St Stephens day, Labour day, and the Bank holidays.

Ireland Today Essential Question: How has this even effected the U.S? Or how has the U.S affected this event? (summarize one current event.) In 2003, trade between Ireland and the United States was worth around $33 billion, a $4 billion increase over U.S. exports to Ireland were valued at $7.7 billion, an increase of almost $1 billion over Irish exports to the U.S. were worth some $25.7 billion—a 500% increase since U.s foreign direct investment in Ireland has been particularly important to the growth and modernization of Irish industry since 1980, providing new technology, export capabilities, and employment opportunities. The major U.S. investments in Ireland to date have included multi-billion dollar investments by Intel, Dell, Microsoft, IBM, Wyeth Quintiles, Google, EMC, and Abbott Laboratories.