Europe · The modern states
Ireland
1937–present
Under Éamon de Valera, a new constitution in 1937 created a sovereign state named Ireland (Éire) with an elected president, succeeding the Irish Free State; the Republic of Ireland Act (1949) formally left the Commonwealth. Ireland remained neutral in World War II ("the Emergency"), joined the EEC in 1973, and transformed from a poor, agrarian, socially conservative Catholic society into the prosperous, socially liberal "Celtic Tiger" and post-crash economy of today.
- Existed
- 1937–present
- Shown on the map
- 1938–2024
- Peak area
- 74k km²
- Region
- Europe
Overview
Under Éamon de Valera, a new constitution in 1937 created a sovereign state named Ireland (Éire) with an elected president, succeeding the Irish Free State; the Republic of Ireland Act (1949) formally left the Commonwealth. Ireland remained neutral in World War II ("the Emergency"), joined the EEC in 1973, and transformed from a poor, agrarian, socially conservative Catholic society into the prosperous, socially liberal "Celtic Tiger" and post-crash economy of today.
Present status (Sept 2026)
parliamentary republic. President Catherine Connolly (independent left), who won the presidential election of 24 October 2025 in a landslide (about 63% of first preferences) and took office on 11 November 2025, succeeding Michael D. Higgins. Taoiseach Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil), who returned to office on 23 January 2025 leading a Fianna Fáil–Fine Gael–independents coalition, with Simon Harris as Tánaiste.
Common questions
- What was Ireland?
- Under Éamon de Valera, a new constitution in 1937 created a sovereign state named Ireland (Éire) with an elected president, succeeding the Irish Free State; the Republic of Ireland Act (1949) formally left the Commonwealth. Ireland remained neutral in World War II ("the Emergency"), joined the EEC in 1973, and transformed from a poor, agrarian, socially conservative Catholic society into the prosperous, socially liberal "Celtic Tiger" and post-crash economy of today.
- When did Ireland exist?
- Ireland existed 1937–present. On this map it is drawn 1938–2024.
- How large was Ireland?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Ireland covered about 74,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- What is the present status of Ireland?
- parliamentary republic. President Catherine Connolly (independent left), who won the presidential election of 24 October 2025 in a landslide (about 63% of first preferences) and took office on 11 November 2025, succeeding Michael D. Higgins.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each state as the primary basis, cross-checked against Encyclopædia Britannica, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the ICTY and the 2004 Wiesel Commission for genocide and atrocity figures, and current news reporting (Reuters, AP, BBC, and others) for 2025–2026 political developments, which should be verified against live sources. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Republic of Ireland en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
See Ireland in its world
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