Irish History and Politics

History And Politics

268 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

All 268 questions

  1. Complete the sentence about Irish Free State with the correct year: As per the 6 December ______ Constitution of the Irish Free State, the new state was called the Irish Free State and became a Domini…
  2. Complete the sentence about Irish Free State with the correct year: The Civil War ended in victory for the government forces, with its opponents dumping their arms in May ______.
  3. Complete the sentence with the correct year: In ______, he drafted a new constitution, which was adopted by a plebiscite in July of that year.
  4. Complete the sentence about Irish Free State with the correct year: The Free State came to an end with the coming into force of the new constitution on 29 December ______, when the state took the name…
  5. Complete the sentence about Partition of Ireland with the correct year: The Irish republican political party Sinn Féin won most Irish constituencies in the ______ Westminster election.
  6. Complete the sentence about Partition of Ireland with the correct year: Following the ______ elections, Ulster unionists formed a Northern Ireland government.
  7. Complete the sentence about Partition of Ireland with the correct year: In the first half of ______, the IRA launched a failed "Northern Offensive" into border areas of Northern Ireland.
  8. Complete the sentence about Government of Ireland Act 1920 with the correct year: The conflict resulted in the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December ______.
  9. Complete the sentence about Government of Ireland Act 1920 with the correct year: Sinn Féin, standing for 'an independent sovereign Ireland', won 73 of the 105 parliamentary seats on the island in the…
  10. Complete the sentence about Government of Ireland Act 1920 with the correct year: Therefore, the elected Sinn Féin representatives did not vote on the Government of Ireland Act ______.
  11. Complete the sentence about Northern Ireland with the correct year: Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17.2% in ______, but dropped back down to below 10% in the 2010s, similar to the rate of…
  12. Complete the sentence about Northern Ireland with the correct year: In ______, Ireland was invaded by Anglo-Norman forces under the English crown, initiating centuries of foreign dominance.
  13. Complete the sentence about The Emergency with the correct year: On 6 December ______, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the War of Independence, the island of Ireland became an autonomous d…
  14. Complete the sentence about The Emergency with the correct year: In ______, de Valera introduced a new constitution, which distanced the state further from the United Kingdom, and which changed its na…
  15. Complete the sentence about Republic of Ireland Act 1948 with the correct year: Costello, the Taoiseach whose government introduced the Act, believed that Ireland did not have a King and had not been…
  16. Complete the sentence about Republic of Ireland Act 1948 with the correct year: After all, in their view, the King was still empowered by Ireland to fulfill certain functions as Ireland's statutory ag…
  17. Complete the sentence about Republic of Ireland Act 1948 with the correct year: In ______, when asked if he planned to declare a republic, the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera had replied, "we are a republic…
  18. Complete the sentence about Seán Lemass with the correct year: Lemass was born at Norwood Lodge, Ballybrack, Dublin on 15 July ______, the second of seven children born to John T.
  19. Complete the sentence about Seán Lemass with the correct year: Alphonsus and Columba Roman Catholic Church, Killiney, six days later, on 21 July ______.
  20. Complete the sentence about Seán Lemass with the correct year: Within the family his name soon changed to Jack and eventually, after ______, he himself preferred to be called Seán.
  21. Complete the sentence about Seán Lemass with the correct year: In January ______, Lemass was persuaded to join the Irish Volunteers.
  22. Complete the sentence about Jack Lynch with the correct year: John Mary Lynch was born on 15 August ______, in Shandon, on the north side of Cork, and grew up in the nearby area of Blackpool.
  23. Complete the sentence about Charles Haughey with the correct year: A dynamic and reforming figure, he was made Minister for Finance by Jack Lynch in ______.
  24. Complete the sentence about Charles Haughey with the correct year: After a period on the backbenches, he returned to the cabinet in ______ as Minister for Health and Social Welfare.
  25. Complete the sentence about Charles Haughey with the correct year: Following Jack Lynch's retirement, Haughey was narrowly and unexpectedly elected leader of Fianna Fáil in ______, defeating George Co…
  26. Complete the sentence about Charles Haughey with the correct year: After losing the ______ election to a coalition led by Garret FitzGerald, Fianna Fáil spent eight months in opposition before returni…
  27. Complete the sentence about Garret FitzGerald with the correct year: Garret FitzGerald was born in Ballsbridge, Dublin, in ______, son of Desmond FitzGerald and Mabel McConnell.
  28. Complete the sentence about Garret FitzGerald with the correct year: The party was formed to support the Anglo-Irish Treaty of ______, which created the Irish Free State.
  29. Complete the sentence about Bertie Ahern with the correct year: Ahern's father Con was born into a farming family near Ballyfeard, which is located near Kinsale, County Cork, in ______.
  30. Complete the sentence about Bertie Ahern with the correct year: Ahern first became involved in a Fianna Fáil by-election campaign in ______, climbing lamp posts to hang election posters in Drumcondra.
  31. Complete the sentence about Brian Cowen with the correct year: In ______, the Irish Independent called Cowen the "worst Taoiseach in the history of the State".
  32. Complete the sentence about Brian Cowen with the correct year: Brian Cowen was born to a Catholic family, in Tullamore, County Offaly, on 10 January ______.
  33. Complete the sentence about Enda Kenny with the correct year: Kenny was exposed to politics from an early age, following his father Henry Kenny becoming a Fine Gael TD in ______.
  34. Complete the sentence about Leo Varadkar with the correct year: During the campaign for the ______ same-sex marriage referendum, he came out as gay, the first serving Irish minister to do so.
  35. Complete the sentence about Micheál Martin with the correct year: In ______, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann for Cork South-Central, a seat he has represented ever since.
  36. Complete the sentence about Micheál Martin with the correct year: After the victory of Fianna Fáil at the ______ general election, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appointed Martin to cabinet as Minister for Ed…
  37. Complete the sentence about Micheál Martin with the correct year: In ______, Martin was appointed Minister for Health and Children.
  38. Complete the sentence about Mary Robinson with the correct year: After leaving the United Nations, Robinson formed Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative, which came to a planned end a…
  39. Complete the sentence about Mary Robinson with the correct year: Born in Ballina, County Mayo in ______, she is the daughter of two medical doctors.
  40. Complete the sentence about Mary McAleese with the correct year: McAleese was first elected as president in ______, having received the nomination of Fianna Fáil.
  41. Complete the sentence about Mary McAleese with the correct year: In ______, she became the first female pro-vice-chancellor of Queen's University.
  42. Complete the sentence about Mary McAleese with the correct year: In ______, she married Martin McAleese, an accountant and dentist.
  43. Complete the sentence about Michael D. Higgins with the correct year: Higgins was elected president of Ireland in ______ after being nominated by the Labour Party.
  44. Complete the sentence about Michael D. Higgins with the correct year: Michael Daniel Higgins was born on 18 April ______ in Limerick.
  45. Complete the sentence about Michael D. Higgins with the correct year: In ______, Higgins graduated from the American Indiana University Bloomington with a Master of Arts degree in sociology.
  46. Complete the sentence about Michael D. Higgins with the correct year: Higgins originally joined Fianna Fáil in UCG while a mature student and was elected its branch chairman in ______; he switched to…
  47. Complete the sentence about Labour Party with the correct year: O'Carroll was shot by John Bowen-Colthurst and died several days later, on 5 May ______.
  48. Complete the sentence about Labour Party with the correct year: The ICA was revived during Peadar O'Donnell's Republican Congress but after the ______ split in the Congress most ICA members joined the…
  49. Complete the sentence about Green Party with the correct year: The Green Party began life as the Ecology Party in ______, with Christopher Fettes serving as the party's first chairperson.
  50. Complete the sentence about Oireachtas with the correct year: The next legislature to exist in Ireland came into being in ______.
  51. Complete the sentence about Taoiseach with the correct year: The Irish word taoiseach means "chief" or "leader", and was adopted in the ______ Constitution of Ireland as the title of the "head of the…
  52. Complete the sentence about President of Ireland with the correct year: The presidency was established by the Constitution of Ireland in ______.
  53. Complete the sentence about Politics of the Republic of Ireland with the correct year: All governments since ______ have been led by one or the other party, with Fianna Fáil having had sufficient supp…
  54. Complete the sentence about Politics of the Republic of Ireland with the correct year: According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, Ireland was the 3rd most electoral democratic country in the world in _…
  55. Complete the sentence about Irish Defence Forces with the correct year: The Irish Defence Forces trace their origins to the Irish Volunteers, founded in ______.
  56. Complete the sentence about Irish Defence Forces with the correct year: The Irish Volunteers were central to the Easter Rising staged in April ______.
  57. Complete the sentence about Irish Defence Forces with the correct year: From ______ onwards, the IRA waged a guerrilla campaign against British rule in Ireland that is now known as the War of Independ…
  58. Complete the sentence about Irish Defence Forces with the correct year: A truce in July ______ brought hostilities to an end; the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on 6 December.
  59. Complete the sentence with the correct year: The Provisional Government was then constituted on 14 January ______.
  60. Complete the sentence about Garda Síochána with the correct year: Since the formation of the Garda Síochána in ______, it has been a predominantly unarmed force, and more than three-quarters of the se…
  61. Complete the sentence about Garda Síochána with the correct year: The service was originally named the Civic Guard in English, but in ______ it became the Garda Síochána in both English and Irish.
  62. Complete the sentence about Garda Síochána with the correct year: In August ______ the force accompanied Michael Collins when he met the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin Castle.
  63. Complete the sentence about Garda Síochána with the correct year: The seven-week Civic Guard Mutiny began in May ______, when Garda recruits took over the Kildare Depot.
  64. Complete the sentence about Ireland and the European Union with the correct year: Ireland was not invited to join the United Nations when it was formed in ______.
  65. Complete the sentence about Ireland and the European Union with the correct year: Ireland applied in ______ and the US and UK voted approval, but the Soviet Union vetoed it.
  66. Complete the sentence about Ireland and the European Union with the correct year: In ______ it began the Irish Aid programme to provide assistance to developing countries.
  67. Complete the sentence about Ireland and the European Union with the correct year: In ______ it established the Irish Institute of International and European Affairs to conduct research and analysis on…
  68. Complete the sentence about Ireland and the European Union with the correct year: In ______ the Irish Refugee Council began as a humanitarian advocate for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in…
  69. Complete the sentence about Ireland and the European Union with the correct year: From the time Ireland became independent from the United Kingdom in ______, the two countries have been involved in a…
  70. Complete the sentence about Ireland and the European Union with the correct year: From the onset of the Troubles in ______, the two governments sought to bring the violence to an end.
  71. Complete the sentence about Treaty of Lisbon with the correct year: An amending "reform" treaty was drawn up and signed in Lisbon in ______.
  72. Complete the sentence about Irish euro coins with the correct year: Limited release in ______, featuring an Irish hunter horse and foal.
  73. Complete the sentence about Irish pound with the correct year: Parity with sterling was established by King John around ______, so that Irish silver could move freely into the English economy and help…
  74. Complete the sentence about Irish pound with the correct year: In ______, a proclamation stated one English shilling was equal to 1s. 1d. in Irish, making it possible for Irish copper coins to circula…
  75. Complete the sentence about Euro with the correct year: The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December ______ in Madrid.
  76. Complete the sentence about Euro with the correct year: Before December ______, the euro traded below parity with the US dollar; since then, it has traded near or above parity.
  77. Complete the sentence about Euro with the correct year: On 13 July ______, the two currencies briefly hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades, due in part to the Russian invasion of Ukrain…
  78. Complete the sentence about Celtic Tiger with the correct year: The first recorded use of the phrase is in a ______ Morgan Stanley report by Kevin Gardiner.
  79. Complete the sentence about Great Recession in Ireland with the correct year: The ______ general election replaced the ruling coalition with another between Fine Gael and Labour.
  80. Complete the sentence about Irish property bubble with the correct year: Since early-______, property prices in the country began to recover with property prices in Dublin up over 20% from their nadir…
  81. Complete the sentence about Good Friday Agreement with the correct year: The Agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums held on 22 May ______.
  82. Complete the sentence about Good Friday Agreement with the correct year: In Northern Ireland, voters were asked in the ______ Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum whether they supported t…
  83. Complete the sentence about The Troubles with the correct year: The Northern Ireland peace process led to paramilitary ceasefires and talks between the main political parties, resulting in the Good Fr…
  84. Complete the sentence about The Troubles with the correct year: In ______, Scottish and English settlers, known as planters, were given land escheated from the native Irish in the Plantation of Ulster…
  85. Complete the sentence about Bloody Sunday with the correct year: In ______, the Saville Inquiry was established to reinvestigate the killings.
  86. Complete the sentence about Bloody Sunday with the correct year: In response to rising levels of violence across Northern Ireland, internment without trial was introduced on 9 August ______.
  87. Complete the sentence about Irish Republican Army with the correct year: In Irish law, this IRA was the army of the revolutionary Irish Republic as declared by its parliament, Dáil Éireann, in ______.
  88. Complete the sentence with the correct year: In ______ the IRA split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA.
  89. Complete the sentence about Provisional Irish Republican Army with the correct year: The Provisional IRA emerged in December ______, due to a split within the previous incarnation of the IRA and the b…
  90. Complete the sentence about Provisional Irish Republican Army with the correct year: The original IRA was formed in ______ as the Irish Volunteers, at a time when all of Ireland was part of the United…
  91. Complete the sentence about Provisional Irish Republican Army with the correct year: In ______ Ireland celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, prompting fears of a renewed IRA campaign.
  92. Complete the sentence about Ulster Volunteer Force with the correct year: During the conflict, its deadliest attack in Northern Ireland was the ______ McGurk's Bar bombing, which killed fifteen civili…
  93. Complete the sentence about Ulster Volunteer Force with the correct year: The biggest of these was the ______ Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 34 civilians, making it the deadliest terrorist…
  94. Complete the sentence about Ulster Volunteer Force with the correct year: The UVF's last major attack was the ______ Loughinisland massacre, in which its members shot dead six Catholic civilians in a…
  95. Complete the sentence about Ulster Volunteer Force with the correct year: On 7 May ______, loyalists petrol bombed a Catholic-owned pub in the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast.
  96. Complete the sentence about Gerry Adams with the correct year: In ______, Adams was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by the Ulster Defence Association.
  97. Complete the sentence about Gerry Adams with the correct year: In ______, he convinced Sinn Féin to change its traditional policy of abstentionism towards the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republi…
  98. Complete the sentence about John Hume with the correct year: In their ______ citation, the Norwegian Nobel Committee recognised Hume as an architect of the Good Friday Agreement.
  99. Complete the sentence about John Hume with the correct year: Hume was among the first to benefit from the ______ Education Act. which in Northern Ireland "revolutionised access to secondary and furthe…
  100. Complete the sentence about John Hume with the correct year: Hume did not complete his clerical studies but graduated in ______ with a degree in French and history.

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