Representative democracy is built on the idea that the people of a particular country choose the few men and women who will lead the country guided by the values, opinions and morals of the majority. This means that the political culture is the base for the political system, a guideline to follow and to be respected by the politicians. In Ireland history has everything to do with the political views people hold and has contributed to both the political culture and political system in a major way. There are scores of elements that form what is known as political culture but I shall limit myself to looking at the most important features- socio-economic change and conservatism, the effect of British colonialism and finally, religion- which have had a marked impact on the kind of a political system Ireland has today.

In Ireland, a liberal democracy, there is a close relationship between the political culture- the values and influences on people- and the different political institutions which strengthen

In contemporary Ireland democracy is valued one of the highest of political elements (Coakley, 1992:53). Political culture has mellowed to appreciate individualism, equality and human rights above all but still carries a nationalistic element. The current attempts at preservation of the Gaelic language show this trend is not disappearing. Conservatism holds an equally stable position in the political arena. Strong right and left wing values are not highly regarded. Perhaps an explanation for this is found in their overtly radical and even revolutionary values - the Irish love stability and conservatism offers just that. The Catholic Church’s opposition to and ‘suspicion of socialism’ has also reinforced this conservatism (Coakley 1992:61). Political culture in Ireland is as stable as it gets and there has yet to be a scandal of a magnitude that would shake the political institutions in such way that anyone would call for a re-evaluation of the political system. The two terms, political culture and system, are wedded to each other and while sometimes seemingly estranged are hopelessly co-dependent.

The oppression and struggle for independence left Irish people vigorously proud of their nation and this nationalistic feeling has never faded away although it is now filtered more through sporting events than spite for their British oppressors. Ireland inherited most of its political institutions from Britain but has since developed its unique statehood. The legacy of the British includes the English language, culture and an economic relationship which saw Ireland dependant on Britain for a long time. Nowadays the Irish are eager to create new trade relationships elsewhere and the EU era has emphasised this but not to the detriment of Irish nationalism. Though actively participating in the integration of Europe, the Irish do seem careful not to lose their own unique identity. This feature is present in the political culture and has a

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