Ireland has a strong Arts background.  Some of the most played instruments are flutes, bagpipes, fiddles, button accordion, harps and bodhrans (celtic drums).  There musical tradition is over 1,000 years old.  There songs are embedded with historical information and patriotic themes.  Some of the writers are Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney.  There literature is written in Gaelic and English.  Most of it tells stories of Patron Saints, Ghosts, and Fairies.  Some of the similarities are that both countries speak English, we also play some of the same instruments like the harp (I played it for a year actually).  Some of the differences are that they Irish dance while our most popular dance is hip hop.  We have a more variety of instruments.  I would love to live in Ireland because I have always wanted to learn how to play the bagpipes (mom said no to that), I think that they sound beautiful. An I love listening to Irish music like the celtic women.