Ireland

[grrlscout678]

No: HPFGUIDX 43336

<delurks>

Apologies if this has been debated here before -- I've never seen 
anyone talk about it here or elsewhere, but then I'm hardly 
omniscient. It started bothering me when I was recently rereading 
GoF, and I wondered what others thought about it.

So the two teams playing in the World Cup final are Ireland and 
Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Minister for Magic is in the top box with 
Fudge. There's no mention of the Irish Minister. 

Seamus, and presumably other Irish students, attend Hogwarts, in 
Britain.

Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales all have their own national 
Quidditch teams. Yet students from at least three of these places 
(are there Welsh students? I haven't noticed any) attend Hogwarts and 
speak of "the Ministry," all referring, presumably, to the British 
Ministry of Magic as led by Cornelius Fudge.

In the magical world, is all of Ireland still under British rule, 
along with Scotland and Wales? Did they just not bother to become 
independent when Muggle Ireland did?

Unless I've gotten my history wrong...

Anna Maria