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Q: The concept of political culture is often used to explain a variety of features in the Irish political system. What, if any, has been the impact of Irish political culture on the political system in contemporary Ireland? 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