Eire is a country with a republic of politically system, situated next to Great Britain in the north of Europe. This country is an island belonging to the British archipelago. But this island is separated in the southeast way of Great Britain with a channel called Saint George, in the east with a sea called the North Sea and in the north with another channel called the North Channel.

At first the island was divided into four provinces, which are: Connaught, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. But today, the republic of Ireland has three provinces: Leinster, Munster and Connaught and three counties inside Ulster.

This country from a political point of view is separated in two parts. The north of Ireland which belongs to Great Britain and the south of Ireland which is recognised as the country of Ireland.

This country is situated in the north of Europe. But this isn’t a problem about the climate. The warm Gulf Stream affects in the country tuning the temperatures. So the climate is quite uniform.

Ireland in general is a multicultural place; there are people of almost every part of the world.

Other interesting characteristics are the main languages which are two: Gaelic and English, and another original thing is that the people who live in Ireland have to drive on the left hand side of the road like in England or Japan.

There are two symbols that represented Ireland that are the harp which is on the Irish flag and the shamrock with four leaves. But there are other symbols like Ireland’s flag, the beer especially the black one that is called Guinness, and the leprechaun.

A Leprechaun is an Irish elf. In general he is and old man, with a little fat nose, and with red hair. Whenever he appears he is all green like the colour of Ireland.

The people say that they only appear when the rainbow shines. One of the most important stories that the people know are:

-A big cube with a lot of gold coins is under the place where the rainbow starts appearing.

Learn more about Myths and Legends.

Ireland is still listening to traditional Irish music, which is very popular.

But there are also important singers or bands well-known around the world.

Probably the best example is the rock band U2 .

Click on the flag to go the page dedicated especially to Irish Music.

Irish and English are the official languages. The native Celtic language is the official language and English is a secondary official language.

Learning Irish is obligatory in education, but English is the dominant language.

The most popular sports in Ireland are Gaelic football and hurling, which are native sports. Because these sports are played virtually only in Ireland, there are only two teams playing abroad Interprovincial hurling championship, one in London and one in New York.

In other sports you can highlight:

- Dave Finlay and Sheamus, famous WWE wrestlers.

- Barry McGuigan and Steve Collins, world boxing champions.

- Stephen Roche, the first Irishman to win the Tour de France,

There is also a minor interest in Ireland for cricket.

Jordan won World Championship competitions in Irish Oldest Formula 1 team.

The state which is recognized as Ireland or Eire is a republic with a parliamentary system of government.

The president of Ireland, who serves as Head of State, is elected for a term of seven years. At the moment the President of Ireland is Mary McAleese.

We invite you to know who is who in the page concerning famous people in Ireland.

Read about who they were or are nowadays.

Examples of some typical Irish cuisine are Irish stew, with bacon and cabbage (boiled together) and the boxty that is a traditional meal, too.

Dublin coddle is very popular, which is made with pig meat sausage cooked.

Irish breakfast which is served principally with pork and fried potato and sometimes with farls, is very typical.

Regarding drinks, the famous drink in all the country is the beer like Guinness (which is a black beer), the Smithwick's and the Bailey’s Irish Cream (which is a mixed of cream and Irish whiskey).

Ireland is a country which is divided into two parts politically speaking.

This separation started when the English men colonized Ireland some centuries ago. In the 20^th century Ireland suffered a revolution which ended with the independence. But it was a parcial independence, because the North of Ireland belongs to England and the south to Ireland.

The real name is Eire which provided of the invasion of the Normans.

In the 18^th century the Normans invaded Ireland and Britain. When they arrived they brought their costumes, their language, their cuisine and so on.

Their language was Celtic as the original name of Ireland which is Eire. So we know that thanks to them the language which is recognized as the first language in Ireland, which of course is Irish, came from the Norman invasion.

Go to the History page to learn more.

CLIFFS OF MOHER

They are situated in the parish of Liscannor in County Clare. The Cliffs of Moher boast one of Ireland’s most spectacular views.

On the highest point of view it could reach 214 meters.

THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY

The Giant’s Causeway is situated in Northern Ireland. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The causeway is made up of basalt columns emerging from the waters. The first place to go to is the visitors’ centre. These rocks were formed millions of years ago thanks to a volcanic activity.

DUBLIN

Dublin is recognized as the capital of Ireland. It is situated in the Northeast of Ireland.

This capital mixes modern and traditional art on its roads and on its monuments.

For example you could find the Guinness factory which is a modern factory and not too many metres away you can find some old buildings.

CORK

Is the second most important city in all of the Irish republic and the second biggest city in all Ireland.

Cork is situated in the south of Ireland. It is the capital of the Cork County situated in the providence that it is called Munster. You may have heard about it because it has got a huge and important port. In this port was the lasted stop of the Titanic before it sank.

KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK

It is situated on the county of Kerry in Killarney. It was the first national park that was established on Ireland in 1932.

This park has got a huge diversity of animals and plants. It has got huge lakes, the unique demands of red deer in Ireland, etc. It was recognised as the World Biosphere Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

TRINITY COLLEGE

Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) or College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin. The trinity College was founded in 1592 by QueenElizabeth I. Ir is the oldest university in all Ireland. It is situated in front of a branch of the Bank of Ireland.