Ireland

The island of Ireland is the third largest island in Europe, It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, near the island of Great Britain. Nowadays the country is divided into two states the Republic of Ireland which occupies the most part of the territory, and Northern Ireland that belongs to the United Kingdom. If you’re planning to visit Ireland don’t forget to take your umbrella! Because that is the main disadvantage of this country: the rain, it rains almost every day. However, this is also the reason why the landscape is so green and beautiful.

Dublin at night

Ireland was first inhabited by the Celts who began to arrive to the island at around 2000 BC. They spoke Gaelic, a language which is still alive and official in the Republic of Ireland but it has got very few speakers who mainly concentrate on the west coast. The Celtic influence is still very present in music, folklore and traditions which are very different from the English.

On the other hand, Ireland fell under the influence of the British Crown in the XII century and they continued to be ruled by the English until 1922, year in which the Irish Free State was created, later in 1949 the country became a republic. The English brought their language to the country, thanks to that there are now so many summer English courses in Ireland!

Another characteristic of the country is religion, the Irish are mostly Catholics and they feel Catholicism as part of their national identity. They celebrate big parties on Saint Patrick’s day, the 17th March, he is the saint who converted the Irish to Christianity in the V century.

Ireland has historically been a rural and poor country, in other times a lot of Irish people had to emigrate to other countries, most of them went to America where there is a very large Irish community. However, in latest years Irish economy has developed quickly and now it is a very technologically advanced country and there are lots of software companies.

The population of Ireland nowadays is a bit less than 6 million people, (4.5 million people in the republic) and Dublin is its capital and biggest city, other important cities are Cork, Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny.
Ireland is also famous for its pubs in which you can hear live Celtic music while you drink a Guinness, the most famous Irish beer.
Irish most remarkable symbols are the Leprechaun, a goblin and the Shamrock, a three-leaved clover.
Some sights worth seeing in Dublin include Dublin Castle, O'Connell's bridge, the Custom House, Trinity College and Grafton Street.
 

Have a nice trip!