ireland

*Main Ireland Facts*

Capital: Dublin
Official Language: English
Religion: Roman Catholic
Currency: Euro
Population: 3,969,558 (July 2004)
Total Area: 70,280 square miles
Geographic Coordinates: 53 N, 8 W

*Geography*

    Ireland is an island lying in Western Europe. It is bound on the North, West, and South by the Atlantic Ocean and on the East by the Irish Sea, on the Northeast by the North Channel and on the Southeast by the St. Georges Channel.
     Ireland is divided into four provinces- Ulster (North), Leinster (East), Munster (South) and Connaught (West)- each of which is sub-divided into counties. There are thirty-two counites in all, six of which are ruled by Britain (Ulster-Down, Antrim, Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Armagh). The other twenty-six counties form the Republic of Ireland (Donegal, Monaghan, Cavan, Louth, Meath, Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Longford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Clare, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Roscommon and Leitrim.
     Ireland has many hills and low mountains. The main mountains in the Republic of Ireland are Wicklow Mountains, Comeragh Mountains, Galty Mountains, Knockmealdown Mountains, Boggeragh Mountains, Nagles Mountains, Caha Mountains, Macgillycuddy Reeks, Brandon Mountains, Slieve Bloom, Slieve Aughty, Connemara Hills, Ox Mountains, Benbulbin Mountains, and Derryveagh Mountains.
     The island's main rivers are the Boyne, the Liffey, the Slaney, the Burrow, the Nore, the Suir, the Blackwater, the Lee, the Moy, and the Shannon (the longest river in Ireland).
     Since Ireland is an island surronded by the Atlantic Ocean to the North, South, and West it benefits from the ocean's moderating effect and the Gulf Stream. The climate is generally mild but slightly erratic in winter, when the temperature can average seven degrees centigrade daily. the main characteristic of the Irish weather is 'rain', especially in the Southwest.

*Environment*

    The formation of the island of Ireland was influenced by volcanic eruptions, earthmoving forces and alternating periods of intense heat (interglacials) and cold (glaciations). Ireland now enjoys a great diversity of landscape from mountainous and rocky areas to stretches of green and fertile pastureland, lakes, rivers, and bogs.
     Wicklow is most famous for its impressive landscapes. The county borders on Dublin with the Wicklow Mountains dividing the two. The county has been described as 'The Garden of Ireland'.
     Irish faunas include lichens, ferns, rushes, sedges and, of course, the shamrock. There are also buttercups, heather, and primroses.
     Among the birds on the island are gannets, gulls, kestrals, blackbirds, and robins. Each winter some ten thousand white-fronted geese arrive from Greenland to rest on sandbanks and islands of the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve. Puffins are found on the Blasket Islands. The animals of Ireland are small, for instance, bats, grey squirrel, fox, Irish otter, and deer.

*Food*

    There is an old Irish saying that states, "Food should be as fresh and freshly cooked as possible, while drink should be well matured."
     History and mis-information led to the belief that the Irish live on potatoes. With fine cattle and sheep, a variety of fish and shellfish, good dairy produce and home grown grain, the advice in the saying can be executed.
     Traditional Irish cooking has left a legacy of recipes widely used, some with improvements. Irish soda bread, Barm Brack (yeast fruit bread), porter cake, Potato cakes and scones are among breads and cakes still enjoyed; fresh salmon and trout and Dublin Bay prawns, are always popular. The variety of meat dishes can be served plainly cooked or updated with continental and oriental influences. As with all countries, immigrants' taste and eating habits accompany them. Hence the variety of restaurants, cafes, and cook books now available in Ireland.
     A pint of Guiness is a popular drink, often to accompany specialist dishes such as Galway oysters. Irish Whiskey, Irish Cream Liquers, and Irish coffee, are other popular alcoholic drinks. For the non-alcoholic drinker, tea, (lemon, milky, or herbal) coffee, (in all its forms) fruit juice, mineral water, and spring water are available.

*Economy*

    Ireland is a member of the European Union. Over the years it manufacturing sector has steadily overtaken agriculture in importance to the country's economy.
     Important industries are brewing (Guiness), whiskey production (Jameson), dairy products (Glanbia), clothing, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transport equipment, glass and crystal (Waterford), and computer software.
     A number of leading companies based in Ireland are world leaders in their field. Important companies are Smurfit, the world leader in containerboard and corrugated containers, Glanbia, the Kerry Group, AIB, Eircom and the Bank of Ireland.
     Some agriculture products are barley, wheat, turnips, potatoes, sugar beets, beef and dairy products. Natural resources include copper, gypsum, lead, limestone, natural gas, peat, and silver.

Ireland Page 2

Home