IRELAND

the green land

geographyIreland is an island in

northwest Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean.

It consists of low central plains surrounded by a ring of coastal mountains.

It has a total area of 84,421 km2.

the land

The highest peak is 1,041 metres above sea level.

The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, and bays.

Ireland is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and from Europe by the Celtic Sea.

Ireland and Great Britain, together with nearby islands, are known collectively as the British Isles.

rivers and lakes

The island is crossed by the River Shannon, which is the longest river in Ireland. There are a number of sizeable lakes along Ireland's rivers.

islandsAchill Island, in the northwest, is the largest island off

Ireland's coast. The island is inhabited, and is connected to the mainland by a bridge.

Some of the next largest islands are the Aran Islands, to the west, host to an Irish-speaking community.

climate

Ireland's climate is temperate, due to the warming influence of the North Atlantic drift. The prevailing wind blows from the southwest, breaking on the high mountains of the west coast. Rainfall is therefore a particularly prominent part of western Irish life. The west coast gets almost twice as much annual rainfall as Dublin on the east

January and February are the coldest months of the year.

natural resourcesBogs

Ireland has 12,000 km² of bogland. It formed when depressions created by the end of the ice age filled with water to form lakes. Debris from reeds in these lakes formed a layer at the bottom of the water.

oil, natural gas and minerals

Offshore exploration for natural gas began in 1970. Gas from these fields is used for both domestic and industrial purposes.

Oil is another recent discovery.

Ireland is the largest European producer of zinc.

agricultureAgriculture and

food is an important industry in Ireland, with about 64% of the total land area used for agriculture.

industry

Ireland is a great exporter of pharmaceutics and high software-related products.

The Irish economy has transformed since the 1980s from being predominantly agricultural to a modern economy focused on high technology industries and services.

political and human geography

Politically, the island consists of the state of the Republic of Ireland, with jurisdiction over about five sixths of the island; and Northern Ireland, a country of the United Kingdom.

languageIrish is the "national

language" in the Republic of Ireland, according to the Constitution.

English is the dominant language in the island.

politicsIreland is a constitutional

republic with a parliamentary system of government and is a member state of the European Union.

The President (today Mary MCAleese) serves as head of state, and is elected for a seven-year term and may be re-elected once.