Country of Ireland

Ireland is an island on the western edge of Europe, 480 km long and 240 km wide, with a population of a little over five million. The capital city of the Republic of Ireland is Dublin. Ireland is a constitutional democracy and a member of the United Nations and the European Union.

The beauty of Ireland is legendary. Ireland is known as the "Emerald Isle", offering rich green landscapes and over 5500 km of largely unspoiled coastline. In Ireland, the climate is mild year round. One is never more than 110 km from the sea, making it possible to take a day trip to the coast even from the most centrally located inland town.

Ireland is also known as "The Land of Saints and Scholars", since throughout the middle ages, it was the monks of Ireland that kept much of European education alive. This commitment to scholarship has continued down through the centuries; Ireland is now renowned for its focus on high-quality third-level education in training future leaders in the sciences, business and the arts. Ireland's long-term investment in education has given a good return, as evidenced by its exceptionally strong economy (dubbed the 'Celtic Tiger'), due to multinational companies looking to the well-trained young Irish workforce to fill their needs.

irish tourist board www.ireland.ie
entertainment ireland www.entertainmentireland.ie
irish times newspaper www.ireland.com