The Emerald Isle, Eire, Hibernia and Erin are just some of the names that have been applied to Ireland. Some of the names reflect past history, while others hint that Ireland is many things to many people.  Today, the two most important names are the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

It seems as if there is always a catch when describing the haven of the Irish.  Although it is a modestly sized island, it contains two, independent countries.  The Republic of Ireland occupies over eighty percent of the Emerald Isle landmass and has the most people (4.2 million).  Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, takes up the other sixth of the area and has a population of approximately 1.6 million.

Many people know Ireland through familiarity with county names like Cork, Kerry, Galway, Ulster and Down, as these and other county names reflect an Irish heritage.  Others have been beguiled by the Ireland we know from song, stage and the movies.   The map above shows the location and names of the storied counties of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

History

Ireland's history mixes many cultural and political influences, but it is mainly the story of one country split into two parts that seem to be slowly merging back together. 

Ireland sits to the west of Britain and its history was long overshadowed by that of the British Empire.  The distance separating the two islands across the Irish Sea is modest, especially in the north, and this resulted in Ireland being invaded by most groups that had occupied Britain.

The Celts arrived in Ireland between 600 B.C. and 150 B.C.  Various invading groups established regions of the island as their territory and established a tribal culture that lasted for several centuries.  It is somewhat curious that the Romans did not follow the Celts across what is now known as the Irish Sea.   Although the Romans conquered most of Britain, they showed no real appetite to invade the modest island to the west.  While there is evidence of Roman settlement in the Southeast of Ireland, it appears that this movement of people was not a strategic move sanctioned by Rome. 

The next great invasion occurred when the Norsemen took an interest in Ireland around the 8th century.  Eventually this tide was blunted when the Danes were defeated by the Irish Brian Boru (King of Munster) at the start of the 11th century.  By this time, however, the Vikings had settled throughout Ireland and were slowly becoming "Irish", just as the Celts before them.

During this era, Ireland was loosely divided into the four regions of Connaught, Munster, Ulster and Leinster, as shown on the right.   These areas represented kingdoms of a sort and it is thought that a fifth region, Meath, merged into Leinster. These areas declined and their boundaries dissolved after a new  invader conquered Ireland.

The Normans (English) began their attempt to control Ireland in the 12th century and this started more than 700 years of rebellion against the imposition of rule by England.

The tensions between the Irish and the English came to head during the early 20th century.  A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in a treaty granting semi-independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. The terms of the 1921 agreement establishing the Irish Free State sparked a civil war that lasted between 1921 and 1923. Eventually the Free State became Eire in 1937 and a true, independent republic in 1949.  

Today, Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom and this at the discretion of the majority of its citizens.  Although the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland have been lessened due to the influence of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 (and implementation in 2006), there are still some difficulties related to a faction, known as the Irish Republican Army dissidents, who opposes the IRA's decision to abstain from violence and work towards a peaceful resolution of the issues. Search our blog for current news on Northern Ireland or any of the destinations we cover around the world

As you travel through Ireland, you will hear many reminders of the Irish Potato Famine (also known as the Great Hunger or "An Gorta Mór") that occurred from 1845 to 1851.  Blights infected the island's potato crop resulting in a failed harvest that lasted through several planting seasons. Over one million Irish lost their lives to starvation or disease associated with the famine during the Potato Famine.  An even larger group was unable to cope with the economic hardship of the famine, which lead to the Irish Diaspora.  As a result of the famine and subsequent migration, the population of Ireland decreased by half.  If you are interested in more details, see this site for a comprehensive review of the famine.

From the travelers point of view there is little to differentiate the "two" Irelands.  The "Troubles" that had plagued Northern Ireland for so long, seem to be a thing of the past and more visitors are thinking of trips to Ireland, without differentiating between the two jurisdictions.

We think you will find that the beauty of Ireland lies in its people and culture. Yes, there are interesting landscapes and well-known attractions, but these are not quite the "stuff" that makes Ireland so memorable.  For many travelers, the historical and physical attractions of the Emerald Isle are quite separated from the unique people who with their warm Irish culture have managed to make a relatively small island into an icon known and recognized around the world. 

Ireland's cities, towns, and villages bear names familiar to most travelers, even if they have never visited Ireland. Most populated places are small, spread along one major street and surrounded by miles of countryside.  Large or small, urban or rural, the Emerald Isle's towns and villages are good places to visit, great places to catch a meal, and fun places to visit a pub and interact with the locals.

Many of Ireland's inhabitants are accomplished story tellers and the best tellers of tales can be found in pubs.  If you are in the mood for stories, there is nothing like a Guinness to start a conversation.  Others flock to pubs that offer music, as the Irish have developed country music and dancing to a fine art.  Even those Irish who are not especially musical will often burst into song at a moments notice - with or without the Guinness. 

Best Places to Visit

Our list of the best places to visit in Ireland is focused on seeing the highlights of the Irish countryside with a town or two thrown in for good measure. After all, "A wee bit of comfort is needed, now and then." 

We have broken "Tourist Ireland" into these regions: Dublin , Southwest  , Southeast  , West    and North   (including Northern Ireland).  Use the menu on the right to explore areas that might be of interest to you.  Our coverage of Ireland is broad in extend and depth, but you will not find every attraction covered here or every county.  We spend time only on the locations that we feel merit the title "Best Places to Visit in Ireland."

By the way, if you want to take the whole island drive, it will take approximately 10 days and cover about a 1,000 miles (if you take a mostly coastal route around the country).  Although many travelers try to experience as much of Ireland as they can during their vacation, we think you might enjoy the country more by choosing a location or two and spending a week in each area.  We suggest you rent a cottage and explore your surroundings to find the real flavors of Ireland.

If you are looking for a simple, enjoyable itinerary, try our suggestions below.

In addition, be sure to read our sections on Ireland Travel Information and Ireland Facts to prepare for vacationing in Ireland.  In addition, be sure to explore our maps of Ireland.  Our best places to visit in Ireland are shown on detailed maps from Google that are customized for each of the sections of our Ireland Travel Guide.  The maps can be viewed as road maps (for driving), satellite images (great if you want to see the landscape and buildings in larger cities) or shade terrain maps (good for understanding  topography).  Your can use the maps for routing, which is useful for determining distances between stops.  Our collection of maps showing the best places to visit in Ireland includes:

Dublin
Near Dublin
The Southeast
The Southwest
The West
The North

Finally, if you want to know what the weather in Ireland is like today, click the weather symbol that is shown on the right hand edge of all pages in our Ireland Travel Guide.  Clicking the link will take you to MET éireann, the Irish Meteorological Service Online.

 

            

 

Only In Ireland

Irish Literature

As you travel Ireland observing its beauty and culture, you will soon understand why Ireland claims four Nobel Laureates in Literature. William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett were born in Dublin, while Seamus Heaney was born in County Derry.   However, the list of beloved authors does not stop here, instead, you must add in James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Dylan Thomas, Bram Stoker, C.S. Lewis, Brendan Behan and numerous others.  You will find celebrations of Irish literature in Dublin, Sligo and other cities around the Emerald Isle.

Irish Whiskey

Although Irish Whiskey has had a difficult time of it over the last several decades, the demand for Irish Whiskey seems to be on the rise and distillers are experiencing a renaissance. There are three major distilleries in Ireland, although only Cooley is Irish-owned.  Jameson and other brands are produced by the Irish Distillers (part of Pernod Ricard) in Middleton, County Cork.  Bushmills, now part of Diageo, is distilled in the town of Bushmills in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.  Cooley founded in 1997 is located in northeast County Dundalk on the Cooley Peninsula.  Cooley's recently started distilling in Kilbeggan (formerly the producer of John Locke's Irish Whiskey).  Tours are offered by Jameson in both Dublin and Middleton, although neither is a tour of a working distillery.  Bushmills' is the best tour, but is not available to some minors.  See the distiller's websites (Cooley , Bushmills, Jameson) for more information and details on visiting.

Guinness

Guinness is many ways is synonymous with Ireland.  It is doubtful that you will be very far from a Guinness in any town you may visit in Ireland.  However, if you want to tour the Guinness brewery, you will be disappointed.  Instead, you can visit the Guinness Storehouse, which will take you through the steps of brewing Guinness during a glitzy-marketing oriented tour that has become one of the biggest tourist draws in Ireland. Of course, there is a glass of Guinness for you at the end - so every dark cloud does have a silver lining.  See the company's website  and decide for yourself.  We also cover the tour as part of our description of things to see and do in Dublin

Finally, microbreweries seem to be gaining a toehold in Ireland, so, if brews are for you, look for local ales wherever you visit. They are still rare, but some are quite good.

A Note on Our Google Text Advertisements.

Recently Google added directional symbols to its advertisements.  The symbols look like this

The purpose of the arrows is to allow you to scroll through similar advertisements, in case you are interested in the type of services being advertised and would like to examine a wider selection than presented in advertisement as first shown.

 

If you need to find information about another travel destination, try Googling our site or the Web

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.ThereArePlaces.com