Ireland, the third largest island in Europe, is 32,595 square miles in area and is divided internally into two parts: the Republic of Ireland, which occupies just over four-fifths of the island, and Northern Ireland which occupies the remaining part. Ireland is shaped a little like a saucer, with lowlands located in the middle and surrounding coastal mountains that form a raised outer ring. All of these mountains were long ago smoothed by glaciers and the highest peak of them all is Carrauntuohill, which is 1,041 feet high. Ireland is separated from Great Britain to the east by the Irish Sea, and bounded by the Celtic Sea in the south and the Atlantic Ocean in the northwest. The island is bisected by its longest river, the River Shannon, 240 miles long. The climate year-round is mild but changeable, with a frequent soft rainfall that produces lush vegetation. This is why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle.

           Ireland, with a population of just under six million people, is traditionally divided into four regions: Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught. The whole island has a jagged coast, especially where peninsulas jut out into the Atlantic Ocean. Iveragh, the central of three peninsulas on the southwest coast, is well known for the Ring of Kerry. This is a beautiful new road that goes all around the peninsula and is popular with visitors to Ireland.

           The largest lake in Ireland is Lough Neagh, west of Belfast, a lovely city in Northern Ireland known for its shipbuilding and linen industries. According to a legend, the giant Finn MacCool formed this lake by throwing a huge handful of turf into the sea where it formed the Isle of Man.

           Ireland has fewer animal and plant species than either Britain or mainland Europe but it is home to hundreds of plant species, some of them unique to the island. Many different environments are found in Ireland, including farmland, open woodland, temperate forests, conifer plantations, peat bogs and various coastal habitats.

           Only thirty-one mammal species are native to Ireland, including the red fox, hedgehog, stoat and badger. Less commonly found are the Irish hare, red deer and pine marten. These can only be seen in certain national parks and nature reserves around the island. About 400 species of birds have been recorded in Ireland, many of them migratory.