IRELANDWhat do you know about…?

IRELAND IS AN ISLAND IN THE NORTH-WEST ATLANTIC OCEAN – 85,000 KM²

WHERE IS IRELAND?

Ireland (Éire) is an island about 486 km long and 275 km wide, separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea.

It has an extremely mild climate and lots of rain – good for growing grass, which is why is it known as the Emerald Isle.

Take an umbrella and raincoat when you visit!

TOPOGRAPHY OF IRELAND

LOWLANDS IN THE CENTRE WITH MANY BOGS, WHERE PEAT IS HARVESTED FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION.

RIVER SHANNON IN THE MIDLANDS IS THE LONGEST RIVER IN THE BRITISH ISLES - 360 KM.

MOUNTAINS IN S.W. AND N.W. - THE HIGHEST PEAK IS CARRAUNTOOHILL, 1,038 METRES.

HIGH SEA CLIFFS IN THE NORTH-WEST

LARGEST LAKE IN THE BRITISH ISLES IS LOUGH NEAGH IN NORTHERN IRELAND AT 391 KM²

THE BURREN IN WESTERN IRELAND IS A KARST LANDSCAPE MADE OF LIMESTONE.

IRELAND HAS 6 NATIONAL PARKS, OF WHICH CONNEMARA IN THE WEST IS WELL-KNOWN.

MOST OF THE FILM ‘BRAVEHEART’ WAS MADE IN THE WICKLOW MOUNTAINS NP, TO THE SOUTH OF DUBLIN.

NORTHERN IRELAND HAS NO NATIONAL PARK, BUT THE BASALT COLUMNS OF THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY ARE A UNESCO SITE.

IT IS ALWAYS RAINING AND THE GRASS ALWAYS GREEN SO IRELAND KEEPS 8 MILLION COWS AND 6 MILLION SHEEP! MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTS ARE MAJOR EXPORTS.

THE NEOLITHIC CHAMBERED TOMB AT NEWGRANGE WAS BUILT IN ABOUT 3,200 BC.

SAINT PATRICK BROUGHT CHRISTIANITY TOIRELAND IN THE YEAR 430 AD.

St Patrick’s Day (or St Paddy’s Day) is a big holiday for the Irish.

It is celebrated on March 17 People dress up, there are street parades, fireworks, and lots of Guinness drinking.

THE ANCIENT MONASTERY AT CLONMACNOISE WAS FOUNDED IN ABOUT 596 AD.

THE ISLAND OF SKELLIG MICHAEL WAS A MONASTERY IN THE 6TH -12TH CENTURIES.

THE CITY OF DUBLIN WAS FOUNDED BY ON THE RIVER LIFFEY BY VIKINGS IN THE 9TH CENTURY.

ONE MILLION IRISH PEOPLE DIED OF STARVATION AND ONE MILLION EMIGRATED DURING THE GREAT POTATO FAMINE IN 1846-47

IRELAND HAD 8 MILLION PEOPLE IN 1840 AND ONLY 6 MILLION NOW.

THE IRISH REBELLION OF 1916 FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM FROM BRITISH RULE.

THE IRISH FREE STATE WAS FOUNDED IN 1921.

BUT 6 PROTESTANT MAJORITIES COUNTIES IN THE NORTH, WITH, VOTED TO STAY BRITISH

ONE ISLAND, TWO COUNTRIES.

The majority of the island, 26 counties (or administrative districts), are known as the Republic of Ireland and the population is 4.5 million.

The remaining 6 counties in the north are called Northern Ireland, and remain part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland has a population of 2 million and its main city is Belfast.

IRISH GAELIC IS STILL SPOKEN IN THE ‘GAELTACHT’ IN THE WEST AND IS TAUGHT IN ALL IRISH SCHOOLS, BUT MOST PEOPLE SPEAK ENGLISH AT HOME.

POPULATION DENSITY IS HIGHER ALONG THE EAST COAST OF IRELAND AND NORTH IRELAND.

The west has more cows and sheep than people!

DUBLIN IS A MODERN EUROPEAN CITY OF 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE, WITH MANY PUBS AND BARS.

THE METROPOLIS ON THE RIVER LIFFEY.

Dublin is the capital city and is over 1,000 years old. It has a strong history of writers and poets like Oscar Wilde and James Joyce.

Its main tourist attractions are Dublin Castle, St Patrick’s Cathedral, O’Connell Street and the Guinness Brewery.

The city has a lively Irish music and pub scene.

TWO FAMOUS EXPORT PRODUCTS FROM DUBLIN. DO YOU LIKE THEM BOTH?

CORK, IN THE SOUTH IS THE 2ND LARGEST CITY IN IRELAND WITH 200,000 PEOPLE.

LIMERICK IS THE 3RD IRISH CITY AND LIES AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER SHANNON.

BELFAST IS THE CAPITAL OF NORTHERN IRELAND, WITH 400,000 PEOPLE. THE TITANIC AND MANY OTHER SHIPS WERE BUILT HERE. THE POPULATION IS DIVIDED BETWEEN PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS.

(LONDON)DERRY IS THE 2ND CITY OF N.IRELAND. IT STILL HAS MEDIEVAL CITY WALLS, BUT A DIVIDED POPULATION OF PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS.

BUSHMILLS, 16O8, TULLAMORE, 1829, WHISKEY HAS BEEN DISTILLED FOR CENTURIES.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN IRELAND.

Top tourist sites include the Dingle Way Peninsula, the high Cliffs of Moher, the lakes of Killarney, Blarney Castle and other medieval castles and the Ring of Kerry (a tourist trail covering mountains, castles, rocky outcrops and bays).

IT IS SAID THAT IF YOU KISS THE BLARNEY STONE AT BLARNEY CASTLEM NEAR CORK, YOU WILL GAIN THE GIFT OF ELOQUENCE. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT EASY TO REACH THE STONE!

YOU MAY EVEN SEE A LITTLE GREEN LEPRAUCHAN GUARDING HIS POT OF GOLD. YOU MAY FIND HIM AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW.

TWO OF THE GREAT IRISH WRITERS – JONATHAN SWIFT AND JAMES JOYCE. CAN YOU NAME THEIR MOST FAMOUS WORKS?

MOST POPULAR SPORTS ARE GAELIC FOOTBALL

… AND HURLING.

SO NOW YOU KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT IRELAND THAN YOU DID BEFORE!

Read the text and try to fill in the gaps. Use information from this presentation

and the internet to complete the exercise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland GOOD LUCK!