| About Ireland |
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| At the western extremity of Europe is Ireland, an island of roughly 5 million people. Twenty-six of its thirty-two counties form the Republic of Ireland, while the remaining six in Northern Ireland belong to the United Kingdom. Outside Dublin, one of the liveliest capital cities in the world, much of Irish life takes place in the countryside, where farming and fishing are still central to the economy. Despite the lushness of its central plains and rivers jumping with salmon, the story of rural life in Ireland has long been one of terrible poverty and hardship, in fields the size of pocket handkerchiefs, among rocky outcrops and blanket bog. The dramatic beauty of the Irish landscape from the untamed and unspoiled Donegal coastline to the stark limestone plain of the Burren, or the fuschia-strewn lanes of West Cork is one excellent reason to visit Ireland. Others are the warm, witty people who live there, and the congeniality of Irish social life. |
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