Ireland is located in the North Atlantic
Ocean just
to the west of England. It was formerly part of the United
Kingdom, but, in 1922, 26 of the 32 counties that
comprise the island were granted dominion status as
the Irish Free State.
Ireland shares the island with Northern Ireland (the six remaining counties located in the north eastern portion of the island) which is still part of the United Kingdom.
The country is slightly larger than West Virginia.
Ireland has a republic parliamentary democracy form of government. The president is elected by popular vote to a seven-year term with a second term possible. The capital is Dublin which is located on the eastern coast bordering the Irish Sea. Ireland is part of the European Union and has the Euro (€) as its currency.
The July 2006 estimate of the population was 4,062,235 with a population growth rate of 1.15 percent. Ireland has a current life expectancy of 77.73 years, with women outliving men by five years.
English is the official language of Ireland; Irish is spoken mainly along the western seaboard. Ireland has a very high literacy rate of 99 percent. Over 88 percent of the population is Roman Catholic with 3 percent belonging to the Church of Ireland.
Web Sites
Catalog
Search the library's catalog for Ireland.
Databases
Enter Ireland in these databases: