These days, people hear the word Ireland and think of bombs and the peace process. Ireland is really two places - Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Republic is the South, the 26 counties where peace reigns. The goings on up North do not affect the South save as a daily drumbeat of background news. The South is probably one of the most peaceful places on the planet.

The Irish call their country The Emerald Island which refers to the fertile and green nature, the result of a plentiful rainfall. At once when you arrive in Ireland you can feel the friendly atmosphere of the Irish people. An Irish saying goes like this: "When God created time, he created plenty of it!" And this is true. They always have time for a chat on the pub, in the street or at the shop. They like a good craic which means a good laugh/joke and the best place for this are in the pubs.

The flag dates from the 1800's Green represents Ireland's Roman Catholics Orange the Protestants of Ulster and White, the unity between these

Population

7 million cows, 8 million sheep, 3.6 million people. More than a third of the people live in the Dublin area. Ethnically, the Irish are a Celtic people, though a small English minority does exist. Emigration to the US and the UK for employment opportunities have slowed the still positive growth rate.

Dublin 943,900 Cork 178,500 Limerick 76,900 Galway 53,200 Waterford 42,500

Geography/Nature

Some years ago, the Irish schoolchildren learnt that their country was like a saucer; a flat plain surrounded with mountains. In some ways this is correct. But there is water in the saucer. A great part of the inner-Ireland is covered with lakes, canals and rivers. The longest river is Shannon river which is 330km. Compared to the other countries in the world, Ireland hardly has any forests. The island was covered with woods earlier, but it has been chopped down through generations, and nothing has been planted in additon. The landscape in Ireland varies from Rocky coasts, Lakes, rivers and wetlands, Mountain and blanket bog and Pastureland. Most of the mountains are low, but to the West, the landscape is more dramatic with steep cliffs. The highest point is Carrauntuohill (1.040m) in the South-West of Ireland.

Ireland is divided into 32 counties. 26 in the Republic of Ireland 6 in Northern Ireland (the pale pink colour)

Only a small assortment of plants and animals managed to colonize the island before melting glaciers flooded any land routes to England and the mainland. One result? No snakes in Ireland. They just didn't make it here in the short space of time between ice and island.The handful of species that did arrive thrived. The native landscape was dominated by mature oak forests. About 9,000 years ago people landed on the East and South East coasts and gradually worked inland, slashing and burning as they went. The giant Irish Elk, with its vast antler spread, died out about this time.

Climate

Influenced by the relatively warm waters of the Gulf Stream, the climate of Ireland is quite mild. No place is more than 140km from the sea, so there is hardly any frost and hardly reallywarm! The coldest months are January and February which have average temperatures between 4 and 7 degrees, while July and August are the warmest with average temperatures between 14 an 16 degrees. May and June are the sunniest months, with an average of 5 to 7 hours sunshine per day. Ireland is one of the wettest countries in Europe.

As you can see from this table, it is true that it rains a lot in Ireland. Compared to Norway the average rainfall in Ireland is 91.67 mm and in Norway 60.45 mm!! But the temperatures in Ireland are quite warmer in most of the months than in Norway. It's very rarely that the temperatures go below cero (0) like it does in Norway in the winter.

Levels of Education

* Pre-School (up to age 5, approx) * Primary School (ages 6-12) * Post Primary/Second level (ages 13 to 18 approx) * Vocational Education * Third Level Education (University, Technical College, Teacher Training College)

In Ireland the parents have the freedom to provide for the education of their children at home, in private schools, or in state schools. Schooling is compulsory for nine years, between the ages of 6 and 15, and about two-thirds of all children are still in school full-time at the age of 16. The government provides free education in primary and secondary school. Before this, many  receive a year's tuition at nursery school or kindergarten, ususally at their parents' expense.

The options for further education include vocational and technical colleges, and there are seven universities.

Most of the schools have uniforms, but in the recent years many schools have decided not to have them. You could also choose if you'd like to go to a school for only girls, a school for only boys or if you want to go to a "mixed" school. The schools are mostly catholic school and they are often named after a saint e.g. St. Mary's Secondary School and St. Paul's College.