• Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, Northwestern Europe
• Divided into the Republic of Ireland (5/6) and Northern Ireland (1/6)
• Second-largest island in the British Isles and third-largest in Europe
• Population over 7 million (5.1 million in the Republic, 1.9 million in Northern Ireland)

• Features low-lying mountains and a central plain with navigable rivers
• Historically wooded, now only 10% woodland
• Mild climate influenced by the Atlantic, with abundant rainfall

• Gaelic Ireland began around the 1st century AD; Christianization started in the 5th century
• Viking raids occurred from the late 8th to 11th centuries, ending with the Battle of Clontarf
• English sovereignty claimed post-12th century, intensifying with the Tudor conquest in the 16th-17th centuries
• Great Famine (1840s) led to significant population decline
• Early 20th century saw independence and partition into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland
• Civil unrest in Northern Ireland from the 1960s to the 1990s, resolved by the Good Friday Agreement (1998)
• Joined the European Economic Community in 1973; UK and Northern Ireland left the EU in 2020

• Strong influence in literature, Gaelic games, music, language, and dance
• Shares cultural features with Great Britain, including sports and the English language

List of newspapers published in ireland.