Ireland (Irish: Éire or Eireann) is the third largest island in Europe and the twentieth largest in the world.It lies to the northwest of Continental Europe. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Britain. Politically, the Republic of Ireland (also known simply as Ireland) covers five sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, covering the remainder in the northeast. Don’t ask, it’s complicated.The name ‘Ireland’ derives from Old Irish Ériu (in modern Irish, Éire) with the addition of the Germanic word ‘land’.

The population of the island is slightly under six million (2006/7), with almost 4.25 million in the Republic of Ireland (close to 1.7 million in Greater Dublin) and an estimated 1.75 million in Northern Ireland (0.6 million in Greater Belfast).

After Dublin (1,661,185 in Greater Dublin), Ireland’s largest cities are Belfast (579,276 in Greater Belfast), Cork (380,000 in Metropolitan Cork), Derry (94,329 in Derry Urban Area), Limerick (93,321 incl. suburbs), Galway (71,983), Lisburn (71,465), Waterford (49,240 including suburbs), Newry (27,433), Kilkenny (23,967 incl. suburbs) and Armagh (14,590).

In 2005, Ireland was ranked the best place to live in the world, according to a “quality of life” assessment by The Economist magazine. The country’s combination of increasing wealth and traditional values gives it the conditions most likely to make its people happy, the survey found. They included health, freedom, unemployment, family life, climate (what?), political stability and security, gender equality and family and community life.