- Ireland is the third largest island in Europe and the twentieth largest in the world.
- There are four provinces in Ireland: Munster, Leinster, Ulster, and Connaught.
- The basic subdivision of local government is the county or which there are 32.
- 26 Counties comprise the Republic of Ireland while 6 still remain part of the United Kingdom
- While it is common place to refer to the six counties controlled by the United Kingdom as Ulster, this is incorrect. The province of Ulster has 9 counties, 3 which are member of the Republic of Ireland.
- Dublin, where almost 1/3 of Ireland’s population resides, is the capitol of the Republic of Ireland.
- The longest river in Ireland is the River Shannon.
- Gaelic is the native language of the Irish and the Gaelic name for Ireland is Eire.
- The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is a volunteer led, community based organization that promotes Gaelic games such as Hurling, Football, Handball and Rounders. The GAA has as its headquarters Croke Park in Dublin.
- The President of Ireland (Gaelic: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The current President is Michael D. Higgins. In 1990, Mary Robinson was elected the first female president of Ireland. In 1997, she was succeeded by Mary McAleese. This was the first time in world history that two female presidents have held successive terms.