Ireland: Alex Collado Pallares

Situation: Ireland is an island situated in the north-west of Europe. It’s on of the biggest islands in Europe. It’s next to the UK, separated by the Irish Sea. In the west of the island there is the Atlantic Ocean.

The country: Ireland is divided in two different countries: The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland which is part of the UK. The capital city of the Republic of Ireland is Dublin with a population of 525.383 habitants and the capital city of the Northern Ireland is Belfast with a population of 286.000 habitants.

Flag and currency: The flag of the Republic of Ireland has got three strippers: green, white and orange. The Republic of Ireland belongs to the European Community since 1973, and for this reason it has got the Euro as a national currency.

Culture: There are two official languages in the Republic of Ireland: Irish and English. Most people speak English and less than 10% of population speak Irish, regular. Republic of Ireland has got a Celtic culture like Scotland and Wales. The most important part of the Celtic culture is the music which is often played in pubs around the country.

Culture The most important religion is the Catholic. The Saint patron is Saint Patrick, who arrived to the island in the 5th century. The national symbol is the shamrock. The National Day is on 17th March. The Irish people celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day organizing parades with music and dancing in the streets. People wear green clothes and paint shamrocks on their faces.

Landscape: Ireland is a flat country but is has got some hills and some cliffs on the coast. It has got a dramatic landscape because it’s very green with a lot of lakes, rivers, water falls…

Places of interest: Some of the most important landmarks are: the Dublin castle, St Patrick’s Cathedral, The Molly Malone statue, the Cliffs of Moher. Interesting to mention that there are three world Heritage Site on the island.

Food and drink: The Irish people drink a lot of beer. The traditional brand is the Guinness. Some of the traditional recipes are: Irish stew, Potato cakes, tea scones, smoke salmon…

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