What do you know about…?

 Ireland (Éire) is an island about 486 km long and 275 km wide, separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea. It has an extremely mild climate and lots of rain – good for growing grass, which is why is it known as the Emerald Isle. Take an umbrella and raincoat when you visit!

St Patrick’s Day (or St Paddy’s Day) is a big holiday for the Irish. It is celebrated on March 17 People dress up, there are street parades, fireworks, and lots of Guinness drinking.

The majority of the island, 26 counties (or administrative districts), are known as the Republic of Ireland and the population is 4.5 million. The remaining 6 counties in the north are called Northern Ireland, and remain part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland has a population of 2 million and its main city is Belfast.

 The west has more cows and sheep than people!

Dublin is the capital city and is over 1,000 years old. It has a strong history of writers and poets like Oscar Wilde and James Joyce. Its main tourist attractions are Dublin Castle, St Patrick’s Cathedral, O’Connell Street and the Guinness Brewery. The city has a lively Irish music and pub scene.

Top tourist sites include the Dingle Way Peninsula, the high Cliffs of Moher, the lakes of Killarney, Blarney Castle and other medieval castles and the Ring of Kerry (a tourist trail covering mountains, castles, rocky outcrops and bays).

 Read the text and try to fill in the gaps.  Use information from this presentation and the internet to complete the exercise.  GOOD LUCK!