Ireland

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Ireland, island, of the British Isles, the westernmost and second-largest of the group, in the North Atlantic Ocean, and separated from Great Britain by St George's Channel on the south-east, the Irish Sea on the east, and the North Channel on the north-east. Politically, the island is divided into Northern Ireland, a constituent part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The island is divided into four historical provinces—Connaught (Connacht), Leinster, Munster, and Ulster—and administrative units called counties. The Republic of Ireland consists of Connaught, Leinster, and Munster provinces, totalling 23 counties and, in the north, 3 counties of Ulster Province. Northern Ireland consists of 6 counties divided into 26 districts, the remainder of Ulster Province. The area of the island is 82,378 sq km (32,342 sq mi) of which the Republic of Ireland is 68,895 sq km (27,136 sq mi) in extent, and Northern Ireland 13,483 sq km (5,206 sq mi). The population of the is!
land (1991) is 5,103,555, of which that of the Republic of Ireland is 3,525,719, and that of Northern Ireland is 1,577,836.
North to south, the maximum length of Ireland is 486 km (302 mi); its extreme width is 280 km (174 mi). Malin Head, at latitude 55°27' north, and Mizen Head, at latitude 51°27' north, are, respectively, the northernmost and southernmost points on the island; easternmost and westernmost points are demarcated by longitude 5°25' west and longitude 10°30' west.
he history of Ireland after the union was principally concerned with the struggle for Irish civic and religious freedom and for separation from Great Britain. Hardly had the union been established when dissatisfaction in Ireland gave rise to the armed outbreak of July 23, 1803, under the Irish patriot Robert Emmet. The uprising was easily suppressed, and for some time no further armed revolts occurred. In 1823 the Catholic Association was founded, which demanded, and finally o...