Ireland (Éire)
Irish Flag
Ireland is in an island in the North Atlantic. There are a lot of mountains, forests, lakes and rivers in Ireland. The climate is changeable but doesn't have the extreme temperatures that other countries have. The average temperature is around 10˚C. Ireland has been a member of the EU (European Union) since 1973. Click on the picture if you would like to learn a little bit about Irish history. |
School in Ireland
Children in Ireland can attend preschool from the age of three. After preschool they attend primary school for eight years. Children start secondary school at the age of about 12 or 13 for five or six years. Some children wear a school uniform while others do not. A lot of children in Ireland learn through the medium of Irish. Some live in a Gaeltacht area (Irish speaking area). Others go to Gaelscoileanna (Irish-medium schools).
Learn some Irish
Old Irish Alphabet
Up until the middle of the 20th century the Old Irish Alphabet was used to write Irish. This is an example of one of the scripts used.
This is an example of a piece of writing which was written on a manuscript hundreds of years ago:
Click on the following link to see an example of an essay written in Irish using the old Irish script: http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428000/4366480/4471482
It was also written on the old coins. Here are some examples:
Art
Inside an Irish Home
Click on the picture to take a tour inside an Irish home.
Irish Festivals
Religion in Ireland
Sports
There are lots of interesting sports in Ireland. There are traditional sports such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football. Other sports such as soccer and rugby are also popular. Click on the picture to learn more about them.
Interesting Scenery
There are lots of interesting things to see in Ireland: cliffs, beaches, mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, boglands and woodlands.
Animals
There are lots of animals to be found in the wild. Click on the picture to learn about them.
Irish Myths & Legends
Photographs
Click on the picture to see some photographs
Interesting facts about Ireland
- There are two languages spoken in Ireland: Irish and English.
- People in Ireland drive on the left-hand side of the road.
- Irish people write their surname after their given name.
- People in Ireland drink tea with milk.
- Ireland won the Eurovision song contest more times than any other country. Ireland won in 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996.
- Ireland has no snakes.
- Hook Lighthouse in County Wexford is thought to be the oldest working lighthouse in Europe and possibly the world. There has been a lighthouse on his spot since the 5th century.
- The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was founded in 1824 by Richard Martin (Humanity Dick) from Galway.
- Until the 11th century, the Hill of Tara was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland.
- There are no nuclear power stations in Ireland.
- Ireland is the world's largest exporter of software for computers. The European headquarters and/or customer service operations of Google, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Oracle, Lotus, and Boeing Computer Services are all located in Ireland.
- The currency of Ireland is the Euro.