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Portal:Ireland

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Welcome to the Ireland Portal!
Fáilte go dtí Tairseach na hÉireann!
Fair faa ye tae tha Airlann Inlat!

Introduction

Sister portal:
Northern Ireland
Satellite image of Ireland
Satellite image of Ireland

Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ IRE-lənd; Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ; Ulster-Scots: Airlann [ˈɑːrlən]) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest in the world.

Geopolitically, the island of Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), an independent state covering five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2022, the population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million living in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain.

The geography of Ireland comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. Its lush vegetation is a product of its mild but changeable climate which is free of extremes in temperature. Much of Ireland was woodland until the end of the Middle Ages. Today, woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, with most of it being non-native conifer plantations. The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant. (Full article...)

Irish whiskey (Irish: Fuisce or Uisce beatha) is a whiskey made in Ireland. There are several types of whiskey common to Ireland: Single Malt, Single Grain, Pure Pot Still and Blended Whiskey. The word whiskey is an Anglicisation of the ancient Gaelic term "uisce beatha" which translates as "water of life". (The Craythur is a modern Irish term for whiskey, from 'the creature', as in 'created'...)

At one time, all whisky was spelled without the extra 'e', as "whisky". In around 1870, the reputation of Scottish whisky was very poor as Scottish distilleries flooded the market with cheaper spirits produced using the Coffey still. The Irish and American distilleries adopted the spelling "whiskey", with the extra "e", to distinguish their higher quality product. Today, the spelling whisky (plural whiskies) is generally used for whiskies distilled in Scotland, Wales, Canada, Australia and Japan, while whiskey is used for the spirits distilled in Ireland and America.

Traditional Irish whiskey was distilled from a mash of mixed malted and unmalted grains whereas Scotch is either distilled exclusively from malted grain (hence "single malt"), or from unmalted grain. Today, most Irish whiskey is blended from a mixture of pot still whiskey and cheaper grain whiskey. Bushmills, however, is an exception, as it produces no Irish-style pot-still whiskey.

Most Irish whiskey is distilled three times, but so is some Scotch; thus it is a myth, although a common one, that this is the main distinction between the two varieties. Irish whiskey also differs in that peat is almost never used in the malting process, so the smoky, earthy overtones common to Scotches (particularly Islay Scotches) are not present except for the Connemara Peated Irish Malt whiskey from the Cooley distillery. Although Scotland sustains approximately 90 distilleries, Ireland has only three producing a number of different whiskeys. Read more...

Selected biography - show another

George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright.

Although Shaw's first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, his talent was for drama, and he authored more than 60 plays including Pygmalion. Nearly all of his writings deal sternly with prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy to make their stark themes more palatable. Shaw examined education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege and found them all defective. He was most angered by the exploitation of the working class, and most of his writings censure that abuse. An ardent socialist, Shaw wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal political rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthful lifestyles.

Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, a fellow Fabian, whom he survived. They settled in Ayot St. Lawrence in a house now called Shaw's Corner. Shaw died there, aged 94, from chronic problems exacerbated by injuries he incurred by falling.

He is the only person to have been awarded both the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938). These were for his contributions to literature and for his work on the film Pygmalion, respectively. Shaw wanted to refuse his Nobel Prize outright because he had no desire for public honors, but accepted it at his wife's behest: she considered it a tribute to Ireland. He rejected the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books to English. Read more...

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General images

The following are images from various Ireland-related articles on Wikipedia.

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Selected city - show another

From top, left to right: Austin's Department Store, Derry's Walls, Free Derry Corner, Peace Bridge across the River Foyle, a view of Derry at night, Diamond War Memorial, 'Hands Across the Divide' sculpture

Derry, officially Londonderry, is the largest city in County Londonderry, the second-largest in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. The old walled city lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, which is spanned by two road bridges and one footbridge. The city now covers both banks (Cityside on the west and Waterside on the east).

The population of the city was 85,279 at the 2021 census, while the Derry Urban Area had a population of 105,066 in 2011. The district administered by Derry City and Strabane District Council contains both Londonderry Port and City of Derry Airport. Derry is close to the border with County Donegal, with which it has had a close link for many centuries. The person traditionally seen as the founder of the original Derry is Saint Colmcille, a holy man from Tír Chonaill, the old name for almost all of modern County Donegal, of which the west bank of the Foyle was a part before 1610. (Full article...)

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How to link here

Simply add {{Portal|Ireland}} to a page. If you need to use a flag, to avoid causing offense, please use the Four Provinces flag e.g. {{Portal|Ireland}}.

If you are new to Wikipedia then Céad Mile Fáilte! This portal is for articles on Wikipedia that relate to Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Like all of Wikipedia, it is written collaboratively and, like any article that you find using it, it too can be edited by anyone.

There is an active community of editors working on Ireland-related articles on Wikipedia and there are dedicated projects that tie this community together. To get in touch with them - or just to find out more - drop by at one of the parent Ireland-related projects:

If you want to get involved in contributing to Wikipedia, don't worry - everybody needs some help at the start. If you get into trouble you can always ask another Wikipedian for help. These guides should get you up-and-running on how Wikipedia works and how you can contribute:

  • Getting started: This introduction explains how Wikipedia works. When you're ready, you can try the tutorial.
  • Questions about Wikipedia: The Frequent Ask Questions page has answers to all kinds of questions asked about Wikipedia.

If you would like to involve yourself with the Irish on Wikipedia, the section below will connect you to communities of editors working on specific Ireland-related topics. It also contains an up-to-date to do list for Ireland-related articles so you can start helping out right now. Click [show] (below, right) to see it all:

How you can improve Ireland-related articles on Wikipedia
  • The main Dublin article needs to achieve featured status.
  • Every locality needs at least a 500-character stub article, built on top of its framework article.
  • All areas of historic importance need substantial articles.
  • The article on the Mahon Tribunal needs to be tidied up, verified, and fact-checked.
  • Irish (Gaelic) words and phrases should be marked up using {{lang}}, thus: {{lang-ga|Páirc na hÉireann}}.


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