Travel Destinations Ireland

Gaelic football, hurling and football are the most popular sports in Ireland. Along with Camogie, Ladies' Gaelic football, handball and rounders, they make up the national sports of Ireland, collectively known as Gaelic Games. The Irish rugby team includes players from north and south, and the Irish Rugby Football Union governs the sport on both sides of the border. Consequently in international rugby, the Ireland team represents the whole island. The same is true of cricket, golf, tennis and hockey. The Irish rugby team have played in every Rugby World Cup, making the quarter-finals at four of them. Golf is a popular sport in Ireland and golf tourism is a major industry.

Facts, Icons and Landmarks

Ireland is the third largest island in Europe. Ireland is divided into four provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster.
The name 'Ireland' derives from the name Ériu (in modern Irish, Éire) with the addition of the Germanic word 'land'. In 1949, the Irish state declared itself to be a republic and that henceforth it should be described as the Republic of Ireland. The Republic was plagued by poverty and emigration until the mid-1970s. The 1990s saw the beginning of unprecedented economic success, in a phenomenon known as the "Celtic Tiger".
Brewing in Ireland has a long history, and by the beginning of the nineteenth century there were over two hundred breweries in the country, fifty-five of them in Dublin.
Irish beer is dominated by Guinness in particular and stout in general.
The Irish tradition of folk music and dance is also widely known.
Some interesting places on the island of Ireland include the following: The Rock of Cashel, The Giant's Causeway, Cliffs of Moher, and Dublin Zoo.