Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom from 1801 till December 1922, when 26 counties of the land ceded themselves from British rule (known as the Partition of Ireland) and formed the Irish Free State, a constitutional monarchy that soon resulted in the Irish Civil War.  The Irish Free State was replaced by a state that declared itself officially as ‘Ireland’ in 1937. On 18 April 1949, the country affirmed its independence from the UK and formed a republic.

Ireland has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, and the European Community (now the European Union) since 1973. The people of Ireland can be quite informal, friendly and easy-going. The country has produced prolific writers like W.B. Yeats and international music bands like Westlife.

Ireland is a country in north-western Europe. It is bordered to the north by Northern Ireland (the British-ruled part which claims around one-sixth of the land area), the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Irish Sea in the east. The terrain comprises a central plateau bordered by isolated mountains and hillocks. The highest point in the land is Carauntooohil in south-western Ireland which stands at around 1000 m.