Generalities on Nortern Ireland and
the Republic of Ireland
the Republic of Ireland
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the Republic of Ireland | |
The area covered by the Irish island is 83864 square kilometers. For information, no point in the island is more than 96 km from the sea.
It is divided in two parts : Eire and Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom. It is also divided in four provinces (Leinster, Munster, Connaught and Ulster) which makes 32 counties. Time difference with Western Europe is one hour later.
Northern Ireland,usually called Ulster (but it covers 6 of the 9 counties of the Ulster province)is part of the United Kingdom. It spans over 13 564 kmē et has 1.6 million inhabitants. Its capital city is Belfast (500 000 inhabitants) and its currency is the pound.
Politically, Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy and the Chief of Government is Tony Blair. Since June 25 1998, date of the election, Northern Ireland is ruled by a Local Assembly of 108 representatives, which gives it some autonomy.
Irish people will tell you that the climate is not so bad there. Be cautious ! In summary, rain, wind (especially on the coast) and sometimes, sun...
To call Ireland, you have to dial: 00 + 44(for United Kingdom) + area code without 0 + number
Eire covers 70 300 kmē or 84% of the island. It has 3.7 million inhabitants, almost 50% of them being less than 25 years : its populationis quite young . Dublin, the capital city, has 1 058 000 inhabitants. The three other great towns are Cork (180 000 inhabitants), Limerick (79 000 inhabitants) et Galway (57 500 inhabitants).
The currency is the Irish pound but it a member of the euro zone, so, beginning 2002, it will change to euro.
Politically, Eire is a democracy with two Chambers. The President of the Republic is Mary McAleese (since October 30, 1997) and the Chief of Government is Bertie Aherne. The Republic is divided in three provinces(Leinster, Munster and Connaught) and 3 counties of Ulster, totalling 26 counties.
To call Eire, you have to dial: 00 + 353 (code for Eire)+area code without 0 and your number
