Republic of Ireland

by Daisy Beckett Louis Braille

In Ireland the national language is Gaelic or Irish Gaelic.

A sign may see or read alot may be Fáilte which means 'welcome'.

The currency in Ireland is the Euro.

The head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland is known as the Taoiseach and heads a cabinet called the Government.

Enda Kenny is the current Taoiseach.

There are over 4.75 million people living in Ireland as of July 2013.

The Irish capital, Dublin is home to over one quarter of the total population.

Irish novelists have made major contributions to world literature. Famous writers include Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels, Bram Stoker - Dracula and James Joyce - Ulysses.

Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest a record seven times.

Ireland was one of the initial 12 European Union nations that began using the euro currency in 2002.

Saint Patrick's Day is Irelands official national holiday. The 17th of March holiday is celebrated in Ireland and also embraced by many other countries around the world.

The world famous Guinness beer is from Ireland, it originated in the Dublin brewery of Arthur Guinness.

Gaelic football and hurling are traditional sports of Ireland and remain the most popular sports in the country.

Ireland is called Éire in Irish and is also known as the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland covers five-sixths of the island of the same name, the remaining one-sixth of the island is Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

Bob Geldof and U2 are famous musicians from Ireland