Moving to Ireland

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Moving to Ireland

Irish removals

Ireland (Irish: Éire; Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third largest island in Europe[1] and the twentieth largest in the world.[2] It lies to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain. Politically, Ireland is divided into the Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state occupying five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, occupying the northeastern sixth of the island.[3] The name 'Ireland' derives from the name Ériu (in modern Irish, Éire) with the addition of the Germanic word 'land'. The population of the island is slightly under six million (2006), with 4,239,848 in the Republic of Ireland[4] (1.7 million in Greater Dublin[5]) and about 1.7 million in Northern Ireland[6] (0.6 million in Greater Belfast).[7]

Physical geography

Some physical features of Ireland. (See also this larger version with more details).Main article: Geography of Ireland A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central plains. The highest peak is Carrauntuohill (Irish: Corrán Tuathail) in County Kerry, which is 1,041 m (3,414 feet).[9] The River Shannon, at 386 km (240 miles) is the longest river in Ireland.[10] The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but soft rainfall, earns it the sobriquet "Emerald Isle". The island's area is 84,412 km²[11] (32,591 square miles). Ireland's least arable land lies in the south-western and western counties. These areas are largely mountainous and rocky, with dramatic green vistas. [edit] Climate Overall, Ireland has a mild, but changeable, climate all year with few extremes. The warmest recorded air temperature was 33.3°C (91.94°F) at Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny on 26 June 1887, whereas the lowest recorded temperature was -19.1°C (-2.38°F) at Markree Castle, County Sligo on 16 January 1881.[12]. Other statistics show that the greatest recorded annual rainfall was 3964.9mm in the Ballaghbeena Gap in 1960. Conversely, the driest year on record was 1887, with only 356.6mm of rain recorded at Glasnevin. (While the longest period of "absolute drought" was in Limerick where there was no recorded rainfall over 38 days during April and May of 1938). [13] The climate is typically insular, and as a result of the moderating moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the Atlantic, it is of a temperate nature, avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other global areas sharing similar latitudes. Precipitation falls throughout the year, but is light overall, particularly in the east. The west, however, tends to be wetter on average and prone to the full force of Atlantic storms, more especially in the late autumn and winter months, which occasionally bring destructive winds and high rainfall totals to these areas, as well as snow and hail. The regions of North Galway and East Mayo have the highest incidents of recorded lightning annually (5 to 10 days per year)[14]. Though not noted for its snowfall, the four provinces of Ireland experience some snowfall each winter, though its intensity varies with Munster in the south recording the least snow with Ulster in the north more prone to snow. Some areas along the south and southwest coasts haven't had any lying snow for the past 16 years, with February 1991 being the last such event. There are noticeable differences in temperature between coastal and inland areas. Inland areas are warmer in summer, and colder in winter - there are usually around 40 days of below freezing temperatures (0°C) at inland weather stations, but only 10 days at coastal stations. Ireland is sometimes affected by heat waves, most recently 1995, 2003 and 2006. Highest recorded air temperature: 33.3 ºC (92 ºF) at Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny on June 26, 1887. Lowest recorded air temperature: -19.1 ºC (-2 ºF) at Markree Castle, County Sligo on January 16, 1881 [edit] Geology Geologically, the island consists of a number of provinces - in the far west around Galway and Donegal is a medium to high grade metamorphic and igneous complex of Caledonide (Scottish Highland) affinity. Across southeast Ulster and extending southwest to Longford and south to Navan is a province of Ordovician and Silurian rocks with more affinities with the Southern Uplands province of Scotland. Further south, there is an area along the Wexford coast of granite intrusives into more Ordovician and Silurian rocks with a more Welsh affinity. A view of the countryside in IrelandIn the southwest, around Bantry Bay and the mountains of Macgillicuddy's Reeks, is an area of substantially deformed but only lightly metamorphosed Devonian-aged rocks with a more Cornish affinity. This partial ring of "hard rock" geology is covered by a blanket of Carboniferous limestones over the centre of the country, giving rise to the comparatively fertile and famously "lush" landscape of the country. The west coast district of the Burren around Lisdoonvarna has well developed karst features. Elsewhere, significant stratiform lead-zinc mineralisation is found in the limestones (around Silvermines and Tynagh). Hydrocarbon exploration is continuing. The first major find was the Kinsale Head gas field off Cork/Cobh by Marathon Oil in the mid-1970s. More recently, in 1999, Enterprise Oil announced the discovery of the Corrib Gas Field. This has increased activity off the west coast in parallel with the "West of Shetland" step-out development from the North Sea hydrocarbon province. Exploration continues, with a frontier well planned north of Donegal for August 2006 and continuing drilling of prospects in the Irish Sea and St Georges Channel.

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Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland