Ireland
Tourism

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past, the country houses in their beautiful parks and the friendliness and hospitality of the people, however poor they may be, as well as their ready wit.
It is only in more recent times, with the establishment of the sovereign Republic of Ireland and the country's growing prosperity, that the island has begun to attract increasing numbers of holidaymakers and tourists -- individualists travelling on their own, looking for something out of the ordinary, perhaps fishing or playing golf, who like peace and quiet and who appreciate the friendly reception they receive.
Together with the main island of Great Britain and various smaller islands and groups of islands it forms part of the British Isles -- a term of purely geographical significance. It is separated from Great Britain, to the east, by the North Channel, the Irish Sea -- which can often be rough -- and St George's Channel; the west coast is open to the Atlantic, with numerous rocky offshore islands and islets.
Ireland lies in a region of mild south-westerly winds, subject to the influence of the warm water brought by the Gulf Stream. Since no point on the island is more than 70miles/110km from the sea, the whole country has a relatively temperate climate, with mild winters and cool summers. Rain and wind are regular features of Irish weather, but snow is rare except in the hills and never lies long.
The Irish or Erse language, also called by the philologically incorrect name of Gaelic, belongs to the Celtic group of languages and, within that group, to the Insular Celtic languages. Gaelic in the wider sense includes Scottish as well as Irish Gaelic. Another insular Celtic language is Breton, which was taken into north-western France by immigrants from the British Isles.