 |
The island of Ireland is the third largest island in Europe. It is situated to the north-west of continental Europe, and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the larger island of Great Britain. Politically, the state Ireland, described as the Republic of Ireland in cases of ambiguity, covers five-sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, covering the remainder in the north-east.