| Area Total | 70,273 sq km |
| Climate | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time |
| Natural Resources | natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite |
| Imports | $98.13 billion (2017 est.),UK 29%, US 18.9%, France 12.1%, Germany 9.6%, Netherlands 4.1% (2017) – data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing |
| Exports | $219.7 billion (2017 est.) US 27.1%, UK 13.4%, Belgium 11%, Germany 8.1%, Switzerland 5.1%, Netherlands 4.9%, France 4.3% (2017) – machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, medical devices, pharmaceuticals; foodstuffs, animal products |
| Government | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Dublin |
| Population | 5,068,050 (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | Irish 82.2%, Irish travelers 0.7%, other white 9.5%, Asian 2.1%, black 1.4%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.6% (2016 est.) |
| Language | English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken by approximately 39.8% of the population as of 2016; mainly spoken in areas along Ireland’s western coast known as gaeltachtai, which are officially recognized regions where Irish is the predominant language) |
News about Ireland
Ireland | The Guardian Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voice
- Sally Rooney says she will be unable to publish books in UK while Palestine Action banned
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on November 27, 2025Author tells high court her public support for group means her books could disappear from UK stores altogetherThe Irish author Sally Rooney has told the high court she is highly unlikely to be able to publish new work in the UK while the ban on Palestine Action remains in effect because of her public support for the group.On the second day of the legal […]
- Celebrity Traitors star Ruth Codd recovering after second leg amputation
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on November 27, 2025Irish actor, who had first amputation after football injury, reveals new wheelchair in TikTok videoThe actor and The Celebrity Traitors star Ruth Codd has announced that she is recovering after a second leg amputation operation.The 29-year-old Irish performer had her first amputation six years ago after injuring her foot playing football as a teenager, […]
- A united Ireland referendum must not be ‘another Brexit’, analysts say
by Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent on November 24, 2025Two leading journalists from both sides of the border warn against another ‘vague, thumbs up-thumbs down’ voteA decade after the UK stumbled into a hasty referendum that polarised the nation and unleashed chaos, a warning comes from across the Irish Sea: it could happen again.The government and voters sleepwalked into Brexit and the same may happen with […]
- ‘We’ve got to release the dead hand of the past’: how Ireland created the world’s best alternative music scene
by Anna Cafolla on November 21, 2025Irish indie acts used to be ignored, even on Irish radio. But songs confronting the Troubles, poverty and oppression are now going global – and changing how Ireland sees itselfOn a hot Saturday afternoon at Glastonbury, while many are nursing halfway-point hangovers, the Dublin garage punk quartet Sprints whip up a jubilant mosh pit with their charged […]
- Joy Crookes says UK and Ireland in ‘dark time’ amid rise of far-right politics
by Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent on November 20, 2025Musician’s Brixton and Dublin performances go viral after she performs Sinéad O’Connor’s anti-racism anthem Black Boys on MopedsThe UK and Ireland are entering a “dark time”, according to the singer Joy Crookes, who said the influence of far-right ideology on mainstream politics was comparable to the 1970s when the National Front was at its […]
- Testimony review – a devastating exposé of the Irish church’s brutal Magdalene laundries
by Cath Clarke on November 19, 2025A searing documentary on the laundries sees a determined young human rights lawyer join survivors and campaigners in a fight for truth and accountabilityAt least 10,000 women and girls were imprisoned in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries, forced into unpaid labour and subject to cruelty and suffering. This documentary narrated by Imelda Staunton tells the […]
- The wild old wicked gang: great Irish writers – in pictures
by Guardian Staff on November 18, 2025Edna O’Brien on her sofa, Joseph O’Connor in his garden, Seamus Heaney surrounded by books … British photographer Steve Pyke on capturing the greats of Irish literature Continue reading...
- Families of IRA victims in England told new Troubles bill could revive path to justice
by Steven Morris on November 17, 2025Security minister Dan Jarvis says scrapping immunity scheme would give relatives a renewed chance for answersThe families of more than 70 people killed by the IRA and other paramilitaries in unsolved attacks on English soil can once again hope for justice under the new Northern Ireland Troubles bill, the UK government has claimed.As MPs in the House of […]
- Ireland to act if tougher asylum rules create Belfast back door for migration
by Lisa O’Carroll on November 17, 2025Jim O’Callaghan says he will closely monitor changes proposed by Britain amid concerns over impactAttempts to toughen up asylum rules in the UK could have significant implications for relations with Ireland, Dublin’s justice minister has said, amid concerns that this could increase migration flows to Ireland.More than 80% of people who use irregular […]
- Letter: Martin Mansergh obituary
by Greg Quiery on November 17, 2025The Manserghs, an Anglo-Irish family, to which Martin Mansergh belonged, attached much importance to the family dog. It is said that they switched their allegiance from the British side to Irish Republicanism when their dog was shot by the Black and Tans in 1920, at their estate in Tipperary, which may well explain Martin’s loyalty to Fianna Fáil. […]
- Incredible story of Irish labourer buried alive in coffin for 61 days told in new documentary
by Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent on November 17, 2025Mick Meaney made global headlines when he beat world record in 1968, but returned to Ireland pennilessThey were known as burial artists – people who had themselves buried alive in macabre feats of endurance – and Mick Meaney resolved to be the best there ever was.It was 1968 and the Irish labourer had barely a pound to his name but he believed that if […]
- Five people killed and three injured in car crash in County Louth, Ireland
by Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent on November 16, 2025Gardaí appeal for witnesses and Simon Harris pays tribute to first responders after two-vehicle collision on SaturdayIreland is in mourning after a road crash killed five people in their early 20s and left three other people injured.The two-vehicle collision happened at about 9pm on Saturday on a road near Dundalk in County Louth. Continue reading...
- Storm Claudia: Arctic winds to bring snow and -7C temperatures
by Tom Ambrose, Nadeem Badshah and agency on November 15, 2025Major incident declared in Wales, with rescues and evacuations in Monmouth after river bursts its banksSnow could be on the way for parts of the UK with a cold snap set to arrive in the coming days in the wake of Storm Claudia, the Met Office said on Saturday.The storm had a significant impact in Wales where a major incident was declared, with dozens of […]
- Irish government announces plan to build 300,000 homes within five years
by Rory Carroll on November 13, 2025Proposal includes 72,000 social homes to tackle housing crisis, but critics call it ‘old wine in a new bottle’The Irish government has announced a long-awaited plan to tackle the country’s severe housing shortage by building 300,000 new homes within five years.It plans to boost supply by increasing construction capacity and the amount of zoned and […]
- The EU has let US tech giants run riot. Diluting our data law will only entrench their power | Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles
by Johnny Ryan and Georg Riekeles on November 12, 2025The GDPR is Europe’s defence against digital oligarchy, child harm and foreign political interference. Deregulation plans are misguidedEurope is hurtling toward digital vassalage. Under Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, EU laws to tackle tech giants have been either not applied or delayed, for fear of offending Donald Trump. Now […]
- Catherine Connolly sworn in as Ireland’s president on day of pomp and celebration
by Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent on November 11, 2025New president pledges ‘all voices’ will be heard and vows to promote climate action, tolerance and a Gaelic revivalCatherine Connolly has vowed to make Ireland a “republic worthy of its name” by using her presidency to champion diversity, the Irish language and the legacy of decolonisation.Connolly spelled out a leftwing alternative to centre-right […]
- 100,000 take part in controversial Poland independence march, authorities say – as it happened
by Jakub Krupa on November 11, 2025Thousand attend event organised primarily by nationalist and far-right groups to mark 107th anniversary of independenceYou can watch the live stream of the Irish presidential inauguration here:Irish president-elect Catherine Connolly has just arrived at the Dublin Castle for her presidential inauguration. Continue reading...
- Hopes of Irish language revival in public life as Catherine Connolly takes office
by Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent on November 11, 2025Advocates say presidency could be ‘transformative moment’ for Ireland after Gaelic’s cultural breakthroughsThe Irish language has scored cultural breakthroughs with the film The Quiet Girl and the controversial rap trio Kneecap and is now about to acquire a new talisman: Catherine Connolly.When the independent leftwing politician is inaugurated as […]
- Bad Bridgets podcast about crime among Irish women in US inspires film
by Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent on November 9, 2025Margot Robbie’s company to make movie based on Northern Ireland academics’ stories of poverty and prisonIt started as a trawl of dusty archives for an academic project about female Irish emigrants in Canada and the US by two history professors, a worthy but perhaps niche topic for research.The subjects, after all, were human flotsam from Ireland’s […]
- Irish football chiefs pass vote seeking Uefa ban on Israel from European competition
by Guardian sport on November 8, 2025Republic of Ireland body alleges two statute violations FAI approved a resolution to submit a formal motionThe Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has approved a resolution to submit a formal motion to Uefa urging it to ban Israel from European club and international competitions.The governing body’s resolution – proposed by the Dublin club Bohemians […]
