1. IRELAND

2. LOCATION it lies on the British Isles it occupies about five sixth
of the total area of Ireland
the rest of the island is occupied by Northern Ireland, a part of the UK

3. GEOGRAPHY an island country separated from Britain by the Irish Sea
area – 70,280 sq km
it resembles a basin/a bowl, as there is a central flat plain surrounded by mountains
the longest river is the Shannon

4. GEOGRAPHY The River Shannon

5. LANDSCAPE green meadows and pastures for cattle no forests
lots of lakes – in Irish language called loughs
forestless mountains
moorlands covered with heathers
steep cliffs

11. CLIMATE
mild and very wet (it is caused by the Gulf Stream -the stream warms the air in winter, cools the air in summer)
winters are very mild with no or rare snow (once every 15 years) with temperatures about from 0ºC up to 12ºC (the coldest month is January)
summers are quite cold with average temperatures between 13ºC and 20ºC (the hottest month is July)

12. NAME OF THE COUNTRY English names: in Irish Gaelic: nickname:
the Irish Republic
the Republic of Ireland
in Irish Gaelic:
Éire
nickname:
the Emerald Island

13. POPULATION 4 million people
thanks to the immigration in the past more than 20 million people of Irish origin live in other English speaking countries, mostly in the USA

14. IRISH FLAG

15. IRISH FLAG a tricolor with three vertical stripes
the green colour symbolizes the Emerald Isle and the Catholic majority of the people
the orange is the colour of the Protestants
the white in the middle expresses the need for peace and understanding between them

16. LANGUAGES two official languages – bilingual country:
Irish Gaelic (Celtic language) – first language
English (Germanic language)
a quarter of the population consider themselves Gaelic people
all state school pupils must study Irish –
a compulsory subject

17. IRISH LANGUAGE Dublin = Baile Atha Cliath [balje áha klýa]
cheers = SLAINTE [slo:ntʃə]
WC man = FIR [fe:]
WC woman = MNÁ [mno:]
beach = TRÁ [tro:]

18. THE EMERALD ISLAND
Ireland is on the same latitude as Canada but has completely different weather and landscape – there are palm trees
high temperatures and a lot of rain enable the grass grows all year long
it is one of the greenest places in the world

19. THE EMERALD ISLAND

20. THE EMERALD ISLAND

21. POLITICAL SYSTEM
an independent country set up on democratic principles
used to be a part of the UK
then became a member of the British Commonwealth
in left the Commonwealth

22. POLITICAL SYSTEM
the head of the state is the President (elected for seven years by the direct vote – Michael D. Higgins since 2011)
he appoints the members of the government headed by the Prime Minister
the government is responsible to the two chambered National Parliament

23. POLITICAL SYSTEM it consists of: Ulster Munster Leinster Connaught
4 provinces
Ulster
Munster
Leinster
Connaught
26 counties (Tipperary)

24. ECONOMY economy - traditionally based on agriculture
the country lacks natural sources like ores, coal etc.
they produce beef, dairy products
recently new industries (electronics, light engineering...) have developed
typical products – Irish Whisky, Irish linen

25. ECONOMY

26. ANIMALS AND PLANTS the most spread animal is the cattle
it is the only country in Europe with no snakes – according to the legend St. Patrick drove them out into the sea
the most typical plant is the heather

27. COWS EVERYWHERE

28. THE HEATHER

29. MOORLAND

30. THE PEAT
where the ground is forever wet, dead plants do not rot but compress, blacken and change into peat - it is a spongy black matter, people dig it out
in the past they dried it in the sun and used as a fuel
today it is used in agriculture and gardening to lighten dense soil

31. THE PEAT

32. CAPITAL - DUBLIN

33. DUBLIN
Dublin (means “Dark Pool“) – Baíle Átha Cliath in Irish (baíle – town)
founded over 1,000 years ago by Vikings
more than 1 million people
absence of skyscrapers
the landmarks are:
St. Patrick´s Cathedral
the Trinity College
the Customs House
the Guiness Brewery

34. DUBLIN - The Customs House
houses the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government
is a neoclassical 18th century building which is located the north bank of the River Liffey

35. DUBLIN - The Castle until 1922 - the seat of British rule in Ireland
now a major Irish government complex

36. The Castle

37. The Trinity College
Dublin University
founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I.

38. The Trinity College

39. The Trinity College - Library
the library has over 250,000 early printed books and a fine collection of manuscripts

40. The Guiness Brewery produce beer from roasted barley corn
today produces about 83mil hl of beer
a year (= 45.5 million beers a day!)

41. St. Patrick´s Cathedral
founded in 1190
the most impressive national Catholic cathedral

42. St. Patrick´s Cathedral
founded by St. Patrick
the burial place of Jonathan Swift, who was the dean there for over 30 years

43. OTHER TOWNS
Limerick
Cork
Galway
Waterford

44. Limerick

45. Cork

46. Galway

47. PLACES OF INTEREST
it is the country full of castles or their ruins in typical Irish landscape
it is the country with noumerous neolithic monuments
it is the country with picturesque landscape, steep cliffs and wide valleys

48. IRISH CASTLES

49. IRISH CASTLES

50. BUNRATTY CASTLE one of the best preseved Norman castles
is surrounded by an open-air museum showing life in the past
with old farms, an old town with a school and shops selling man-made products etc.

51. BUNRATTY CASTLE

52. NEOLITHIC MONUMENTS are very old and made from big stones – megalithic
come from the New Stone Age
we usually do not know :
who built them
when exactly they were built
how or what for they were used

53. NEOLITHIC MONUMENTS Pulnabrone Dolmen

54. NEOLITHIC MONUMENTS Newgrange
the most famous and mysterious place not far from Dublin
was probably built 500 years before the Great Pyramids of Egypt
looks like a small hill or a bump on the top of a real hill
it symbolizes the Mother Earth expecting a baby

55. NEOLITHIC MONUMENTS Newgrange
an Irish name of the monument is Brú na Boínne, which means Womb of the White Cow (white cow is another name for mother Earth)
the sun can shine inside only for a few days around the Mid-Winter´s Day
it means – winter is defeated and a new life in the womb can grow

56. NEOLITHIC MONUMENTS Newgrange

57. NEOLITHIC MONUMENTS Newgrange

58. NEOLITHIC MONUMENTS Newgrange

59. WONDERS OF NATURE The Cliffs of Moher
8 km along the Atlantic coast, 214m – the highest point

60. IRISH FESTIVALS St. Patrick´s Day
17th March
the day of wearing of the green
celebrated all over the world

61. IRISH FESTIVALS St. Patrick´s Day

62. IRISH FESTIVALS St. Patrick´s Day

63. IRISH CULTURE
music
dance
pubs

64. IRISH PUBS

65. OUTSTANDING PEOPLE
Jonathan Swift
a writer
Gulliver´s Travels

66. OUTSTANDING PEOPLE
Oscar Wilde
a poet and dramatist
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Picture of Dorian Gray

67. OUTSTANDING PEOPLE
James Joyce
a writer
The Ulysses

68. OUTSTANDING PEOPLE
G. B. Shaw
a dramatist
Pygmalion

69. OUTSTANDING PEOPLE - U2

70. OUTSTANDING PEOPLE
Pierce Brosnan
Sinnead O’Connor
Collin Farrell