Elämä on matka : Welcome to Ireland

Welcome to Ireland

As part of my english studies , one of my tasks was to make a presentation of one country , other than my homeland Finland.
This was no brainer to me - it has to be done of the place, that has swept me off my feet several times ...
so, Ireland it is.

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

First - Ireland in a nutshell....few basic facts:

The republic of Ireland is ~ 70 273 square kilometres.
• climate : temperate maritime , mild winters and cool summers , fairly humid and often overcast
• population: ~ 5,1 million ( march 2024)
• capital : Dublin
• other bigger cities: Cork, Galway, Limerick , Waterford
• official languages: irish ( gaelic ) ,english
• currency : euro
• political system: parliamentary republic ( consist 26 counties)
-->head of government is prime minister:
Leo Varadkar ( from 2022)
• economics:strong , export-based economy ( agricultural products , pharmaseutical , food products, beverages and brewing etc..)

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

Few words of history ...

For this part, we will take a ride with a time-machine very, very far away ...

The first human settlement on Ireland is taking place ~ 6000 BC .
Ever since that has this land been rich of action and drama , since it has been invated many times : by vikings, by Anglo-Normans ...

It was the Celts, who left a huge and a long-lasting impact on Ireland and played a massive role on the Irish culture.

The Potato famin in Ireland 1845-1849 has also been a large historic event , a terribly sad and tragic one too.
It was those times, that potato was in key-role of nourishing Irish people, especially the poorer people at rural regions.

The potato crop failed after many good years, and it was hit by : Phytophtora infestans , which really destroyed the crop and lead to the terrible tragedy.
Around million people died due to starvation and / or famine related diseases.

Link to more history of Ireland:

https://www.discoveringireland.com/the-history-of-ireland/

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

Few famous people from Ireland ( in no particular order):

• Grace O ' Malley / sea-captain, political activist
• Oscar Wilde / writer
• George Bernard Shaw / writer
• William Butler Yeats / writer
• Van Morrison / singer
• U2 / band
• Sinead O ' Connor / singer
• Katie Taylor / boxer
• Iris Kellett / showjumper
• Darina Allen / chef

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

From Guinness to Boxty....

Ireland has more than 7000 pubs .
Even the people, who don't consume alcohol, know the Guinness and Irish coffee.
Whether you like to have a pint or not, no need to worry - Ireland has plenty of tasty stuff to try..here are few traditional Irish goodies to taste;

• boxty
• soda bread with some rich irish cheddar
• irish stew
• colcannon
• shellfish

There are quite a many farmers markets around the country, and I strongly recommend to pay a visit on them:
meet the farmers , buy some local fresh veggies , take home some special delicacies ( cheese, jam, cider etc...) it is well worth it.

If you do enjoy your beer and a sip of good whiskey, have a tour and tasting at the Guinness storehouse in Dublin or pay a visit to one of the Ireland's whiskey distilleries. - Slainte!!

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

Of course there are loads to be seen and experienced on this delightful country , that does not involve drinking or eating
( I just tend to forget it, since I am so food oriented myself).

Live music needs to be heard in Ireland . Many pubs has often live music , great vibes there , some good banter going on and more or less serious discussions of weather , which seems to be almost a hobby amongst locals.
If you do fancy a little stroll to a pub, get out of Dublin and head to some small village ...the atmosphere is way better and you meet more locals than tourists.

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

Ireland is a fabulous place for outdoorsy and active folks , there are several national parks with hiking trails . Also outside the national parks there are plenty of little trails to discover, just two pointers:
1. Left-hand traffic
2. Respect people's properties !! Close the gates ( some trails go through pastures), do NOT feed the animals and don't litter!

https://www.nationalparks.ie/

Like every country, Ireland has also few popular visitor attractions , such as : Cliffs of Moher, Kylemore Abbey , Giant's causeway etc..just to name few...

BUT - I can whole-heartedly recommend these :
• Westport
• Clifden
• Tralee and surroundings
• Inishturk island and Clare island ( you can take a ferry from Roonagh pier )

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

All in all, this emerald island we know as Ireland , is a place , that can easily steal your heart and makes you wanna go there over and over again...
It has totally captivated me , and I cannot wait til' I can be there again ❤️🙏

Thank you for taking your time by reading this! I hope that it gave you a little inspiration to visit Ireland one day .

(Photos © Anneli Laulumaa )