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CONTENTS Welcome to Ireland! page 6
1. 1. No No Place Place Like Like Home Home 88
2. 2. Woodlands Woodlands && Hedgerows Hedgerows 1010
3. Grasslands Grasslands & & Bogs Bogs 3. 12 12
4. Hills & Mountains 4. Hills & Mountains 14 14
5. Rivers & Lakes 5. Rivers & Lakes 16 16
6. Ocean & Seas 6. Ocean 18 & Seas 18
7. Islands of Wonder 7. Islands 20 of Wonder 20
8. Lighthouses 8. Lighthouses 22 22
9. 9. Wheels Wheels & & Wings Wings 24 24
10. 10.Power Powerto tothe thePeople People 26 26
11.11. Gaeltacht Regions Gaeltacht Regions 2828
12. Famous & Fun Gardens 30 12. Famous & Fun Gardens 30
13. Food 32 13. Food 32
14. Footprints & Fossils 34 & Fossils 14. Footprints 34
15. Stones Still Standing 15. Stones Still 36 Standing 33
16. Invaders & Settlers 16. Invaders 38 & Settlers 38
17. Big Battles & Bold Moments 17. Big Battles 40 & Bold Moments 40
18. Towers Towers & & Turrets Turrets 18. 42 42
19. 19.Treasure TreasureIsland Island 4444
20. 20. Ground Ground Beneath Beneath Your Your Feet Feet 46 43
21. Folklore & Mythology 21. Folklore48 & Mythology 48
22. Fairies & Scaries 22. Fairies 50 & Scaries 50
23. Where Spirits Linger 23. Where52 Spirits Linger 52
24.24. National Parks 26. Biggest, Biggest, Tallest, Tallest,Longest Longest...... 27. Can You Find? Find? National Parks 25. 25.Special SpecialSites Sites&&Cities Cities 26. 54 54 56 58 56 58 60
Welcome to Ireland! Ireland is home to over 5 million people, who live in all kinds of homes across the island. Some families live in cosy thatched cottages in the countryside, friends share modern apartments in busy cities, and neighbours wave hello from suburban townhouses. Let’s take a trip through the mountains, forests, shores and cities of Ireland. Meet fascinating wildlife, uncover tales of ancient heroes, and discover real-life history in the places that shaped this small but special country. People living in Ireland speak different languages, celebrate different traditions, and come from all over the world, but they share one thing in common – they all call this beautiful, green island home.
Let’s Talk!
Irish (Gaeilge) and English are the official languages in the Republic of Ireland, while Ulster Scots is also spoken in Northern Ireland. You’ll hear various other languages spoken in Ireland – Polish, Portuguese, Urdu, Ukrainian and many more.
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Symbols of Ireland The Irish Flag
Sometimes called the Tricolour, the Irish flag has three stripes: The Green stripe represents the Irish Catholic people, the Orange stripe represents the Irish Protestant people. The White stripe in the middle stands for peace and hope between all people in Ireland.
Shamrock
Claddagh ring from Galway.
Brigid – Goddess and Saint
The lapwing is the national bird of Ireland.
Ireland is the only country to have a musical instrument as a national emblem – the harp!
Saint Patrick
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Leitrim is the most sparsely populated county.
The six counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry, Antrim, Armagh and Down make up Northern Ireland. These counties are part of the United Kingdom. The other 26 counties are the Republic of Ireland.
The Island of Ireland is made up of four provinces: Ulster in the north, Connacht in the west, Munster in the south and Leinster in the east. Within the provinces, there are thirty-two counties.
1. No Place Like Home The northernmost point of Ireland is Malin Head.
Louth is the smallest county.
The most easterly point on mainland Ireland is Burr Point, County Down.
Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland.
Brow Head, County Cork, is the most southerly point on mainland Ireland.
Dunmore Head is the westernmost point of mainland Ireland.
The geographical centre of Ireland is in east Roscommon, south of Athlone.
Cork is the largest county.
Wexford is the sunniest county.
Dublin is the capital city and the most populous.
2. Woodlands & Hedgerows Ireland is full of leafy woods and winding hedgerows. They are perfect hideouts for all kinds of birds, animals and mini beasties. In the forests, tall oak, ash and hazel trees grow thick and green. Out in the countryside, hedgerows made of shrubs, brambles and wildflowers stretch between fields. Look carefully and you might spot a red squirrel leaping between branches, a long-eared owl peering down from a tree or a majestic fallow deer stepping silently through the leaves. Many of these animals and birds live all over Ireland, but here’s a selection of some of the special wild places where we might see them.
Jay
This colourful bird loves to hide acorns in the oak woods.
Monarch butterfly
Pine marten
Once nearly extinct, these furry climbers are rebounding.
Ash tree Red squirrel
Native and making a comeback thanks to the return of the pine marten. Mostly found in the southwest.
Oak tree Hedgehog Yew tree
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A favourite garden visitor all over Ireland, snuffling through hedgerows at night.
Great spotted woodpecker
Ireland’s only woodpecker, occasionally seen, but more often HEARD as it tap, tap, taps on tree trunks.
Blackbird
A sweet singer found all over Ireland, a favourite from old songs and poems.
Sparrowhawk
Fast and fierce! This bird of prey swoops through the woods.
Fallow deer, Phoenix Park
A wild herd has lived in the Phoenix Park for over 300 years.
Wood mouse
Tiny and wide-eyed, these mice scurry through hedges.
Badger
Stoat
Badgers dig cosy setts underground in woodlands.
Stealthy and speedy, stoats hunt in hedgerows.
Fox
Common across Ireland, found near hedges and woodlands and maybe even in your garden. 11
Bog cotton
This fluffy white plant grows across boglands like a cottony blanket.
Meadow pipit
A small brown bird that sings on the wing and nests on the boggy ground.
Lapwing
A swooping, looping bird with a whooping call. The lapwing is the national bird of Ireland.
Large heath butterfly A shy butterfly that lives only in special raised bogs.
Irish hare
With goldenbrown fur and long legs, speedy enough to vanish in a blink!
Grey partridge
A rare farmland bird making a comeback in protected fields.
Common frog
Ireland’s only native frog – watch out for it hopping through boggy puddles in spring.
Curlew
Pygmy shrew
With a long, bendy beak and a haunting call, curlews love wild bogland.
Lizard
Ireland’s only native reptile loves sunbathing on stones near bogs and heathland.
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Ireland’s smallest mammal – even tinier than a mouse!
Kestrel
This falcon hovers in midair, watching below for a tasty mouse or shrew.
3. Grasslands & Bogs
Ireland’s grasslands and peat bogs are full of life – if you know where to look! In grassy fields, little lizards, hares and birds dart and hide, while farm animals graze nearby. In bogs (also called peatlands), you’ll find squishy ground, cottony plants and some very special animals and insects that live nowhere else. Walk quietly and you might see a frog hop out of the moss, a butterfly drift by or a bird of prey flying high above your head!
Raised bog Snipe
Mountain blanket bog
A small bird with a long bill that makes a drumming sound when it flies.
Lowland blanket bog
Red grouse
A chunky bird with a red eyebrow that hides in the heather.
Hen harrier
A rare bird of prey that flies low over the bog – a ghostly glider.
Common shrew
Tiny and fast, with a twitchy nose, shrews dart through damp grass, hunting insects. 13
4. Hills & Mountains
High up in the mountains, the air is cooler, the ground is rocky and the world feels wild and wide open. Red deer roam the slopes, golden eagles soar overhead, and tiny flowers cling to the cliffs with determination. It's a quiet place, but full of life. If you look closely, you might spot a speedy hare, a hovering kestrel or even a shiny green beetle dashing across the path like a tiny emerald!
Merlin
Ireland’s smallest bird of prey, a fierce little falcon that flies fast and low.
Croagh Patrick
Red deer
Ireland’s only native deer, red deer have lived in the mountains of Kerry for thousands of years.
Maumturk Mountains
Clifden
Buzzard
After being hunted to extinction in Ireland in the late 19th century, they returned in the 1930s and have since recolonised the entire island. Buzzards can be found in every county.
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Killarney
MacGillycuddy’s Reeks
Falcarragh Mount Errigal
Peregrine falcon
The fastest bird in the world, peregrine falcons dive to catch prey at over 300 km/h, like a feathered fighter jet!
Sperrin Mountains Omagh
Sligo Newry
Ring ouzel
A rare ‘mountain blackbird’ with a white chest that nests high on rocky slopes.
Ox Mountains
Raven
Huge, clever, black birds with deep, croaking calls.
Mourne Mountains
Green tiger beetle
A shiny green beetle with big jaws that sprints across dry mountain paths.
Heath bumblebee Slieve Bloom Mountains
Portlaoise
Blackstairs Mountains
Comeragh Mountains
Wheatear
Wicklow Mountains
Wicklow
This fuzzy bee loves purple mountain flowers and buzzes through the heather all day long.
New Ross
Tramore
These little birds migrate all the way from Africa to nest in rocky mountain places.
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