AcountryoccupyingmostoftheislandofIreland.EstablishedastheIrishFreeStatein1922,IrelandofficiallybecamethesovereignstateofEirein1937.TheRepublicofIrelandwasproclaimedonEasterMonday(April18),1949.Dublinisthecapitalandthelargestcity.Population,3,443,405.

　　爱尔兰,爱尔兰自由邦只有爱尔兰岛大部的国家.它于1922年被建为爱尔兰自由邦,在1937年正式成为爱尔兰主权国家.爱尔兰共和国于1949年复活节星期一(4月18日）宣告成立.都柏林是其首都和最大城市.人口3,443,405Ireland(Irish:��ire;UlsterScots:Airlann)isthethirdlargestislandinEurope.[1]ItliestothenorthwestofContinentalEuropewiththeislandofGreatBritainlyingtotheeast.PoliticallyitisdividedintotheRepublicofIreland,asovereignstateoccupyingfive-sixthsoftheisland,andNorthernIreland,apartoftheUnitedKingdom,occupyingthenortheasternsixthoftheisland.[2]Thename'Ireland'derivesfromthename��riu(inmodernIrish,��ire)withtheadditionoftheGermanicword'land'.

　　Thepopulationoftheislandisslightlyundersixmillion(2006),with4.2millionintheRepublicofIreland[3](1.7millioninGreaterDublin[4])andabout1.7millioninNorthernIreland[5](0.6millioninGreaterBelfast).[6]

　　Politicalgeography

　　MapofIrelandshowingtheRepublicofIrelandandNorthernIreland.

　　MapofIrelandshowingtheRepublicofIrelandandNorthernIreland.

　　TheislandofIrelandhastwodistinctjurisdictions:

　　*Ireland(describedasTheRepublicofIreland),asovereignstate,withitscapitalinDublin,coveringfivesixthsoftheisland.

　　*theUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland,coveringtheremainingsixth.