Ireland mapcard

 The island's geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild but changeable climate which avoids extremes in temperature. Thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, compared with a European average of 35%. There are 26 extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is very moderated and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area. Summers are however cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover is abundant.

Map of Ireland

 Ireland  is an island in the North Atlantic separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. It is the second-largest island of the British Isles, trailing only Great Britain, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.

Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially also named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remaining area and is located in the northeast of the island. In 2011 the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just over 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland mapcard

Northern Ireland is a constituent unit of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the northeast of the island of Ireland. It is variously described as acountry, province, region, or "part" of the United Kingdom, amongst other terms. Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population. Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the British government. Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts to resolve disagreements between [the two governments]"

Lough Neagh, Largest lake in Ireland

Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. The largest lake by area in the British Isles, it supplies forty percent of Northern Ireland's water. Its name comes from Irish: Loch nEachach, meaning "Lake of Eachaidh", although today it is usually spelt Loch nEathach in Irish.The lough is owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury.

Ha'penny Bridge over Liffey River, Dublin, Ireland

The Ha'penny Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Leathphingine, or Droichead na Life), known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland.Made of cast iron, the bridge was cast at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England. Originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Duke of Wellington), the name of the bridge changed to Liffey Bridge. The Liffey Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Life) remains the bridge's official name to this day, although it is most commonly referred to as the Ha'penny Bridge. Before the Ha'penny Bridge was built there were seven ferries, operated by a William Walsh, across the Liffey. The ferries were in a bad condition and Walsh was informed that he had to either fix them or build a bridge. Walsh chose the latter option and was granted the right to extract a ha'penny toll from anyone crossing it for 100 years.^{[citation needed]} Initially the toll charge was based, not on the cost of construction, but to match the charges levied by the ferries it replaced. A further condition of construction was that, if the citizens of Dublin found the bridge and toll to be "objectionable" within its first year of operation, it was to be removed at no cost to the city.

The toll was increased for a time to a Penny Ha'penny (one and a half pence), but was eventually dropped in 1919. While the toll was in operation, there were turnstiles at either end of the bridge.

Convention Center (CCD) and Samuel Beckette Bridge, Dublin City, Ireland

The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) in the Dublin Docklands was opened in September 2010. The Convention centre overlooks the River Liffey at Spencer Dock. It was designed by the American-Irish architect Kevin Roche. The CCD was shortlisted for the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards – Engineering Project of the Year 2010. 

Samuel Beckett Bridge (Irish: Droichead Samuel Beckett) is a cable-stayed bridge in Dublin that joins Sir John Rogerson's Quay on the south side of the River Liffey to Guild Street and North Wall Quay in the Docklands area. The architect is Santiago Calatrava, a designer of a number of innovative bridges and buildings. This is the second bridge in the area designed by Calatrava, the first being theJames Joyce Bridge, which is further upstream.

Constructed by a "Graham Hollandia Joint Venture", the main span of the Samuel Beckett Bridge is supported by 31 cable stays from a doubly back-stayed single forward arc tubular tapered spar, with decking provided for four traffic and two pedestrian lanes. It is also capable of opening through an angle of 90 degrees allowing ships to pass through. This is achieved through a rotational mechanism housed in the base of the pylon.

The shape of the spar and its cables is said to evoke an image of a harp lying on its edge. (The harp is a secular icon for Ireland and things Irish.)