3260, 3280 IRELAND / UNITED KINGDOM (Northern Ireland) - The map of the island

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Posted on 04.02.2018, 03.12.2019
Located in the North Atlantic, Ireland is the third-largest island in Europe (after Great Britain and Iceland), separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Politically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (with Dublin as capital city), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland (with Belfast as capital city), which is part of the United Kingdom. In 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.6 million (under 4.8 million in the Republic of Ireland and over 1.8 million in Northern Ireland).

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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 is free of extremes in temperature. 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%. The Irish climate is very moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.

0106 UNITED KINGDOM (Northern Ireland - Ulster) - Enniskillen Castle

0106 The south tower of Enniskillen Castle

Located between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne, Enniskillen is a little town (13,587inhabitants in 2011) with a rich history. I must to say that James I founded here a free school in 1618, originally called Enniskillen Royal School, and later Portora Royal School. Among many prominent people who attended the courses of this school include two of my favorite writers, Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett.

0013 UNITED KINGDOM (Northern Ireland - Ulster) - Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast (UNESCO WHS)

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns (the tallest are about 12 metres), most of it hexagonal, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption, some 50 to 60 million years ago. That say the geologists. Folk tradition says that the Causeway was built by the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Fingal. The legend is long and interesting (you can find it on the Internet in several variants). Finally Fingal sped back along the causeway to get rid of Finn and tearing it up as he went. He is said to have fled to a cave on Staffa which to this day is named Fingal's Cave.