General information

Location

Ireland is an island in North West Europe. Its nearest neighbour is Britain to the east, separated from it by the Irish Sea. To the north, west and south is the Atlantic Ocean. Ireland is dividen into 4 provinces Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulter (which is Northern Ireland). These are again divided again into a number of counties (Connacht 6, Leinster 12 (including Dublin), Munster 6 and Ulster 9 (6 of them are in Northern Ireland)).

Located on the east coast of Ireland, Dublin is the capital of the Republic and is Ireland's largest city. The Liffey is the main river running through the city. Dublin is split into four administrative units. These are Dublin City, Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin.

Climate

Dublin's climate is mild, wet and very changeable. Winter temperature average 4 - 7 ºC (39 - 44ºF) and in summer between 16 and 20ºC (60 - 67ºF). There are about eighteen hours of daylight daily during July and August, only getting trully dark after 23:00. However this also means that days are quite short during winter time, getting totally dark at around 4:30 in December.

Currency

The Euro is the only currency officially recognised as legal tender in the Republic of Ireland.

Language

English is the spoken language throughout Ireland. Irish (or Gaelic) is the original native language of Ireland. Place names and singage are usually in both languages.

Population

The population of Dublin City and County is approximately 1.1 million

Public Holidays

New Year's Day - January 1st
St. Patrick's Day - March 17th
Good Friday - It is not a public holiday, however it is observe as such for many business in Dublin
Easter Monday - Monday following Easter Sunday
May bank holiday - First Monday in May
June bank holiday - First Monday in June
August bank holiday - First Monday in August
October bank holiday - First Monday in October
Christmas Day - December 25th
St. Stephens Day - December 26th