Ireland Facts

Winter Morning

The most northerly point is Inishtrahull Island, situated in the Atlantic Ocean 7 km north of Inishowen Peninsula, county Donegal.

Sun Rays

The most easterly point is Big Bow Meel Island, which is a rock situated 900 metres off the Ards Peninsula, county Down

Last Rose

The most southerly point is Fastnet Rock, which lies in the Atlantic Ocean 11.3 km south of mainland county Cork.

Straw

The most westerly point is Tearaght Island, which lies in the Atlantic Ocean 12.5 km west of Dingle Peninsula, county Kerry.

Wired Cow

The geographical centre of Ireland is to be found in eastern county Roscommon, at a point 3km (2 miles) south of Athlone town.

Ornament

The sea cliffs at Croaghaun, Achill Island off western Ireland fall 668 metres (2,192 feet) into the Atlantic Ocean. Slieve League in county Donegal has a drop of 601 metres (1,972 feet) into the same ocean. Both cliffs are almost twice the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Forest Road

The largest city in Ireland is Dublin, which at 1,045,769 inhabitants, is home to almost 1 in 5 Irish people, and almost 1 in 4 in the Irish Republic. The next 9 largest settlements are Belfast , Cork, Limerick, Derry, Newtownabbe, Dún Laoghaire, Bangor, Galway and Lisburn .

Rose Hip

In terms of area, the largest county in Ireland is county Cork at 7,457 km². The next largest is county Galway, at 6,148 km². The largest county in Northern Ireland is county Tyrone, at 3,155 km².

Mossy Stone

The smallest county in Ireland is county Louth, which is just 820 km² in area – 9 times smaller than county Cork. The next smallest is county Carlow, which is 896 km². The smallest county in Northern Ireland is county Armagh, at 1,254 km².