Music has always been a popular art form in Ireland and in 1995 the West Cork Chamber Music Festival was established to promote classical music...
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Kylemore Abbey Castle, Ireland
© 123rf.com / Nico Smit
Ireland Travel Guide
Key Facts
Area:
70,182 sq km (27,097 sq miles).
Population:
4.5 million (2009).
Population density:
64 per sq km.
Capital:
Dublin
Government:
Republic.
Head of state:
President Mary McAleese, since 1997.
Head of government:
Prime Minister Enda Kenny, since 2011
Electricity:
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Three-pin plugs are in use.
A soft green quilt speckled with sleepy villages and culturally vibrant cities, and framed by a ribbon of rugged coastline and sandy bays, Ireland has both beauty and brains.
Ireland offers much for outdoor enthusiasts, from bracing hikes in Killarney National Park to surfing at Lahnich Beach, while history fans can tickle their interests with bucolic walks which pass by stone cottages or prehistoric monuments, such as the burial tombs of the Boyne Valley.
Ireland's urban centres of Cork and Dublin have cultural sway around the world; Dublin, the country's dynamic capital, has utterly transformed over the last 20 years, and today is a luxury destination with upmarket shops and electric nightlife.
From oysters fresh from Galway Bay, to chunks of black pudding prepared by one of Cork's finest butchers, Ireland's mealtimes are as alluring as its backdrop. As evening draws in, many pubs enjoy impromptu fiddle and song sessions, while highly sociable chat bubbles away over frothy real ales, smoky whiskies, and, of course, a hearty swill of Guinness.
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