Ireland
Ireland is divided into
two parts: Northern Ireland,
or Ulster with its capital
town Belfast, and the Irish Free State, or Eire,
independent since 1922, with Dublin
as capital town.
Ireland is a country of
great beauty, with green pastures and silvery lakes. It is called the "Emerald
Isle" on account of its green fields.
The national
emblem of Ireland
is the shamrock, because St. Patrick used it to explain the mystery of the Holy
Trinity to the heathen Celts. For the Irish are not Anglo-Saxon at all: they
are a Celtic people who love music, dances and songs.
There are lots of
nice legends and stories in the Irish folklore: most of them are about the
"little people": elfs, tiny faires and leprechauns: the gnomes who make shoes
for the faires and know where treasures are hidden.
If you visit Blarney castle, some day, you may meet some of them.
In Blanrney Castle there is also a magic stone:
whoever kisses it, will have "the art of flattery and of telling lies without
blushing .".
Now, why is Ireland the
country of fairy-tails? Probably the reason for this is to be found in its
Celtic origins, to which legends and myths owe so much of their magic. Or also,
on account of its vast moors, its forests and the melancholic atmosphere which
is so particularly felt in this lovely country.
Two languages are spoken in Ireland: Gaelic and English, but Gaelic the old language of Celts is spoken by only old people who
love their traditions and only in the west and south-west of Ireland, while
English is now spoken everywhere.
DRILLS
What is Northern
Ireland called?
What is the Irish Free State
called?
What language is spoken in some parts of Ireland, beside
English?
What does the legend say about the leprechauns?