World Country Ireland Eire

About the world country Iraeland or Eire, its location, size, population, and who is in power.

NATIONS OF THE WORLD

IRELAND (EIRE)

Location: All but the northeastern corner of the British Isles island of Eire, off the Atlantic coast of Europe. Size: 27,136 sq. mi. (70,283 sq. km.). Population: 3,349,000.

Who Really Rules: Three parties hold seats in Ireland's democratically elected parliament. Prime Minister Charles Haughey leads the majority Fianna Fail party. One of the European Common Market's less affluent members, Ireland has encouraged investment by U.S. and Japanese manufacturers wishing to market their products in Europe. By 1980, 70 foreign electronics companies had set up plants in Ireland.

Though public opinion in Ireland supports the return of Ulster (Northern Ireland) to Ireland from the U.K., all major parties oppose the tactics of the revolutionary provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army.