For a comparatively small country, Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution to world literature in all its branches, in both the Irish and English languages.
The island's most widely-known literary works are undoubtedly in English. Particularly famous examples of such works are those of James Joyce, Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde and Ireland's four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature; William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney.
Planning a trip to Ireland can be a daunting task - what should I not miss? Everyone has their own favorite sights and places. Yet there are a number of locations every visitor to Ireland should see. Taking them all in will also showcase the variety to be found on the comparatively small island. They are definitely part of the best of Ireland.
The Republic of Ireland lies in the north Atlantic Ocean and is separated from Britain by the Irish Sea to the east. The northeastern part (Northern Ireland) is part of the United Kingdom. The country has a central plain surrounded by a rim of hills and mountains offering some of the most varied and unspoilt scenery in Europe. Quiet sandy beaches, semi-tropical bays warmed by the Gulf Stream, and rugged cliffs make up the 5600km or 3500 miles of coastline.