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.
There's simply no better way of starting off your New Year than celebrating it in Ireland, as we do know how to throw a party! New Year's Eve is a huge occasion in Ireland, with family gatherings, lots of New Year gala balls and some lively street parties.
The Republic of Ireland is divided into 30 administrative regions, mostly tied to the 26 constituent counties (county Tipperary is divided in two and county Dublin in four).