Ireland is like nowhere else. Ireland is magnificent, mischievous, moody and misunderstood. It is Europe's Farthest West, the edge of the known world, a step too far for the Romans, a land wreathed in mist and mystery. In the Dark Ages when Europe was stumbling around in ignorance, Ireland burned bright as a centre of learning and civilisation. From Ireland came forth saints and scholars to spread their wisdom and their knowledge. Celts and Kings, Druids and Wise men have left their memories carved in stone, on crosses and decorated arches - treasures that in any other land would be scrubbed by car parks and gift shops. In Ireland they are just there, left as they were meant to be, majestic, haunting, rooted in their landscape.
Ireland has a landscape to rival anywhere, from Europe's highest cliffs and wildest shores to the languid, lacustrine plains of the heartlands. The beauty of her scenery and the power of her legends has produced some of the world's great literature, poetry and music. And all is touched by a turbulent history, with a tinge of melancholy, a frission of menace, an undercurrent of defiance.
But Ireland is also a modern country, forward-looking, energetic, alive with ideas and inspiration, drawing upon a legacy of innovation and inventiveness second to none. It is this combination that makes Ireland so intriguing, so alluring and so addictive.
One warning, In Ireland, nothing is straightforward. Every name has two or three different spellings and myriad pronunciations. Every story has several endings and every a different setting. When you arrive in our Emerald isle, you will be mesmerised by the story-telling skills of your guide, who I'm sure will have chosen his own ending which he finds simply the best! That is Ireland - frustrating, friendly, infuriating, unforgettable and forever fascinating.
Ireland is divided into the four ancient provinces or kingdoms of Connaught, Leinster, Munster and Ulster and the counties within them. The Irish rejoice in both their provinces and their counties. The provinces are the backdrop to history and legend, to battles between Kings and High Kings, warriors and saints, new ideal and new religions.
The name Connaught is derived from Connachta - the dominant tribal grouping in the north and west of the island during the early centuries AD. Leinster means land of the Laighin, one of the earliest Celtic tribes to arrive in Ireland, who settled in the south and east. The suffix 'ster' is Norman French for 'land'. Hence Munster comes from the land of Mumhain, a derivation of the pre-Christian goddess Muma, and Ulster the land of Ulaidh
There were once five provinces, the fifth being Meath, meaning midh or 'middle', which consisted of modern counties of Meath and Westmeath with part of Offaly.
The counties are where people come from, where they belong, where their loyalties and identities lie. Each is distinctive, with its own character, architecture and landscape. They all have their own stories to tell.