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Ireland Cottages to Rent

Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (Eire) Mention Ireland, also known as 'The Emerald Isle' and what are the first things that come into your head? It could be leprechauns, rainbows and the 'little people', green pastures and golden butter, shamrocks, donkeys, celtic history and language, music, culture, racehorses and, of course, Guiness! But the list goes on and on. It is surrounded on all sides by the rolling and dramatic seas of the Atlantic Ocean. If you choose to find your holiday cottage in Ireland you know you'll be sure to have an unforgettable trip and be planning your return visit as soon as you get home. Ireland, of course, is still a country in 2 parts - Northern Ireland, Ulster, and in the south, the Republic of Ireland, Eire.

If we think of Ireland as regions, in the west would lie the counties of Claire, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Limerick, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Offaly and North Tipperary. A landscape full of variety and majesty, it has an ancient cultural history and traditions going back hundreds of years. The coastlines are dramatic and impressive; there are wonderfully atmospheric towns and villages to discover and explore. In Donegal the visitor will find the Glenveagh National Park and Castle and, off the coast of Galway, are the Aran Islands. Beautiful and tranquil Lough Keagh Forest Park is in Roscommon and the magnificent waterway of the River Shannon flows through Leitrim, Offaly and Limerick.

For a more relaxed, slower-paced holiday the beautiful counties found in the south of the Ireland are the places to go. Here you'll discover Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and South Tipperary. It's a landscape of great natural and tranquil beauty and offers some superb local food experienes in restaurants and farmers' markets. Each county has something uniquely different to offer from spas in Kerry, restaurants in Cork, beaches and villages in Waterford and Wexford, to the festivals, heritage sites and beautiful scenery of the inland counties.

Dublin and the eastern counties of Ireland offers almost everything you could ask for in a holiday. There is the city itself, vibrant and cosmopolitan, surrounded by the unspoiled scenery of the eastern areas with the gentle hills and pastures, rivers, parks and woodland that characterise it. Discover the charming towns and villages and visit ancient monuments and heritage sites. It's here that the outdoor enthusiasts will find opportunities to enjoy the sports of choice from fishing to sailing, from cycling to riding, from walking to golfing.

In the North is Ulster, with its six counties of Armagh, Antrim, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and its major cities of Belfast and Londonderry. It is a land of mountainous beauty, with lakes and wild coastlines. Off the coast of Antrim is the famed Giant's Causeway, a World Heritage Site, with its columns of basalt. Although legend says that the causeway was created by the giant Finn McCool it was actually the result of intense volcanic activity. In the north can be found the ruins of many fine castles. There are many interesting archaeological sites dating back to the stone age and to early Christian times. A site near Coleraine is thought to be the earliest known dwelling in Ireland, dating back to 7,000 BC.