Ireland is divided into two countries .In the north ,Northern Ireland,with its capital Belfast ,is part of the UK.The southern part of the island is a separate country ,called the Republic of Ireland with Dublin as its capital.Long ago ,the fist travelers went to Ireland from Scotland ,and later from the south and west Europe .They found that much of the land was poor .But there was enough grass for sheep and cows,because it rained so much .The seas around Ireland were full of all sorts of fish .
Many of the peasants were very poor .They lived mainly on potatoes.Around 1850,a terrible disease hit the potato crop,and potatoes went bad in the soil.Tens of thousands of people died of hunger.Many had to leave Ireland and travelled to Britain or to North America to look for a better life .Although many families became separated ,people still kept in touch with each other.Today ,life has improved for the population ,although many farmers in the west continued to lead a simple life .
Most Irish people go to church every Sunday and the church plays an important part in people `s lives.The Irish are very fond of music and poems.In towns and villages people join together in evening to sing and play music .They also get together to read their own poems to each other .Therefore ,there were many great poems from Ireland in the history.