Ireland / United KingdomBritish IslesIsland
Ireland
84,421 km² rising to 1,039 m out of the Irish Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
84,421km²
Area
3,705km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
1,039m
Highest point
Carrauntoohil
7,185,600
People
15°C
Warmest sea
August
308km
To the mainland
When to go to Ireland
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (15 °C) and coolest in March (9 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the North Atlantic Ocean
Ireland is an island in Ireland. It belongs to British Isles. It covers 84,421 km², with 3,705 km of coastline. Its highest point, Carrauntoohil, rises to 1,039 m. About 7,185,600 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 308 km away.
Getting there
- Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC)main airport (9 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at NOC airport (Charlestown)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 308 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Ireland.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Ireland in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Ireland, each with its own numbers.
63beaches and covesCoastya
540lakesLakeyas
15waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
121m
Powerscourt Waterfall
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
375km²
Lough Neagh
25 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
70m
Lough Salt
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
24.7°C
Lough Girroga
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
16.4°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
63 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Sandymount Strand15.1°C
- Portstewart Strand14.2°C
- Banna Strand15.8°C
- Ring Mahon Strand16.4°C
- Tramore Strand15.7°C
- Merrion Strand15.1°C
- Sutton Strand15.1°C
- Ferriters Covecove15.6°C
55 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
540 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lough Neagh25 m deep375km²
- Lough Corrib10 m deep160km²
- Lough Derg8 m deep114km²
- Lough Ree35 m deep103km²
- Lough Erne69 m deep98.3km²
- Lough Mask58 m deep78.2km²
- Lough Conn28 m deep43.7km²
- Lough Allen31 m deep32.4km²
532 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
15 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Powerscourt Waterfall121m
- Glenmacnass Waterfall80m
- Torc Waterfall
- Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird
- Poulaphouca
- Aasleagh
- Ess na Larach
- Cores Cascade
7 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 110 m above the sea. 87 % of it is below 200 m.
- 25 %0–50 m
- 62 %50–200 m
- 13 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
500 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Dublin1,024,027 people
- Belfast348,005 people
- South Dublin301,075 people
- Cork224,004 people
- Limerick102,287 people
- Londonderry County Borough87,153 people
- Galway85,910 people
- Derry83,652 people
- Tallaght81,022 people
- Lisburn77,506 people
- Newtownabbey63,860 people
- Bangor61,011 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Night low (°C) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 111 | 88 | 85 | 72 | 85 | 95 | 101 | 111 | 89 | 109 | 120 | 116 |
| Wet days | 19 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| Sun h/day | 1.4 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 1.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.5 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +1.5 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.1 |
| 2022 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +1.5 | +2.3 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.4 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +2.3 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | ±0.0 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Inis OírrIreland6.2 km²57 m112 km away
Inis MórIreland32 km²123 m123 km away
Inis MeáinIreland9.8 km²79 m115 km away
Achill IslandIreland148 km²688 m155 km away
Isle of Man
Isle of Man568 km²608 m246 km away
AngleseyUnited Kingdom677 km²166 m235 km away
ArranmoreIreland18 km²16 m186 km away
Holy IslandUnited Kingdom35 km²220 m220 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q22890) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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