This course takes a look at the Republic of Ireland. A sovereign state -- it is not ruled by any other country -- in northwestern Europe, the Republic of Ireland occupies approximately one-sixth of the island of Ireland; it is bordered to the north by Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom), to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Celtic Sea, and to the east by the Irish Sea. The Republic of Ireland enjoys 1,738 miles of coastline, and is 188 miles from north-to-south and 170 miles east-to-west.