Gerry and Piotr wrote

> Yes. I have been explaining the status of the _Southern_ part,

i.e. Eire, i.e. the Republic of Ireland.

>
> GR: Thought you were speaking of *both* the north and south.

Misinformation certainly can spark a conflict.

>
> If you say "Ireland" without an adjective, then you mean either

the whole island or the Irish state alone, i.e. the Republic,
_excluding the Northern part_. Informally, all the world calls the
independent state "Ireland" ignoring the political overtones of such
usage (the Irish Constitution also says "The name of the State is
Eire, or in the English language, Ireland", but this is a political
statement, the North being regarded as Irish national territory
currently under British occupation).

>
> If you ever go to Dublin, Ireland, try stepping into a pub and

loudly asking the folks inside if they're British subjects.

>
> GR: Dubliners apparently hate the British (err, English, err The

Royals), eah?

Regarding Ireland I have frequently wondered why the United States of
America is called as it is, as it does not include all the states of
America - as we all know.

So when people talk of America, are they refering to the USA or to
the Continent as a whole? (One could - pace Gerry - say "Aha, that
is why they have such violence in America because they have such
confused grographic expressions!")

It is similar to the Republic of Ireland (i.e. Eire) and the
geographic expression - Ireland.

Gerry, the Irish have a similar attitude to the English as George
Washington had to King George III, for a similar reason.

Gerry - it just depends upon the context.

Regards

John