<Li> ^ Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland declares that the name of the state is Ireland; Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 declares that Republic of Ireland is "the description of the State". </Li> <Li> ^ The . eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states . </Li> <P> Ireland (Irish: Éire (ˈeːɾjə) (listen)), also known as the Republic of Ireland (Poblacht na hÉireann), is a sovereign state in north - western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland . The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern part of the island, and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country's 4.8 million inhabitants . The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom . It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint George's Channel to the south - east, and the Irish Sea to the east . It is a unitary, parliamentary republic . The legislature, the Oireachtas, consists of a lower house, Dáil Éireann, an upper house, Seanad Éireann, and an elected President (Uachtarán) who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties . The head of government is the Taoiseach (Prime Minister, literally' Chief', a title not used in English), who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President; the Taoiseach in turn appoints other government ministers . </P> <P> The state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo - Irish Treaty . It had the status of Dominion until 1937 when a new constitution was adopted, in which the state was named "Ireland" and effectively became a republic, with an elected non-executive president as head of state . It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 . Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955 . It joined the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Union, in 1973 . The state had no formal relations with Northern Ireland for most of the twentieth century, but during the 1980s and 1990s the British and Irish governments worked with the Northern Ireland parties towards a resolution to "the Troubles". Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the Irish government and Northern Ireland Executive have co-operated on a number of policy areas under the North - South Ministerial Council created by the Agreement . </P>

Is the republic of ireland part of the united kingdom