What does the name 脡ire as a country refer to?

Is this to the Republic of Ireland only or to the whole of Ireland including the northern provinces? Or is this a matter of where your political beliefs lie in the same way that some consider Northern Ireland to part of the UK and some do not?

What does the name 脡ire as a country refer to?
The Constitution says 脡ire is the Irish version of the name of the country, which in the English language is 'Ireland'.





The claim to the counties in Northern Ireland was dropped when this country signed the Anglo-Irish agreement. (The 19th Amendment to the Constitution).





The country is called 'Ireland' not the 'Republic of Ireland', though of course some people refer to it as that. It is most definitely NOT called 'Southern Ireland'.
Reply:the word eire is the irish meaning ireland.
Reply:You answered it yourself, as a country, so only the Republic, since the Northern provinces are not part of that.
Reply:Eire is a gaelic word and refers to the Ireland as a whole..before British Colonialism!!
Reply:Republic of Ireland.
Reply:dont know about eire but northern ireland is part of the uk.but if gerry adams has his way it wont be for much longer
Reply:ireland take it from an irish girl. all of ireland
Reply:You pay your money and you take your chances when dealing with Ireland. Ireland has its own native language though not much used. I spoke Irish before English.





[that gets the crabbers outa my hair]





"脡ire" means "Ireland" in that language and means the historic island of Ireland.





Politics and conquest have divided the island [and opinion as you can see by all the answers pouring in to your very excellent question].
Reply:Eire just referes to the Republic of Ireland
Reply:To Ireland.


脡ire is the Irish name of the island called Ireland in the English language.





The name 脡ire is the nominative form in modern Irish of the name for the goddess 脡riu, a mythical figure who helped the Gaels conquer Ireland as described in the Book of Invasions. 脡ire is still used in the Irish language today to refer to the island of Ireland as well as the Republic of Ireland. The dative form 脡irinn is anglicized as Erin, which is occasionally used as a poetic name for Ireland in English, and which has become a common feminine name in English.





The name was given in Article 4 of the 1937 Irish constitution to the Irish state, created under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which was known between 1922 and 1937 as the Irish Free State. Article 4 stated that: "The name of the state is 脡ire, or, in the English language, Ireland."





The name "脡ire" features on all Irish coinage (and Irish euro coins), postage stamps, passports and other official state documents issued since 1937 鈥?for instance the Official Seal of the President of Ireland. Before then, "Saorst谩t 脡ireann", the Irish translation of Irish Free State, was used except for postage stamps which regularily used "脡ire" during the Irish Free State era in both definitive and special issues.





Since 1949, the term Republic of Ireland has generally been used in preference to 脡ire, when speaking English. It is sometimes felt that use of "脡ire" is associated with a condescending attitude to Ireland in some right-wing quarters of the British media. Technically, as the Republic of Ireland Act enacted in 1948 makes clear, the "Republic of Ireland" is actually a description rather than the name of the state, even if generally used as such.