Red Fox
The red fox is one of Ireland's most recognizable wild mammals, often spotted at dusk slipping through hedgerows and farmland edges.
Flag of Ireland
Field Report
Ireland is a small, green island on the far western edge of Europe, sitting in the cool North Atlantic Ocean just west of Great Britain. It is famous for its rolling hills, stone walls, and misty coastlines, and is home to about 5 million people in the Republic of Ireland, with another 1.9 million in Northern Ireland to the north. Though Ireland has a long history with Christianity, many people there today have little personal connection to Jesus, which makes it a place worth knowing and praying for.
From the Field Notebook
Red Fox
The red fox is one of Ireland's most recognizable wild mammals, often spotted at dusk slipping through hedgerows and farmland edges.
Atlantic Puffin
Puffins nest on Ireland's rugged sea cliffs each summer, carrying small fish stacked neatly in their colorful beaks to feed their chicks underground.
Irish Hare
The Irish hare is a subspecies found nowhere else on earth, and unlike rabbits it is born fully furred and wide-eyed, ready to run almost immediately.
Irish Soda Bread
Made with buttermilk and baking soda instead of yeast, this dense, slightly tangy bread has been baked in Irish homes for generations and is often served warm with butter.
Colcannon
Colcannon is a comforting dish of mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage or kale and plenty of butter, the kind of meal that warms you from the inside on a gray Irish evening.
Irish Stew
A slow-cooked dish of lamb or mutton, potatoes, onions, and carrots, Irish stew has been a staple of rural family life for centuries and tastes deeply savory and hearty.
Ireland is the only country in the world where the harp is the national symbol, and it appears on Irish coins, government buildings, and even the side of a famous dark stout beer.
Halloween as we know it traces back to an ancient Irish and Celtic festival called Samhain, when people lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off roaming spirits — long before it spread around the world.
Ireland has no native snakes, and has had none since the last Ice Age ended; the island was simply too cold and isolated for snakes to migrate back after the glaciers retreated.
The island of Ireland is divided into two separate political units — the Republic of Ireland in the south, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom in the north.
Irish, also called Gaeilge, is the oldest written vernacular language in Western Europe, with manuscripts dating back over 1,300 years, though today only a small percentage of Irish people speak it daily.
Daily Life
83
Years life expectancy
96%
Kids go to school
Missions Field Report
Ireland is home to 36 distinct people groups — 5 of them haven’t yet heard about Jesus.
Most Ireland's people follow Christianity (90.5%). Evangelical Christians make up about 1.7% of the population.
What People Believe
Unreached People Groups
These are communities of people who haven’t had the chance to hear about Jesus yet. They need missionaries — and they need kids like you to pray for them.
South Asian, general
34,000 people
Urdu
8,400 people
South Asian, Bengali-speaking
6,300 people
Tamil (Hindu traditions)
5,500 people
Punjabi, Western
2,500 people
Prayer Journal
Tick each one as you pray. God hears every word.