God’s Own Country

Forget the Bahamas; Ireland’s the place to live. Here’s the Independent‘s take on it anyway:

“For generations, hundreds of thousands left the Emerald Isle fleeing war and famine – all clinging to the belief life would be better elsewhere. Now, after two decades of a meteoric rise that has staggered financial gurus, Ireland has topped a poll as the best place to live in the world.

In a report published by The Economist magazine, the Republic won over Switzerland, Australia and Italy. In the process, Ireland trounced the main destinations of its traditional emigration. The US ranked 13th with the UK coming in at a miserable 29th position – the lowest of any EU pre-expansion members. Of the countries surveyed, the worst place to live in the world is Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe which came bottom at 111th.”

Here’s what this paradise de nos jours looked like the other day on my way back from the HEAnet conference. That gap in the mountains is the Gap of Dunloe, near Killarney.