And Todays Number is 4,239,848

Relevent because we have just completed a census in Ireland from which we will shortly get some interesting facts and figures. The number 4,239,848 is the recorded population of the Republic of Ireland (26 counties) according to the census of 2006 and we await the 2011 census reports with great interest to see how our population has changed since then and during the recession of the last 3 or 4 years.

- Republic of Ireland (26 counties)     4,239,848
- Northern Ireland (6 counties)          1,576,000 (approx)
- Total                                           5,815,848

What about counties by population - biggest to smallest - all 32

1	Dublin	1,187,176		17	Mayo	123,839
2	Antrim	563,000		18	Louth	111,267
3	Cork	481,295		19	Clare	110,950
4	Down	454,000		20	Waterford	107,961
5	Galway	231,670		21	Kilkenny	87,558
6	Derry	213,000		22	Westmeath	79,346
7	Kildare	186,335		23	Offaly	70,868
8	Limerick	184,055		24	Laois	67,059
9	Meath	162,831		25	Cavan	64,003
10	Tyrone	150,000		26	Sligo	60,894
11	Tipperary	149,244		27	Roscommon	58,768
12	Donegal	147,264		28	Monaghan	55,997
13	Armagh	141,585		29	Fermanagh	55,000
14	Kerry	139,835		30	Carlow	50,349
15	Wexford	131,749		31	Longford	34,391
16	Wicklow	126,194		32	Leitrim	28,950

• The population of the Republic was at its lowest in 1961 at just over 2.8m.  In the 45 years from then till 2006 the numbers grew by 1.5m or 50%.
• In terms of worldwide population size the Republic of Ireland is similar to New Zealand, Lebanon, Croatia and Georgia.
• In European comparisons, the whole of the island population is about 1m larger than Norway, about 500k larger than Finland and about 300k larger than Denmark.  
• Holland, on the other hand, is only about half the land area of the island of Ireland but has a population of over 16.6m. By population density we enjoy, on average, 5 to 6 times more space per individual than the average Dutchman has!
• A USA comaparison - Ireland is about the same land area as the state of Indiana which as over 500k more inhabitants

Starter for 26

It's Blog day 1 so lets' get started ....

As today is the 26th it seems appropriate to start with the number
                 26

No where do we come across the number 26 in our everyday lives?

To Communicate ....Well it can't get any more relevent as 26 is absolutely present in everything we say and everything we read (including this) because to communicate we depend on the 26 letters of the English alphabet. Amazing to think that with as few as 26 'pictures' assembled in different ways we can describe anything on earth and beyond.

... Games and Tricks

A deck of cards has many unique charactersitics, one being that it is made up of 26 red cards and 26 black cards.

Walking ...
There are 26 bones in the human foot and ankle.


.. and Running
If we ask what sport would is usually be associated with 26 the Marathon springs to mind, even though strictly it's some yards longer than 26 miles.

...and Not Forgetting Where We Live
Yes, The Republic of Ireland has , of course, 26 counties