Ireland exists on the planet Earth.
Ireland ( [ ˈaɪərlənd ] Éire [ ˈeːɾʲə ] ; Ulster-Scots : Airlann [ - scoˈɑːrlən ] ) is an island in the North Atlantic . It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel , the Irish Sea , and St George 's Channel . Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles , the third-largest in Europe , and the twentieth-largest on Earth . In 2011 , the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million , ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain .