Ireland exists on the planet Earth.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world 's oceans with a total area of about 106,460,000 km2 . Ireland ( [ ˈaɪərlənd ] Éire [ ˈeːɾʲə ] ; Ulster-Scots : Airlann [ - scoˈɑːrlən ] ) is an island in the North Atlantic . Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles , the third-largest in Europe , and the twentieth-largest on Earth . A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island , creating the Irish Free State , which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades , and Northern Ireland , which remained a part of the United Kingdom .