Sea · United Kingdom, Ireland
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea lies between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. Ferries cross it every day, and in its waters live seals, dolphins and the gigantic but gentle basking shark.
Picture credit: Bananenfalter (CC0) · Matt Buck (CC BY-SA 2.0) · TXGemGem (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Irish Sea?
Part of: Atlantic Ocean.
Countries on its coasts: the United Kingdom, Ireland.
The story behind it
The Irish Sea is surrounded by land on almost every side: Scotland lies to the north, England to the east, Wales to the south-east, and Ireland and Northern Ireland to the west. Its biggest island is Anglesey, off the coast of Wales, followed by the Isle of Man in the middle of the sea. Big port cities sit on its shores, such as Dublin, Liverpool and Belfast, and ferries carry cars, lorries and people between Britain and Ireland all day long. One of them, the Ulysses, is among the largest car ferries in the world. The water is fairly shallow; its deepest point, near the Mull of Galloway in Scotland, is about 175 metres. Seals, harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphins live here, and the huge basking shark swims slowly with its mouth wide open, eating nothing but tiny plankton. Out at sea, wind farms turn in the breeze.
Find it on the globe
Irish Sea is there as a name written across its water — tap the water and its card opens. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
Questions children ask
How big is the Irish Sea?
The Irish Sea covers about 46 000 km², a little more than Switzerland. Some measurements include the neighbouring sea channels and give a much bigger number.
Which cities lie on the Irish Sea?
The biggest are Dublin in Ireland, Liverpool in England and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Ferries link these ports with each other and with Wales and Scotland.
What is the biggest animal in the Irish Sea?
One of the biggest is the basking shark, an enormous fish that is harmless to people. It swims with its mouth open and feeds only on plankton, tiny living things in the water.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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