 Ireland ( / <unk> / ; Irish : <unk> [ <unk> ] ; Ulster @-@ Scots : <unk> [ <unk> ] ) 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 . 
