 The earliest written records of Ireland come from classical Greco @-@ Roman <unk> . Ptolemy in his <unk> refers to Ireland as <unk> <unk> ( Little Britain ) , in contrast to the larger island , which he called <unk> <unk> ( Great Britain ) . In his later work , Geography , Ptolemy refers to Ireland as <unk> and to Great Britain as Albion . These " new " names were likely to have been the local names for the islands at the time . The earlier names , in contrast , were likely to have been coined before direct contact with local peoples was made . 
