Ireland (Irish: Éire), also known as the Republic of Ireland (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann), has a rich culture that, along with its people, has been exported around the world.\nIreland, in fact, has two cultures: the historical Gaelic culture (including one of the oldest literatures in Western Europe) and the more recent English-speaking culture which largely replaced it. It can be worth your while to dig a little deeper before visiting Ireland to discover something about the older world that lies beneath. It is a world still living, though not always visible.\nSome Irish history has been very dark indeed, but it remains a land of poets, story-tellers, and musicians, with marvellous scenery, an advanced knowledge economy, first-rate infrastructures, and leading industries, with a high gross domestic product and standard of living.