Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a country in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland. Around 40% of the country's population of 4.9 million people resides in the Greater Dublin Area. The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom.

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a 96-mile (154 km) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and the Irish Sea to the south. In addition, Scotland includes more than 790 islands;principally within the Northern Isles and the Hebrides archipelagos.