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United Kingdom
Ireland
U.K.
Emerald Isle
Queen Elizabeth II
Garden of Remembrance
See if you can ID me! I'm a country that got its independence from the United Kingdom. The colors of my flag are green, white and orange. My national holiday is March 17th. I'm Ireland, and I'm home to more than 4.5 million people. Ireland got its independence from the U.K. back in 1921. And for the first time since that happened, a British monarch is visiting the Emerald Isle. Queen Elizabeth II arrived yesterday wearing green. Could be seen as symbolic; green is Ireland's national color. The nation is near Great Britain, but a royal visit has been difficult before now because of decades of conflict between the two countries. Yesterday, the Queen laid a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance. Some experts called that significant, because the memorial pays tribute to those who fought for Ireland's independence from Great Britain. Some people thought this kind of visit would never happen. Others didn't want it to. Some Irish groups say it's not acceptable for a British monarch to visit Ireland.