The Irish environment has posed problems for the Irish people who have often had to leave the island for new areas in the hope of greater prosperity. For example, in the United States, a large portion of the population are descendants of the Irish. Despite the difficulties that have come from living on the island such as crop blight, deforestation and starvation, people adapted to the natural environment. The sea around the island provides a lot of seafood and its proximity to England allowed for trade links with the rest of Europe. The potato became the main source of food in the 18th and 19th centuries. It provided a surprising amount of nutrients, and lead the Irish population to be one of the healthiest in Europe.
It rains in Ireland--a lot. The rain has created a very green environment because plant life thrives with lots of water. Despite this abundance of water, there are not a lot of forests in Ireland because the trees were all cut down a long time ago. Since Ireland is a small island, the population grew and they cut down trees in order to create space for farming and animal pastures. Since tree roots hold the soil together, when trees are cut down, soil is often lost, creating a rocky desolate environment where very little grows. So despite the quantity of rain, much of the island is not forested or abundant in wildlife.
