on 11/22/99 12:21 AM, WEXFORD-D-request@rootsweb.com at WEXFORD-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > From: "Jane Lyons" <jlyons1@iol.ie> > Date: Saturday, November 20, 1999 4:55 PM > Subject: [WEX] Ireland - England = Great Britain : Records > > Back then - Ireland and England were one. London was the capital. People > moved about - I've always been saying that - don't pen them in. Ireland was > part of Great Britain. Let me be a little picky and make some small clarifications. Ireland and England were never "one". What I believe you meant to say was that, before 1922, Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales were all part of the United Kingdom (but they were each separate "nations" within the Kingdom). As you say, people were free to move about within the UK without any formal immigration procedures. Also, Ireland was never part of Great Britain. Great Britain is an island which contains England, Scotland, and Wales. It is the largest of the British Isles. The second largest is the island of Ireland, which now contains the Republic of Ireland and a part of the UK known as Northern Ireland. And, of course, there are a number of smaller islands which are part of the British Isles.