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[[Image:british-isles.gif|right|250px|thumb|Map of the British Isles]]

[[Image:british-isles.gif|right|250px|thumb|Map of the British Isles]]

The British Isles are a [[Archipelago|group of islands]] off the northwestern coast of continental Europe.<ref>"Geographical terms also cause problems and we know that some will find certain of our terms offensive. Many Irish object to the term the 'British Isles';..." The Dynamics of Conflict in Northern Ireland: Power, Conflict and emancipation. Joseph Ruane and Jennifer Todd. Cambridge University Press. 1996

 

The British Isles is a controversial term for a [[Archipelago|group of islands]] off the northwestern coast of continental Europe.<ref>"Geographical terms also cause problems and we know that some will find certain of our terms offensive. Many Irish object to the term the 'British Isles';..." The Dynamics of Conflict in Northern Ireland: Power, Conflict and emancipation. Joseph Ruane and Jennifer Todd. Cambridge University Press. 1996

An Irishman's Diary Myers, Kevin; The Irish Times (subscription needed) 09/03/2000, Accessed July 2006 'millions of people from these islands — 'oh how angry we get when people call them the British Isles'; Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490-1700. (London: Penguin/Allen Lane, 2003): “the collection of islands which embraces England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales has commonly been known as the British Isles. This title no longer pleases all the inhabitants of the islands, and a more neutral description is ‘the Atlantic Isles’” (p. xxvi); On 18 July 2004 The Sunday Business Post questioned the use of British Isles as a purely geographic expression, noting: [The] "Last Post has redoubled its efforts to re-educate those labouring under the misconception that Ireland is really just British. When British Retail Week magazine last week reported that a retailer was to make its British Isles debut in Dublin, we were puzzled. Is not Dublin the capital of the Republic of Ireland?. When Last Post suggested the magazine might see its way clear to correcting the error, an educative e-mail to the publication...:Retrieved 17 July 2006 </ref> Geographically speaking, the British Isles are comprised of [[Great Britain]], [[Ireland]] and a number of smaller islands including the [[Scottish]] islands in the north and some of the [[Channel Islands]] in the south. Politically, the island of Ireland has been divided into two states since 6 December 1922: [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and [[Northern Ireland]], the latter of which remains part of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]].  

An Irishman's Diary Myers, Kevin; The Irish Times (subscription needed) 09/03/2000, Accessed July 2006 'millions of people from these islands — 'oh how angry we get when people call them the British Isles'; Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490-1700. (London: Penguin/Allen Lane, 2003): “the collection of islands which embraces England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales has commonly been known as the British Isles. This title no longer pleases all the inhabitants of the islands, and a more neutral description is ‘the Atlantic Isles’” (p. xxvi); On 18 July 2004 The Sunday Business Post questioned the use of British Isles as a purely geographic expression, noting: [The] "Last Post has redoubled its efforts to re-educate those labouring under the misconception that Ireland is really just British. When British Retail Week magazine last week reported that a retailer was to make its British Isles debut in Dublin, we were puzzled. Is not Dublin the capital of the Republic of Ireland?. When Last Post suggested the magazine might see its way clear to correcting the error, an educative e-mail to the publication...:Retrieved 17 July 2006 </ref> Geographically speaking, the British Isles are comprised of [[Great Britain]], [[Ireland]] and a number of smaller islands including the [[Scottish]] islands in the north and some of the [[Channel Islands]] in the south. Politically, the island of Ireland has been divided into two states since 6 December 1922: [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and [[Northern Ireland]], the latter of which remains part of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]].