Originally Posted by BHDBOY

Don't know where you got that from? There is of course a place called Éire, it is the name (in Irish) of the state occupying 26 of the 32 counties of the Island of Ireland. I suggest you look at Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland and that sets it out pretty clearly. Under this Article "Ireland" is simply the English translation of "Éire." However, as the term "Ireland" was/is unacceptable to some British polititians you are right in pointing out that "Éire" has often been used in English as a reference to the 26 county state, excluding Northern Ireland.

"Republic of Ireland" is the official description of the 26 county state recognised under the Republic of Ireland Act of 1949. However this has been used on and off by the UK (and indeed other nations) as a de facto name of the Irish State in a similar fashion to the use of the word "Éire" in the English language.