Why is Ireland included in every maps of the United Kingdom ?

Would like to point out The British Isles includes England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and various other small islands Uk includes England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom can also be known as Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain technically is England and Wales Great Britain is technically England, Wales and Scotland In relation to the Map. The UK and Ireland are Islands surrouded by sea. While some maps exclude the Republic the majority don't. It doesn't make sense to exclude the Republic as it exists PS In the UK we generally use the terms interchangeably. Britain, Great Britain, UK. Updated Angel Technically britain refers to Wales and England however people TODAY often refer to great britain as britain. I know there is a lot of argument about this. Many people also wrongly refer to britain as the UK. Updated I get what your saying about uk and britain. The Government attempted to clarifiy the terms in 1975. Thats why I referred to technically.

Because it's difficult to leave it out - the Republic of Ireland is on the same island as Northern Ireland, which IS part of the United Kingdom. The full name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Ireland was in fact part of the United Kingdom until 1922, when the southern part was given independence.

The UK= Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales & England, ( the UK is a Union of all 4 countries ) Britain=Scotland, Wales & England. ( Britain is an Island with 3 countries on it ) Great Britain is the same as Britain, ( we tend to drop the Great these day, that stems from the British Empire days )

Because the northern part of the island of Ireland is within the United Kingdom, whilst the southern part is a separate country. A map which shows half an island is a rather peculiar thing - not really a "map" at all.

Because if you only printed the bit of Ireland that is in the UK (Northern Ireland), people would assume that St George's Channel started somewhere around Ballyshannon, and the Swansea ferry would stop sailing and they'd blame the loss of County Cork on 'global warming'.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a country[7][8] and sovereign state[9][10] located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island nation,[11] spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border[note 8] with another sovereign state, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.[12][13] Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. Great Britain is linked to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel.

The UK includes Northern Ireland, so it's just easier to include Ireland (which is obviously connected to it) in the map to show the presence of that body of land, otherwise people might think that empty space is just sea. And Angel & G W: since the 1970s the UK government has cited that "Britain" is synonymous with "United Kingdom", so they do mean the same thing and Northern Ireland IS in Britain. Britain is NOT synonymous with Great Britain. I know that "Britain" meaning "Great Britain" is a (very) common misconception, but do some research before feeding people incorrect info., because they'll take it for truth and pass it on to others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom (first line in brackets, throughout article, and adjoining articles) http://digitaldiplomacy.fco.gov.uk/en/guidance/content/editorial/style/uk-britain (This is an official govt. website) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Britain (Cultural section)

Northern Ireland is part of the UK so when maps are drawn this is included. Some maps just have Northern Ireland on i others draw the border and then also show the rest of Ireland instead of erasing a load of land.