Another wrinkle is sport. For historical reasons, the 4 constituent countries all compete separately in international competitions in soccer, cricket (not Wales), and other sports. For the Olympics, it's one group, the United Kingdom. This causes issues with the soccer team, since England is so dominant. Just to confuse further, Rugby Union has England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, but in this case Ireland includes Northern Ireland and the separate country of Eire, Southern Ireland. Their regional championship includes 4 provinces, 3 from Eire, one from Northern Ireland. All international matches are played in Dublin! For Old Daddys information, Dublin is in Eire!