The British Isles are a group of islands off the north west coast of continental Europe comprising Great Britain, Ireland and a number of smaller islands."British Isles," Encyclopedia Britannica The term British Isles can be misunderstood and is sometimes considered objectionable, mainly in the Republic of Irelandhttp://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opinion/2000/0309/archive.00030900085.html 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'"http://www.oireachtas-debates.gov.ie/D/0606/D.0606.200509280360.html Written Answers - Official Terms", Dáil Éireann - Volume 606 - 28 September, 2005. In his response, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs stated "The British Isles is not an officially recognised term in any legal or inter-governmental sense. It is without any official status.

The various terms used to describe the different (and sometimes overlapping) geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and surrounding islands are often a source of confusion. The purpose of this article is to explain the meanings of and inter-relationships among those terms.