New Ireland (Tok Pisin: Niu Ailan; Irish: Éire Nua), or Latangai, is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km2 (2,859 sq mi) in area with c. 120,000 people.

Three distinct cultural practices are characteristic of the native people of New Ireland: Kabai, Malagan and Tubuan.

[6] In 1616 the Dutch sailors Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten were the first Europeans to set foot on the island.

Louis Antoine de Bougainville anchored here on 6 July 1768, eleven months after Philip Carteret.

Germans managed several highly profitable copra plantations and built a road to transport the goods.

After World War I, Neumecklenburg was renamed New Ireland and was controlled by Australia under a League of Nations mandate.

[11] In January 1942, during World War II, the island was captured by Japanese forces and was under their control.