yes I agree, Ireland is a place that fits the shire.
It is possible that there was once a "middle Earth" however in legend or in ancient times, tolkien used a different name. I believe that Tolkien could have possibly heard of such a place in legend or a long time ago and changed the name to match his liking. Therefore it is his created land, he can change things about it and no one would be the wiser because it is his own.
Elves dwarves and the olther creatures he added to Middle Earth hav already been heard of in legend so he could have added them to Middle Earth as the dwellers of Middle Earth regardless of whether they had lived on the place in legend or in old times or not.
However I do not know the truth, it is my belief that that is how middle earth could have been created.
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I hope I didnt bore you with my beliefs on Middle Earth but I spent last night thinking it up [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
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All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
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