The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HIBERNIA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
H
I
B
E
R
N
I
A
More clues leading to the result HIBERNIA
- Husband going over part of Europe that includes Northern Ireland
- Ireland’s rupture brought about in Belfast originally
- Erin‘s one born to prolong troublesome rift
- Hot part of Europe, including Northern Ireland once?
- A boy held by that woman in a confused state: Ireland maybe
- Division in corporation to receive one billion for old land
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Ireland once?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ireland once? = hibernia.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.