British Isles naming dispute often rejected in the Republic of Ireland, because some claim its use implies a primacy of British identity over all the islands outside the United Kingdom, including the Irish state, the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and Channel Islands that was historically dominating and is currently inaccurate, since Ireland is neither Britain nor British. Many political bodies, including the Irish government, avoid describing Ireland as being part of the British Isles; Éamon de Valera corrected John Gunther when the journalist used the term during a private meeting in the mid-1930s. However, the term "British Isles" has been used
British Isles also taken to be part of the British Isles, even though, as islands off the coast of France, they do not form part of the archipelago. The oldest rocks in the group are in the north west of Scotland, Ireland and North Wales and are 2.7 billion years old. During the Silurian period the north-western regions collided with the south-east, which had been part of a separate continental landmass. The topography of the islands is modest in scale by global standards. Ben Nevis rises to an elevation of only , and Lough Neagh, which is notably larger than other lakes