The number of tourists visiting Ireland was up by almost 12% in the first half of the year.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that almost 3.9 million tourists came here during that time.

Tourism Ireland says it was the best ever January to June period for overseas visitors to Ireland.

Visitors from North America were up almost 15% on the first half of 2014 and tourist numbers from mainland Europe up 13%.

The figures show that visitor numbers are up by almost 50% in the last five years.

Meanwhile, the total number of overseas trips made by Irish residents from April to June increased by 7.6%.

CEO of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, says we are on course for a record year.