Crossword Genius

Leon is here to stay in Ireland, Liam's heartland (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

iberia

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'leon is here to stay in ireland liam's heartland' is the definition.
The answer is a location as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'leon is here to stay in ireland' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'is' could be 'be' and 'be' is found in the answer.
'ireland' could be 'ir' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ir' is present in the leftover letters.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for iberia that I've seen before include "European territory" , "European region" , "Spain's national flag-carrying airline" , "Spain and Portugal - airline" , "Mediterranean peninsula" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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