Counties of Ireland

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This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

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The counties of Ireland were traditional and long standing divisions of the island of Ireland. Ireland was originally divided into five provinces, Ulster, Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Meath, with the latter eventually being absorbed into Leinster. The provinces were further subdivided into many hundreds of tuatha, a term which translates from the Irish language as meaning both the people, tribe or clan of an area and the territory they controlled. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, the process of shiring the country into baronies and then counties began.

The counties underwent various changes and renamings over the years, settling into their by now traditional styles by the middle of the 19th century.

## Contents

* 1 Partition of Ireland
* 2 Table: Traditional counties
* 3 Modern administrative divisions
* 3.1 Within the Republic of Ireland
* 3.2 Within Northern Ireland
* 3.3 Traditional versus administrative
* 4 Table: Administrative divisions within the Republic of Ireland
* 5 References

## Partition of Ireland[edit]

The partition of Ireland into Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State saw the traditional thirty-two counties being split, with six of the nine Ulster counties becoming Northern Ireland, while the remaining twenty-six counties became the Irish Free State.

The traditional 32 counties are as follows:

| Republic of Ireland

1. Dublin
2. Wicklow
3. Wexford
4. Carlow
5. Kildare
6. Meath
7. Louth
8. Monaghan
9. Cavan
10. Longford
11. Westmeath
12. Offaly
13. Laois
14. Kilkenny
15. Waterford
16. Cork

17. Kerry
18. Limerick
19. Tipperary
20. Clare
21. Galway
22. Mayo
23. Roscommon
24. Sligo
25. Leitrim
26. Donegal

Northern Ireland

1. Fermanagh
2. Tyrone
3. Londonderry
4. Antrim
5. Down
6. Armagh

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## Table: Traditional counties[edit]

Traditional County  | Formerly  | Name in Irish | County town  | Province  | State

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Antrim |  | Aontroim  | Antrim  | Ulster | Northern Ireland
Armagh |  | Ard Mhacha  | Armagh  | Ulster | Northern Ireland
Carlow | Caterlaugh  | Ceatharlach  | Carlow  | Leinster | Ireland
Cavan |  | Cabhán  | Cavan  | Ulster | Ireland
Clare | Thomond  | An Clár  | Ennis  | Munster | Ireland
Cork | Desmond  | Corcaigh  | Cork  | Munster | Ireland
Donegal | Tyrconnel  | Dún na nGall  | Lifford  | Ulster | Ireland
Down |  | An Dún  | Downpatrick  | Ulster | Northern Ireland
Dublin |  | Baile Átha Cliath  | Dublin  | Leinster | Ireland
Fermanagh |  | Fear Manach  | Enniskillen  | Ulster | Northern Ireland
Galway |  | Gaillimh  | Galway  | Connacht | Ireland
Kerry | Desmond  | Ciaraí  | Tralee  | Munster | Ireland
Kildare |  | Cill Dara  | Naas  | Leinster | Ireland
Kilkenny |  | Cill Chainnigh  | Kilkenny  | Leinster | Ireland
Laois | Queen's County;
Leix and Laoighis
are former spellings.  | Laois (sometimes still Laoighis)  | Portlaoise  | Leinster | Ireland
Leitrim |  | Liatroim  | Carrick on Shannon  | Connacht | Ireland
Limerick | Thomond  | Luimneach  | Limerick  | Munster | Ireland
Londonderry | Coleraine  | Doire  | Derry  | Ulster | Northern Ireland
Longford |  | An Longfort  | Longford  | Leinster | Ireland
Louth |  | Lú  | Dundalk  | Leinster | Ireland
Mayo |  | Maigh Eo  | Castlebar  | Connacht | Ireland
Meath |  | An Mhí  | Navan  | Leinster | Ireland
Monaghan |  | Muineacháin  | Monaghan  | Ulster | Ireland
Offaly | King's County  | Uíbh Fháilí  | Tullamore  | Leinster | Ireland
Roscommon |  | Ros Comáin  | Roscommon  | Connacht | Ireland
Sligo |  | Sligeach  | Sligo  | Connacht | Ireland
Tipperary |  | Tiobraid Árann  | Nenagh (North Riding);
Clonmel (South Riding)  | Munster | Ireland
Tyrone |  | Tír Eoghain  | Omagh  | Ulster | Northern Ireland
Waterford |  | Port Láirge  | Waterford  | Munster | Ireland
Westmeath |  | An Iarmhí  | Mullingar  | Leinster | Ireland
Wexford |  | Loch Garman  | Wexford  | Leinster | Ireland
Wicklow |  | Cill Mhantáin  | Wicklow  | Leinster | Ireland

## Modern administrative divisions[edit]

Various changes to local government in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have occurred over the years.

### Within the Republic of Ireland[edit]

* County Tipperary, first established in the 13th century, was divided into two "ridings", North Tipperary (county town: Nenagh) and South Tipperary (county town: Clonmel) in 1898.[1] The county was formally divided into two separate counties, North Tipperary and South Tipperary, in 2002[2].

* County Dublin, in 1993, was split into three new counties - Fingal in the north, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown in the south and east, and South Dublin in the remainder - with Dublin Corporation becoming Dublin City Council, to govern the city proper.[3]

* The Local Government Act, 2001 (Ireland) further refined and delineated the state's local government areas[4]. It lists 29 counties and five cities (with equivalent status to counties), as tabulated below. In addition to the five designated cities (Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford), a sixth, Kilkenny, in deference to tradition, is given permission in that Act to style itself a city, though it is not officially designated as one and has a town council rather than a city council.

### Within Northern Ireland[edit]

* Until 1971, the six counties of Northern Ireland, along with the borough councils for the cities of Belfast and Derry, served as administrative areas. The Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 removed the official status of counties, replacing them with 26 Districts for local government purposes.

### Traditional versus administrative[edit]

Both north and south of the border, the traditional 32 counties are still in favour with the majority of the population. They continue to be of everyday importance in cultural and sporting contexts - for example, the Gaelic Athletic Association's championships in hurling and Gaelic football still feature teams from the 32 traditional counties rather than making use of the new counties (though there has been some limited discussion about splitting the Dublin teams in two, due to a perceived population advantage).

In the Republic of Ireland, this is partly due to a lack of publicity surrounding the new counties, and partly as not all administrative systems have yet adapted to the changes. For example, the County Council of Fingal lists its postal address as "County Hall, Swords, Fingal, Co. Dublin."[5] Similarly, although car vehicle registration plates are supposed to carry designated initials depending on the county of registration, all vehicles registered within the new counties created from the former County Dublin still all bear the initial "D", for Dublin.

## Table: Administrative divisions within the Republic of Ireland[edit]

Administrative division  | Status  | Formerly  | County town  | Province

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Carlow | County  |  | Carlow  | Leinster
Cavan | County  |  | Cavan  | Ulster
Clare | County  |  | Ennis  | Munster
Cork city | City  | Part of County Cork | n/a  | Munster
Cork | County  |  | Cork  | Munster
Donegal | County  |  | Lifford  | Ulster
Dublin city | City  | Part of County Dublin | n/a  | Leinster
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown | County  | Part of County Dublin | Dún Laoghaire  | Leinster
Fingal | County  | Part of County Dublin | Swords  | Leinster
Galway city | City  | Part of County Galway | n/a  | Connacht
Galway | County  |  | Galway  | Connacht
Kerry | County  |  | Tralee  | Munster
Kildare | County  |  | Naas  | Leinster
Kilkenny | County  |  | Kilkenny  | Leinster
Laois | County  |  | Portlaoise  | Leinster
Leitrim | County  |  | Carrick on Shannon  | Connacht
Limerick city | City  | Part of County Limerick | n/a  | Connacht
Limerick | County  |  | Limerick  | Munster
Longford | County  |  | Longford  | Leinster
Louth | County  |  | Dundalk  | Leinster
Mayo | County  |  | Castlebar  | Connacht
Meath | County  |  | Navan  | Leinster
Monaghan | County  |  | Monaghan  | Ulster
North Tipperary | County  | Part of County Tipperary | Nenagh  | Munster
Offaly | County  |  | Tullamore  | Leinster
Roscommon | County  |  | Roscommon  | Connacht
Sligo | County  |  | Sligo  | Connacht
South Dublin | County  | Part of County Dublin | Tallaght  | Leinster
South Tipperary | County  | Part of County Tipperary | Clonmel  | Munster
Waterford city | City  | Part of County Waterford | n/a  | Munster
Waterford | County  |  | Waterford  | Munster
Westmeath | County  |  | Mullingar  | Leinster
Wexford | County  |  | Wexford  | Leinster
Wicklow | County  |  | Wicklow  | Leinster

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898.
2. ↑ Local Government Act, 2001, section 10 and schedule 5
3. ↑ Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1993.
4. ↑ Local Government Act, 2001. Available: PDF format. Accessed: 24th August 2007
5. ↑ Fingal County Council website. Available: www.fingalcoco.ie Retrieved: 24th August, 2007.