Counties of Ireland: Difference between revisions

| name= Counties of Ireland <br> {{lang|ga|Contaetha na hÉireann}} ([[Irish language|Irish]])       

        

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The '''counties of Ireland''' ([[Irish language|Irish]]: {{lang|ga|Contaetha na hÉireann}}) are historic administrative divisions of the island. They began as [[Normans in Ireland|Norman]] structures, and as the powers exercised by the Cambro-Norman barons and the [[Old English (Ireland)|Old English]] nobility waned over time, new offices of political control came to be established at a county level. The number of counties varied depending on the time period, however thirty-two is the traditionally accepted and used number.

Upon the [[partition of Ireland]] in 1921, six of the traditional counties became part of [[Northern Ireland]]. In Northern Ireland, [[Counties of Northern Ireland|counties]] ceased to be used for local government in 1973; [[Local government in Northern Ireland|districts]] are instead used. In the [[Republic of Ireland]], some counties have been split resulting in the creation of new counties: there are currently 26 counties, 3 cities and 2 cities and counties that demarcate areas of [[local government in the Republic of Ireland|local government in the Republic]].

The word "county" has come to be used in different senses for different purposes. In common usage, it can mean the 32 counties that existed prior to 1838 – the so-called traditional counties, 26 of which are in the [[Republic of Ireland]]. However, the Local Government Acts define counties to include separate counties within the traditional county of Dublin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Government Act 2001: Schedule 5 (as amended) |url=https://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/2001/act/37/schedule/5/revised/en/html |website=Revised Acts |publisher=[[Law Reform Commission (Ireland)|Law Reform Commission]] |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref>

In Ireland, the word ''county'' nearly always precedes the county name; thus "[[County Roscommon|''County'' Roscommon]]" in Ireland as opposed to "[[Roscommon County, Michigan|Roscommon ''County'']]" in [[Michigan]], United States. The former "King's County" and "Queen's County" were exceptions; however, these are now [[County Offaly]] and [[County Laois]], respectively. The [[abbreviation]] Co. is used, as in "Co. Roscommon". The counties in Dublin created in 1994 often drop the word ''county'' entirely, or use it after the name; thus, for example, internet search engines show many more uses (on Irish sites) of "[[Fingal]]" than of either "County Fingal" or "Fingal County". Although official guidance does not use the term county as part of its name, the local council uses all three forms.<ref name=si519>{{cite Irish legislation|name=Placenames (Provinces and Counties) Order 2003 |year=2003|date=30 October 2003|type=si|number=519|lang=Irish |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118214710/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2003/si/519/made/ga/print |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fingal.ie/ |title=Fingal County Council |website=Fingal County Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125090816/http://www.fingalcoco.ie/ |archive-date=25 November 2018 }}, where (apart from references to the Council itself) both "Fingal County" and "County Fingal" appear, but much less frequently than "Fingal" alone.</ref> In informal use, the word ''county'' is often dropped except where necessary to distinguish between county and town or city; thus "Offaly" rather than "County Offaly", but "County Antrim" to distinguish it from Antrim town. The synonym ''[[shire]]'' is not used for Irish counties, although the [[Marquess of Downshire|Marquessate of Downshire]] was named in 1789 after [[County Down]].{{efn|Irish [[county constituencies]] at [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|Westminster]] were written ''Corkshire'', ''Tipperaryshire'', etc. in some official British publications between the [[Acts of Union 1800]] and the [[Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1832]].<ref>See:

A "king of over-kings" ({{langx|ga|rí ruirech|links=no}}) was often a provincial ({{langx|ga|rí cóicid|links=no}}) or semi-provincial king to whom several ruiri were subordinate. No more than six genuine [[Rí#Rí ruirech|rí ruirech]] were ever contemporary. Usually, only five such "king of over-kings" existed contemporaneously and so are described in the [[Irish annals]] as ''fifths'' ({{langx|ga|cúigí|links=no}}). The areas under the control of these kings were: [[Ulster]] ({{langx|ga|Ulaidh|links=no}}), [[Leinster]] ({{langx|ga|Laighin|links=no}}), [[Connacht]] ({{langx|ga|Connachta|links=no}}), [[Munster]] ({{langx|ga|An Mhumhan|links=no}}) and [[Kingdom of Meath|Mide]] ({{langx|ga|An Mhídhe|links=no}}). Later record-makers dubbed them ''provinces'', in imitation of [[Roman province]]s. In the Norman period, the historic fifths of Leinster and Meath gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of [[the Pale]], which straddled both, thereby forming the present-day province of Leinster.

After his intervention in Ireland, Henry II effectively divided the English colony into liberties also known as lordships. These were effectively [[county palatine|palatine counties]] and differed from ordinary counties in that they were disjoined from the crown and that whoever they were granted to essentially had the same authority as the king and that the king's writ had no effect except a writ of error.<ref name="Falkiner174">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/174/mode/2up?view=theater 174]}}</ref> This covered all land within the county that was not church land.<ref name="Falkiner174"/> The reason for the creation of such powerful entities in Ireland was due to the lack of authority the English crown had there.<ref name="Falkiner174"/> The same process occurred after the Norman conquest of England where despite there being a strong central government, county palatines were needed in border areas with Wales and Scotland.<ref name="Falkiner174-5">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/174/mode/2up?view=theater 174-5]}}</ref> In Ireland this meant that the land was divided and granted to [[Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke|Richard de Clare]] and his followers who became lords (and sometimes called earls), with the only land which the English crown had any direct control over being the sea-coast towns and territories immediately adjacent.<ref name="Falkiner175">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/174/mode/2up?view=theater 175]}}</ref>

[[File:Www.wesleyjohnston.com-users-ireland-maps-historical-map1300.gif|thumb|right|Extent of Norman control in Ireland by 1300]]

[[Image:Ireland 1450.png|thumb|right|The Pale (grey), earldoms and lordships (blue) in 1450]]

The most important office in those that were [[palatine]] was that of [[seneschal]].<ref name="Falkiner179"/> In those liberties that came under Crown control this office was held by a [[sheriff]].<ref name="Falkiner179"/> The sovereign could and did appoint sheriffs in palatines; however, their power was confined to the church lands, and they became known as sheriffs of a County of the Cross, of which there seem to have been as many in Ireland as there were counties palatine.<ref name="Falkiner179">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/178/mode/2up?q=%22counties+of+ireland+an+historical%22&view=theater 179]}}</ref>

However the [[Bruce campaign in Ireland|Bruce Invasion of Ireland]] in 1315 resulted in the collapse of effective English rule in Ireland, with the land controlled by the crown continually shrinking to encompass Dublin, and parts of Meath, Louth and Kildare.<ref name="Falkiner180"/> Throughout the rest of Ireland, English rule was upheld by the earls of Desmond, Ormond, and Kildare (all created in the 14th-century), with the extension of the county system all but impossible.<ref name="Falkiner180"/> During the reign of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] (1327–77) all franchises, grants and liberties had been temporarily revoked with power passed to the king's sheriffs over the seneschals.<ref name="Falkiner179"/> This may have been due to the disorganisation caused by the Bruce invasion as well as the renouncing of the Connaught Burkes of their allegiance to the crown.<ref name="Falkiner179"/>

The Earls of Ulster divided their territory up into counties; however, these are not considered part of the Crown's shiring of Ireland. In 1333, the [[Earldom of Ulster]] is recorded as consisting of seven counties: [[County Antrim|Antrim]], [[Newtownards|Blathewyc]], [[Carrickfergus|Cragferus]], [[County Coleraine|Coulrath]], [[Ards (territory)|del Art]], [[County Down|Dun]] (also known as [[Lecale|Ladcathel]]), and [[Twescard]].<ref name="Bardon2005pg45">Bardon, Jonathan: ''A History of Ulster'', page 45. The Black Staff Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-85640-764-X}}</ref><ref name="DownII">Hughes and Hannan: ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland, Volume Two, County Down II, The Ards'', The Queen's University of Belfast, 1992. {{ISBN|085389-450-7}}</ref>

*Ulster was regranted to the de Lacys from John de Courcy, whilst Connaught, which had been granted to [[William de Burgh]], was at some point divided into the liberties of Connaught and Roscommon. William's grandson [[Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster|Walter de Burgh]] was in 1264 also made lord of Ulster, bringing both Connaught and Ulster under the same lord. In 1352 [[Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster]] married [[Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence|Lionel of Antwerp]], a son of king [[Edward III of England|Edward III]]. Their daughter [[Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster|Philippa]] married [[Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March]]. Upon the death of [[Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March]] in 1425, both lordships were inherited by [[Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York]] and thus passed to the Crown.<ref name="Falkiner175"/>

*Tipperary was resumed by King [[James VI and I|James I]], however under [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1662 was reconstituted for [[James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde]].<ref name="Falkiner177">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/176/mode/2up?view=theater 177]}}</ref>

It was not until the Tudors, specifically the reign of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] (1509–47), that crown control started to once again extend throughout Ireland.<ref name="Falkiner180-1">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/180/mode/2up?view=theater 180-1]}}</ref> Having declared himself [[King of Ireland]] in 1541, Henry VIII went about converting Irish chiefs into feudal subjects of the crown with land divided into districts, which were eventually amalgamated into the modern counties.<ref name="Falkiner180-1"/> County boundaries were still ill-defined; however, in 1543 [[Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543|Meath was split into Meath and Westmeath]].<ref name="Falkiner180-1"/> Around 1545, the [[Byrne]]s and [[O'Toole (surname)|O'Tooles]], both native septs who had constantly been a pain for the English administration of the Pale, petitioned the Lord Deputy of Ireland to turn their district into its own county, Wicklow. However, this was ignored.<ref name="Falkiner"/>

Mary's reign saw the first addition of actual new counties since the reign of King John. Radclyffe had conquered the districts of Glenmaliry, Irry, Leix, Offaly, and Slewmargy from the O'Moores and O'Connors, and in 1556 a statute decreed that Offaly and part of Glenmaliry would be made into the county of [[County Offaly|King's County]], whilst the rest of Glenmarliry along with Irry, Leix and Slewmargy was formed into [[County Laois|Queen's County]].<ref name="Falkiner182"/> Radclyffe brought forth legislation to shire all land as yet unshired throughout Ireland and sought to divide the island into six parts—Connaught, Leinster, Meath, Nether Munster, Ulster, and Upper Munster. However, his administrative reign in Ireland was cut short, and it was not until the reign of Mary's successor, Elizabeth, that this legislation was re-adopted. Under Elizabeth, Radclyffe was brought back to implement it.<ref name="Falkiner"/>

Sydney during his three tenures as Lord Deputy created two presidencies to administer Connaught and Munster. He shired Connaught into the counties of Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo.<ref name="Falkiner184">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/184/mode/2up?view=theater 184]}}</ref> In 1565 the territory of the O'Rourkes within Roscommon was made into the county of Leitrim. In an attempt to reduce the importance of the province of Munster, Sydney, using the [[River Shannon]] as a natural boundary took the former kingdom of Thomond (North Munster) and made it into the county of Clare as part of the presidency of Connaught in 1569.<ref name="Falkiner185">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/184/mode/2up?view=theater 185]}}</ref> In 1569 the Irish Parliament passed "An Act for turning of Countries that be not yet Shire Grounds into Shire Grounds".<ref>[https://opac.oireachtas.ie/Data/Library7/Library1/DC900041.pdf 11 Elizabeth I, Session 3, Chapter 9 (1569)]</ref> A commission headed by Perrot and others in 1571 declared that the territory of Desmond in Munster was to be made a county of itself, and it had its own sheriff appointed, however in 1606 it was merged with the county of Kerry.<ref name="Falkiner192-3">{{harv|Falkiner|1903|p=[https://archive.org/details/proceedingsroya29acadgoog/page/192/mode/2up?view=theater 192-3]}}</ref> In 1575 Sydney made an expedition to Ulster to plan its shiring. However, nothing came to bear.<ref name="Falkiner"/>

In 1578 the go-ahead was given for turning the districts of the Byrnes and O'Tooles into the county of Wicklow. However, with the outbreak of war in Munster and then Ulster, they resumed their independence.<ref name="Falkiner"/> Sydney also sought to split Wexford into two smaller counties, the northern half of which was to be called Ferns, but the matter was dropped as it was considered impossible to properly administer.<ref name="Falkiner"/> The territory of the [[Ó Fearghail|O'Farrell]]s of [[Annaly]], however, which was in Westmeath, in 1583 was formed into the county of Longford and transferred to Connaught.<ref name="Falkiner"/><ref>{{cite book|first=John G.|last=Crawford|title=Anglicising the Government of Ireland: The Irish Privy Council & the Expansion of Tudor Rule 1556–1578|location=Blackrock|year=1993}}</ref> The [[Desmond Rebellions|Desmond rebellion]] (1579–83) that was taking place in Munster stopped Sydney's work and by the time it had been defeated Sir John Perrot was now Lord Deputy, being appointed in 1584.<ref name="Falkiner"/>

Perrot would be most remembered for shiring the only province of Ireland that remained effectively outside of English control, that of Ulster.<ref name="Falkiner"/> Prior to his tenancy the only proper county in Ulster was Louth, which had been part of the Pale.<ref name="Falkiner"/> There were two other long recognised entities north of Louth—Antrim and Down—that had at one time been "counties" of the Earldom of Ulster and were regarded as apart from the unreformed parts of the province.<ref name="Falkiner"/> The date Antrim and Down became constituted is unknown.<ref name="Falkiner"/> Perrot was recalled in 1588 and the shiring of Ulster would for two decades basically exist on paper as the territory affected remained firmly outside of English control until the defeat of [[Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone]] in the [[Nine Years' War (Ireland)|Nine Years' War]].<ref name="Falkiner"/> These counties were: Armagh, Cavan, Coleraine, Donegal, Fermanagh, Monaghan, and Tyrone.<ref name="Falkiner"/> Cavan was formed from the territory of the [[O'Reilly]]'s of [[East Breifne]] in 1584 and had been transferred from Connaught to Ulster.<ref name="roche">{{cite book|first=Desmond|last=Roche|title=Local Government in Ireland|location=Dublin|year=1982}}</ref> After O'Neill and his allies fled Ireland in 1607 in the [[Flight of the Earls]], their lands became escheated to the Crown and the county divisions designed by Perrot were used as the basis for the grants of the subsequent [[Plantation of Ulster]] effected by King [[James VI and I|James I]], which officially started in 1609.<ref name="Falkiner"/>

Around 1600 near the end of Elizabeth's reign, Clare was made an entirely distinct presidency of its own under the [[Earl of Thomond|Earls of Thomond]] and would not return to being part of Munster until after the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] in 1660.<ref name="Falkiner"/>

It was not until the subjugation of the Byrnes and O'Tooles by Lord Deputy Sir [[Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester|Arthur Chichester]] that in 1606 Wicklow was finally shired.<ref name="Falkiner"/> This county was one of the last to be created, yet was the closest to the centre of English power in Ireland.<ref name="Falkiner"/>

County Londonderry was incorporated in 1613 by the merger of [[County Coleraine]] with the barony of [[Loughinsholin]] (in County Tyrone), the [[North West Liberties of Londonderry]] (in County Donegal), and the [[North East Liberties of Coleraine]] (in County Antrim).

To correspond with the subdivisions of the English shires into honours or [[barony (county division)|baronies]], Irish counties were granted out to the Anglo-Norman noblemen in [[cantred]]s, later known as [[Barony (Ireland)|baronies]], which in turn were subdivided, as in England, into [[Civil parishes in Ireland|parishes]]. Parishes were composed of [[townland]]s. However, in many cases, these divisions correspond to earlier, pre-Norman, divisions. While there are 331<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/censusasp/saps/boundaries/ED_SA%20Disclaimer1.htm|title=2011 Census Boundaries|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2019-05-06|archive-date=2 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002060010/http://census.cso.ie/censusasp/saps/boundaries/ED_SA%20Disclaimer1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> baronies in Ireland, and more than a thousand [[Civil parishes in Ireland|civil parishes]], there are around sixty thousand townlands that range in size from one to several thousand hectares. Townlands were often traditionally divided into smaller units called ''quarters'', but these subdivisions are not legally defined.

The only entirely new counties created in 1898 were the county boroughs of Londonderry and Belfast. Carrickfergus, Drogheda and Kilkenny were abolished; Galway was also abolished, but recreated in 1986.

Regional presidencies of Connacht and Munster remained in existence until 1672, with special powers over their subsidiary counties.  Tipperary remained a [[county palatine]] until the passing of the [[County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715]], with different officials and procedures from other counties.  At the same time, Dublin, until the 19th century, had ecclesiastical liberties with rules outside those applying to the rest of Dublin city and county.  [[Exclaves]] of the county of Dublin existed in counties Kildare and Wicklow. At least eight other enclaves of one county inside another, or between two others, existed.  The various enclaves and exclaves were merged into neighbouring and surrounding counties, primarily in the mid-19th century under a series of Orders in Council.

The [[Church of Ireland]] exercised functions at the level of a civil parish that would later be exercised by county authorities. Vestigial feudal power structures of major old estates remained well into the 18th century. Urban corporations operated individual royal charters. Management of counties came to be exercised by [[Grand Jury|grand juries]]. Members of grand juries were the local payers of [[Rates (tax)|rates]] who historically held judicial functions, taking maintenance roles in regard to roads and bridges, and the collection of "county cess" taxes. They were usually composed of wealthy "country gentlemen" (i.e. landowners, farmers and merchants):<blockquote>A country gentleman as a member of a Grand Jury...levied the local taxes, appointed the nephews of his old friends to collect them, and spent them when they were gathered in. He controlled the boards of guardians and appointed the dispensary doctors, regulated the diet of paupers, inflicted fines and administered the law at petty sessions.<ref>{{cite book|last=McDowell|first=R. B|title=The Church of Ireland, 1869–1969|editor=T.W. Moody |editor2=J.C. Beckett |editor3=J.V. Kelleher|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. |year=1975|pages=2|isbn= 0-7100-8072-7|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VdU9AAAAIAAJ|access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref></blockquote> The counties were initially used for judicial purposes, but began to take on some governmental functions in the 17th century, notably with grand juries.

In 1836, the use of counties as local government units was further developed, with grand-jury powers extended under the [[Grand Jury (Ireland) Act 1836]]. The traditional county of [[County Tipperary|Tipperary]] was split into two judicial counties (or [[Riding (division)|riding]]s) following the establishment of [[assize court]]s in 1838. Also in that year, local poor law boards, with a mix of magistrates and elected "guardians" took over the health and social welfare functions of the grand juries.

Sixty years later, a more radical reorganisation of local government took place with the passage of the [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898]]. This Act established a county council for each of the thirty-three Irish administrative counties. Elected county councils took over the powers of the [[Grand jury|grand juries]]. The boundaries of the traditional counties changed on a number of occasions. The 1898 Act changed the boundaries of Counties [[County Galway|Galway]], [[County Clare|Clare]], [[County Mayo|Mayo]], [[Roscommon]], [[County Sligo|Sligo]], [[County Waterford|Waterford]], [[County Kilkenny|Kilkenny]], [[County Meath|Meath]] and [[County Louth|Louth]], and others. County Tipperary was divided into two regions: [[North Tipperary|North Riding]] and [[South Tipperary|South Riding]]. Areas of the cities of Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Derry and Waterford were carved from their surrounding counties to become [[county borough]]s in their own right and given powers equivalent to those of administrative counties.<ref>{{cite news |title=Proposed Alterations in Counties |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=19 July 1898 |page=7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=27th Report of the Local Government Board for Ireland (Cmd.9480) |chapter=Orders declaring the boundaries of administrative counties and defining county electoral divisions |year=1900 |publisher=[[HMSO]] |location=Dublin |pages=235–330}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/handbookoflocalg00clan A Handbook of Local Government in Ireland (1899)] "containing an Explanatory Introduction to the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898: together with the Text of the Act, the Orders in Council, and the Rules made thereunder relating to County Council, Rural District Council, and Guardian's Elections. With an Index"</ref>

Under the [[Government of Ireland Act 1920]], the island was partitioned between [[Southern Ireland (1921–22)|Southern Ireland]] and [[Northern Ireland]]. For the purposes of the Act, <blockquote>... Northern Ireland shall consist of the parliamentary counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and the parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, and Southern Ireland shall consist of so much of Ireland as is not comprised within the said parliamentary counties and boroughs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_act/1920/192000067.html|title=Government of Ireland Act 1920 (as assented to)|website=bailii.org|access-date=14 February 2012|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230148/http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_act/1920/192000067.html|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

The county and county borough borders were thus used to determine the line of partition. Southern Ireland shortly afterwards became the [[Irish Free State]]. This partition was entrenched in the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]], which was ratified in 1922, by which the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom with [[Northern Ireland]] making the decision to not separate two days later.

Areas that were shired by 1607 and continued as counties until the local government reforms of 1836, 1898 and 2001 are sometimes referred to as "traditional" or "historic" counties. These were distinct from the [[county corporate|counties corporate]] that existed in some of the larger towns and cities, although linked to the county at large for other purposes. From 1898 to 2001, areas with county councils were known as [[Administrative county#Ireland|administrative counties]], while the counties corporate were designated as [[county borough]]s. From 2001, local government areas were divided between counties and cities. From 2014, they were divided into counties, cities, and cities and counties.

Under the Local Government Provisional Order Confirmation Act 1976, part of the urban area of [[Drogheda]], which lay in County Meath, was transferred to County Louth on 1 January 1977. This resulted in the land area of County Louth increasing slightly at the expense of County Meath.<ref>{{cite web | last = Tully | first = James | title = Local Government Provisional Order Confirmation Act, 1976 | publisher = [[Attorney General of Ireland|Office of the Irish Attorney General]] | date = 19 October 1976 | url = http://www.irishstatutebook.ie:80/1976/en/act/prv/0001/print.html | access-date = 22 March 2008 | archive-date = 22 January 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090122025027/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1976/en/act/prv/0001/print.html | url-status = live }}</ref> The possibility of a similar action with regard to [[Waterford City]] has been raised in recent years, though opposition from Kilkenny has been strong.

The cities of [[Limerick]] and [[Waterford]] were merged with their respective counties by the [[Local Government Reform Act 2014]], to form new ''cities and counties''. The same Act also abolished North Tipperary and South Tipperary and re-established County Tipperary as an administrative unit.

The [[Institutes of technology in Ireland|Institute of technology]] system was organised by committee areas or "functional areas"; these areas retain their legal basis but are not as important as originally envisioned as the institutes are now more national in character. The functional areas are only of significance today when selecting governing councils; similarly, [[Dublin Institute of Technology]] was originally a group of several colleges within the aegis of the [[City of Dublin]] VEC.

This system usually results in more populated counties having several constituencies: Dublin, including Dublin city, is subdivided into twelve constituencies, Cork into five. On the other hand, smaller counties such as Carlow and Kilkenny or Laois and Offaly may be paired to form constituencies. Leitrim, Ireland's least populated county, was divided between the constituencies of [[Sligo–North Leitrim (Dáil constituency)|Sligo–North Leitrim]] and [[Roscommon–South Leitrim (Dáil constituency)|Roscommon–South Leitrim]] from 2007 to 2016.

The 35 divisions listed below include the traditional counties of Ireland as well as three created in Dublin in 1994. Twenty-four counties still delimit the remit of local government areas in the Republic of Ireland (in some cases with slightly redrawn boundaries). [[County Dublin]], which was abolished as a distinct administrative entity in 1994,<ref>{{Cite Irish legislation|year=1993|number=31|name=[[Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993]]|date=21 December 1993|section=9|stitle=Establishment and boundaries of administrative counties|quote=S. 9(1). On the establishment day— ... (a) the county shall cease to exist.|access-date=19 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523012230/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1993/en/act/pub/0031/index.html |archive-date=23 May 2011 }}</ref> is included, as are the three new administrative counties which took over the functions of the former County Dublin. In Northern Ireland, the counties listed no longer serve this purpose. The Irish-language names of counties in the Republic of Ireland are prescribed by ministerial order, which in the case of three newer counties, omits the word {{lang|ga|contae}} (county).<ref name=si519 /> Irish names form the basis for all English-language county names except Waterford, Wexford, and Wicklow, which are of Norse origin.

! Native name<br />(Irish)<ref>{{cite book |title=Gasaitéar na hÉireann / Gazetteer of Ireland |year=1989 |publisher=Brainse Logainmneacha na Suirbhéireachta Ordanáis / Placenames Branch of the Ordnance Survey |location=Dublin |isbn=978-0-7076-0076-5}}</ref><br />

! Ulster-Scots<br />name(s)<br />

| {{lang|ga|[[Connacht]]}}

| {{lang|ga|[[Connacht]]}}

| {{lang|ga|[[Connacht]]}}

| {{lang|ga|[[Connacht]]}}

| {{lang|ga|[[Connacht]]}}