Provinces of Ireland
The Provinces of Ireland are ancient subdivisions of the island of Ireland. Originally five in number (the Irish name for 'province' is cúige, meaning "fifth"), the smallest province, Meath, was eventually absorbed into the neighbouring province of Leinster.
Each province is further subdivided into a number counties. While the provinces have no legal designation in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, they continue to be important in sporting contexts, especially in Gaelic games and Rugby union.
The four provinces, together with their traditional counties are Leinster in the east, Munster in the south, Connacht in the west, and Ulster in the north. The former province of Meath had borders roughly analagous to the modern counties of Meath and Westmeath.
Leinster
- Carlow
- Dublin (This traditional county has now been abolished, being replaced by Dublin city, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin)
- Kildare
- Kilkenny
- Laois
- Longford
- Louth
- Meath
- Offaly
- Westmeath
- Wexford
- Wicklow
Munster
- Clare
- Cork
- Kerry
- Limerick
- Tipperary (This traditional county has now been abolished, being replaced by North Tipperary and South Tipperary
- Waterford
Connacht
Ulster
Six of the nine Ulster counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh and Londonderry) are within Northern Ireland, while the remaining three (Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan) are within the Republic of Ireland.