Patron Saint: Brigid[3]
a. ^ Leinster contains the entirety of the Dublin constituency and parts of the South and Midlands–North-West constituencies; Leinster contains 44.4% of the population of the Midlands–North-West constituency and 32.3% of the population of the South constituency.[4]
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ireland, 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. The ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has prompted further sub-division of the historic counties.
Leinster has no official function for local-government purposes. However, it is an officially recognised subdivision of Ireland and is listed on ISO 3166-2 as one of the four provinces of Ireland. "IE-L" is attributed to Leinster as its country sub-division code. Leinster had a population of 2,858,501 according to the preliminary results of the 2022 census, making it the most populous province in the country.[2] The traditional flag of Leinster features a golden harp on a green background.
The first part of the nameLeinster derives from Laigin, the name of a major tribe that once inhabited the area.[5] The latter part of the name derives either from the Irishtír or from the Old Norsestaðr, both of which translate as 'land' or 'territory'.
Úgaine Mór (Hugony the Great), who supposedly built the hill fort of Dún Ailinne, near Kilcullen in County Kildare, united the tribes of Leinster. He is a likely, but uncertain, candidate as the first historical king of Laigin (Leinster) in the 7th century BC. Circa 175/185 AD, following a period of civil wars in Ireland, the legendary Cathair Mor re-founded the kingdom of Laigin. The legendary Finn Mac Cool, or Fionn mac Cumhaill, reputedly built a stronghold at the Hill of Allen, on the edge of the Bog of Allen.
In the 5th century, the emerging Uí Néill dynasties from Connacht conquered areas of Westmeath, Meath and Offaly from the Uí Enechglaiss and Uí Failge of the Laigin.[8]Uí NéillArd Rígh attempted to exact the Boroimhe Laighean (cattle-tribute) from the Laigin from that time, in the process becoming their traditional enemies.
By the 8th century the rulers of Laigin had split into two dynasties:[9]
Northern Leinster dynasty: Murchad mac Brain (d. 727), King of Uí Dúnlainge, and joint leader of the Laigin
Leinster includes the extended "English Pale", counties controlled directly from Dublin, at the beginning of the 1600s. The other three provinces had their own regional "Presidency" systems, based on a Welsh model of administration, in theory if not in fact, from the 1570s and 1580s up to the 1670s, and were considered separate entities. Gradually "Leinster" subsumed the term "The Pale", as the kingdom was pacified and the difference between the old Pale area and the wider province, now also under English administration, grew less distinct.[citation needed]
Other boundary changes included County Louth, officially removed from Ulster in 1596, the baronies of Ballybritt and Clonlisk (formerly Éile Uí Chearbhaill in the county palatine of Tipperary) in Munster becoming part of Leinster in 1606, and the 'Lands of Ballymascanlon' transferred from Armagh to Louth c. 1630. The provincial borders were redrawn by Cromwell for administration and military reasons, and the Offaly parishes of Annally and Lusmagh, formerly part of Connacht, were transferred in 1660.
The last major boundary changes within Leinster occurred with the formation of County Wicklow (1603–1606),[13] from lands in the north of Carlow (which previously extended to the sea) and most of southern Dublin.[14] Later minor changes dealt with "islands" of one county in another. By the late 1700s, Leinster looked as shown in the above map of 1784.
The province is divided into twelve traditional counties: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow. Leinster has the most counties of any province, but is the second smallest of the four Irish provinces by land area. With a population of 2,870,354 as of 2022, it is the island's most populous province. Dublin is the only official city in the province, and is by far its largest settlement.[15]
As is the norm for language in Ireland, English is the primary spoken language, but there is an active Irish-speaking minority in the province. According to the Census of Ireland of 2011, there were 18,947 daily speakers of Irish in Leinster outside the education system,[30] including 1,299 native speakers in the small Gaeltacht of Ráth Chairn. As of 2011, there were 19,348 students attending the 66 Gaelscoils (Irish-language primary schools) and 15 Gaelcholáistí (Irish-language secondary schools) in the province, primarily in the Dublin area.[31]
Sport
A number of sporting and cultural organisations organise themselves on provincial lines, including Leinster Rugby, the Leinster Cricket Union, Leinster Hockey Association and Leinster GAA. While Leinster GAA is made up primarily of the traditional counties of the province, GAA teams from Galway, Kerry and Antrim have played in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, as has a team from London; Galway won the title in 2012. Participation of these counties is based on their performances in the Christy Ring Cup.
^"ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-1"(PDF). Iso.org. 19 February 2010. Archived(PDF) from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2016. which gives Leinster as the official English name of the Province and Laighin as the official Irish name of the Province and cites "Ordnance Survey Office, Dublin 1993"
^R F Foster (1992). The Oxford History of Ireland. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. p. 6. ISBN0-19-285271-X. (References to Irish colony in North Wales, Lleyn Peninsula)
^Clinton, Mark (2000). Alfred P. Smyth (ed.). "Settlement patterns in the early historic kingdom of Leinster (seventh-mid twelfth centuries)". Seanchas: Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis John Byrne. Dublin: Four Courts Press: 275–298.
^Bhreathnach, Edel (2000). Alfred P. Smyth (ed.). "Kings, the kingship of Leinster, and the regnal poems of "laidshenchas Laigen": a reflection of dynastic politics in Leinster, 650–1150". Seanchas: Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis J. Byrne. Dublin: Four Courts Press: 299–312.
^Walsh, Paul (2003). "1 (Early Leinster and Meath, province and diocese )". Irish Leaders and Learning Through the Ages. Four Courts Press. p. 33. ISBN9781851825431.
^O'Byrne, Emmett (2003). War, politics and the Irish of Leinster, 1156–1606. Four Courts Press. ISBN1851826904. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018. Leinster from the death of Toirdhealbhach O'Connor in 1156 to the establishment, in 1606, of County Wicklow – the last Irish and Leinster county to be created
