Provinces of Ireland
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| Provinces of Ireland | |
| Image:Flag of provinces (Ireland).png Four Provinces flag | |
| Map | |
| Image:IrelandProvincesNumbered.png | |
| 1. Leinster (bottom-right in flag) 2. Munster (top-right in flag) 3. Connacht (bottom-left in flag) 4. Ulster (top-left in flag) | |
When under Gaelic rule, Ireland was divided into provinces to replace the earlier system of the tuatha.
The four provinces are:
- Leinster (Population - 2,105,579) (Largest city - Dublin)
- Munster (Population - 1,100,614) (Largest city - Cork)
- Connacht (Population - 464,296) (Largest city - Galway)
- Ulster (Population - 1,931,981) (Largest city - Belfast)
Originally there were five provinces but over the course of time the smallest one, Meath, was absorbed into Leinster. These provinces began as little more than loosely federated kingdoms with somewhat flexible boundaries, but in modern times they have become associated with groups of specific counties though they have no legal status. They are today seen in a sporting context, as Ireland's four professional rugby teams play under the names of the provinces, and the Gaelic Athletic Association has separate provincial championships.
The provinces were supplanted by the present system of counties after the Norman occupation in the twelfth century. The Irish word for province, "cúige", means "portion" and/or "fifth", reflecting the original division.
Six of the nine Ulster counties form modern-day Northern Ireland, which remains a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is therefore a province of the United Kingdom, and is usually referred to as such, especially by Unionists. These two usages of the word "province" in Ireland are often confused.
See also
cs:Irské provincie es:Provincias de Irlanda fr:Provinces d'Irlande ga:Cúigí na hÉireann gd:Cóigeimh na h-Éireann it:Province d'Irlanda nl:Provincies van Ierland ja:アイルランドの地方 no:Irlands provinser pl:Prowincja (Irlandia) ro:Provinciile Irlandei ru:Провинции Ирландии