When under Gaelic rule, Ireland was divided into provinces to replace the earlier system of the túatha. Image File history File links Four_Provinces_Flag. ... Map showing the provinces of Ireland. ... Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. ... The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which spread from Ireland to many parts of Britain, specifically Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales and Cornwall. ... A province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision. ... Túath (plural túatha) is an Old Irish word, often translated as people, tribe or nation. Túath referred to both the people who lived in a shared territory, and the territory they controlled. ...

The four provinces are:

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. For much of its history, the island of Ireland was divided into 32 counties (Irish language contae or condae, pronounced IPA: ). Two historical counties, County Desmond and County Coleraine, no longer exist. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Connacht. ... Statistics Area: 17,713. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Connacht County: Dáil Éireann: Galway West European Parliament: North-West Dialling Code: 091 Postal District(s): G Area: 50. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Leinster. ... Statistics Area: 19,774. ... Dublin city centre at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Munster. ... Statistics Area: 24,607. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Munster County: Area: 37. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ulster. ... Statistics Area: 24,481 km² Population (2006 estimate) 1,993,918 Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh, IPA: ) forms one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Northern Ireland County: District: Belfast UK Parliament: Belfast North Belfast South Belfast East Belfast West European Parliament: Northern Ireland Dialling Code: 028, +44 28 posttown = Belfast Postal District(s): BT1-BT17, BT29 (part of), BT58 Area: 115 km² Population (2001) Website: www. ... Meath (An Mhí in Irish) is a county in the Republic of Ireland, the county is often informally called The Royal County. ... The Republic of Ireland has a common law legal system with four main sources of law: Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann) Legislation Primary Legislation - Acts of the Oireachtas Secondary Legislation - Statutory Instrument Case law European Community Law Historical The state became independent in 1922 as the Irish Free... A stylised Celtic cross serves as the traditional logo of the GAA. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael) is an organisation which is mostly focussed on promoting Gaelic Games - traditional Irish sports, such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball, and rounders. ...

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. Norman conquests in red. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

Six of the nine Ulster counties form modern-day Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is often referred to as a province of the United Kingdom. These two inconsistent usages of the word "province" (along with the use of the term "Ulster" to describe Northern Ireland) can cause confusion. Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... A province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision. ...

Poetic description

This dinnseanchas poem named Ard Ruide (Ruide Headland) poetically describes the kingdoms of Ireland. Below is a translation from Old Irish: Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be more or less fully reconstructed from extant sources. ...

See also

• Counties of Ireland