Patron Saint:Brigid[3]a.^ Leinster contains the entirety of theDublin constituency and parts of theSouth andMidlands–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 theancient Kingdoms ofMeath,Leinster andOsraige, which existed duringGaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-centuryNorman invasion of Ireland, the historic"fifths" of Leinster and Meath gradually merged, mainly due to the impact ofthe Pale, which straddled both, thereby forming the present-day province of Leinster. The ancient kingdoms wereshired into a number ofcounties 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 ofIreland and is listed onISO 3166-2 as one of the four provinces of Ireland. "IE-L" is attributed to Leinster as itscountry sub-division code. Leinster had a population of 2,858,501 according to the preliminary results of the2022 census, making it the most populous province in the country.[2] The traditional flag of Leinster features a goldenharp on a green background.
The first part of thenameLeinster derives fromLaigin, the name of a majortribe that once inhabited the area.[5] The latter part of the name derives either from theIrishtír or from theOld Norsestaðr, both of which translate as 'land' or 'territory'.
Úgaine Mór (Hugony the Great), who supposedly built thehill fort ofDún Ailinne, nearKilcullen inCounty 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 ofcivil wars in Ireland, the legendaryCathair Mor re-founded the kingdom of Laigin. The legendary Finn Mac Cool, orFionn mac Cumhaill, reputedly built a stronghold at theHill of Allen, on the edge of theBog of Allen.
In the 5th century, the emergingUí Néill dynasties fromConnacht conquered areas of Westmeath, Meath and Offaly from theUí Enechglaiss andUí Failge of the Laigin.[8]Uí NéillArd Rígh attempted to exact theBoroimhe 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 Leinsterdynasty:Murchad mac Brain (d. 727), King ofUí 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]
The last major boundary changes within Leinster occurred with the formation ofCounty Wicklow (1603–1606),[13] from lands in the north ofCarlow (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 traditionalcounties:Carlow,Dublin,Kildare,Kilkenny,Laois,Longford,Louth,Meath,Offaly,Westmeath,Wexford andWicklow. 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 forlanguage in Ireland, English is the primary spoken language, but there is an activeIrish-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 ofRáth Chairn. As of 2011, there were 19,348 students attending the 66Gaelscoils (Irish-language primary schools) and 15Gaelcholáistí (Irish-language secondary schools) in the province, primarily in the Dublin area.[31]
A number of sporting and cultural organisations organise themselves on provincial lines, includingLeinster Rugby, theLeinster Cricket Union, Leinster Hockey Association andLeinster 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 theLeinster 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 theChristy Ring Cup.
^"ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-1"(PDF).Iso.org. 19 February 2010.Archived(PDF) from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved20 October 2016.which givesLeinster as the official English name of the Province andLaighin 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. Retrieved17 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
