South Tipperary Tiobraid Árann Theas Tipperary (South Riding) | |
|---|---|
Former County 1899–2014 | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: | |
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| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| Created | 1 April 1899 |
| Abolished | 1 June 2014 |
| County town | Clonmel |
| Government | |
| • Type | South Tipperary County Council |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,257 km2 (871 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | 88,433 |
| Car plates | TS(1987–2013) |
South Tipperary (Irish:Tiobraid Árann Theas) was acounty inIreland in theprovince ofMunster. It was named after the town ofTipperary and consisted of 52% of the land area of the traditionalcounty of Tipperary.South Tipperary County Council was thelocal authority for the county. The population of the county was 88,433 according to the 2011 census. It was abolished on 1 June 2014, and amalgamated withNorth Tipperary to form County Tipperary under a newTipperary County Council.[1][2]
The county was part of the central plain of Ireland, but the diversified terrain contained several mountain ranges, notably theKnockmealdowns and theGaltees. The county waslandlocked and drained by theRiver Suir. The centre of the county included much of theGolden Vale, a rich pastoral stretch of land in the Suir basin which extends into counties Limerick and Cork.
Thecounty town wasClonmel; other important urban centres includedCarrick-on-Suir,Cashel,Cahir andTipperary. The county's motto wasVallis Aurea Siurensis (Latin for 'The Golden Vale of theSuir').
There were six historicbaronies in South Tipperary:Clanwilliam,Iffa and Offa East,Iffa and Offa West,Kilnamanagh Lower,Middle Third andSlievardagh.
Civil parishes in Ireland were delineated after theDown Survey as an intermediate subdivision, with multipletownlands per parish and multiple parishes per barony. The civil parishes had some use in local taxation and were included on the nineteenth century maps of theOrdnance Survey of Ireland.[3] Forpoor law purposes,district electoral divisions replaced civil parishes in the mid-nineteenth century. There were 123 civil parishes in the county.[4]
The South Riding of Tipperary had been a judicial county following the establishment ofassize courts in 1838.
Theadministrative county ofTipperary, South Riding was created under theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898 as the area of the existing judicial county of the South Riding of the county of Tipperary, with the addition of thedistrict electoral divisions previously in the North Riding of Cappagh, Curraheen and Glengar, and the portions of the town ofCarrick-on-Suir and the borough ofClonmel previously inCounty Waterford. It took effect on 1 April 1899.[5][6]
In 2002, under theLocal Government Act 2001, the county's name was changed to South Tipperary, and the council's name toSouth Tipperary County Council.[7] The council oversaw the county as a local government area. The council was composed of 26 representatives, directly elected through the system ofproportional representation by means of asingle transferable vote (PR-STV).[8]
South Tipperary was part of theSouth-East Region, aNUTS III region of theEuropean Union, whereasNorth Tipperary was part of theMid-West Region.[9] At aNUTS II level, both counties were in the Southern and Eastern region.[10] A revision to the NUTS regions, after the amalgamation of the counties, brought both under the Mid-West Region.[11]
There were native speakers ofIrish in South Tipperary until the middle of the 20th century. Recordings of their dialect, made before the last native speakers died, have been made available through a project of theRoyal Irish Academy Library.[12]
Tipperary County Council will become an official unified authority on Tuesday, 3rd June 2014. The new authority combines the existing administration of North Tipperary County Council and South Tipperary County Council.
