Leinster

Encyclopedia : L : LE : LEI : Leinster

Leinster (IPA: [ˈlɛnstə(r)]; Irish: Laighin or Laigin, IPA: [lainʲ]), one of the Provinces of Ireland, lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow. Leinster has the largest population of the four provinces of Ireland. The traditional flag of Leinster features a golden harp on a green background.

Contents

1 Cities
2 Large Towns
3 Leinster: the name
4 Borders of Leinster
5 See also
6 References

Cities

The largest city in Leinster is Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The Greater Dublin Area has a population of 1,565,446 (2002).

Kilkenny city(& environs) has a population of 21,886 (2006)

Large Towns

Bray (32,781) (2006 stats below)
Swords (30,742)
Dundalk (33,730)
Drogheda (34,336)
Navan (26,488)
Naas (21,374)

Leinster: the name

The name comes from "ster", Nordic for state, and Llyn, after the Welsh who colonised it at the time of the Vikings. It literally means State of the People of the Llyn Peninsula.

Borders of Leinster

Today, made of twelve counties, it encompasses the old province of Meath (Modern day Meath and Westmeath). Also in it are Longford County(Annally) and Lusmagh parish (in offaly), both ormerly of Connacht, and Louth, formerly of Ulster.

The borders were redrawn by Cromwell for administration and military reasons.

References

[2006 Town population estimates]