Cúige

Hey there!

I just returned from Moscow and that’s actually what my next blog is going to be about, but today I want to write about Ireland namely about the 4 provinces, considering  that it is not necessarily a disadvantage to have some geographical insight, right?!

Today the provinces aren’t really important anymore for the administration of the state but they are still relevant when it comes to sport, since it is organized in a regional bases.

Connacht is the north western province of Ireland and contains the counties Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon. The biggest town is Galway. 

Connacht was always the poorest and most disadvantaged region of Ireland and living in this region was seen as a punishment. For a long time, it was known as the Siberia of Ireland. When Oliver Cromwell conquered Ireland in the 17th Century a lot of Irish had the following option: “To hell or to Connacht”. 

Connacht was also one of the most affected provinces during the great famine from 1845 until 1849

Leinster is the eastern and south eastern part of Ireland. It is one of the five old provincial kingdoms of Ireland and contains the two former kingdoms “Meath” and “Leinster” as well as 12 of the 26 counties of the republic. 

The 12 counties are: Louth, Meath, Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, Westmeath and Longford.

A big part of Leinster is located in the central lowland of Ireland.
The most important upland territories are in the east and the south, where the Leinster Chain from Dublin goes through the Wicklow Mountains to the Blackstair Mountains.

Leinster is a profitable agricultural region.

Munster is the southernmost province of Ireland which contains the counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.
The name of the province derives from the Celtic goddess Muma.
In the past, Munster was divided into 3 kingdoms: Ormond (in Gaelic Urmhumhain) in the east, Desmond (in Gaelic Deasmhumhain) in the south and Thomond (in Gaelic Tuadhmhumhain) in the north. The arrangements after the cardinal points don’t have any relevance anymore but they still reflect in some names of facilities today for instance the Thomond College.

Ulster is a region and the former province in the north of Ireland whose inhabitants were called “Ulter”. It contained of 9 historical counties. Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan- today part of Ireland and Antrim, Armagh, Derry/Londonderry, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone- today part of Northern Ireland.
Ulster played an important role in the conflict of Northern Ireland and is mistakenly and also frequently used as a synonym for Northern Ireland.