Leinster Province, Ireland

Flag

State - Republic of Ireland Ireland

Counties

Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny

Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath

Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Government

Teachta Dála 36 Fine Gael TDs

27 Labour Party TDs

8 Fianna Fáil TDs

7 Sinn Féin TDs

6 Independent TDs

4 ULA TDs

Area

Total - 19,800 km2 (7,644 sq mi)

Population (2011)

Total - 2,504,814 (1st)

Density - 126.5/km2 (328/sq mi)

ISO 3166 code - IE-L

Patron Saint - Brigid of Kildare

Leinster (/ˈlɛnstər/ — Irish: Laighin / Cúige Laighean — pronounced [ˈl̪ˠaːjɪnʲ]) is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled both, thereby forming the present-day province of Leinster. The ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties.