Editing County (section)

===Ireland===
{{Main|Counties of Ireland|Counties of the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Island of Ireland location map.svg|thumb|Ireland, showing traditional [[provinces of Ireland|provinces]] and [[counties of Ireland|counties]] as well as the modern administrative districts on both sides of the [[republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border|international border]]]]

The island of [[Ireland]] was historically divided into 32 counties, of which 26 later formed the [[Republic of Ireland]] and 6 made up [[Northern Ireland]].

These counties are traditionally grouped into [[provinces of Ireland|four provinces]]: [[Leinster]] (12 counties), [[Munster]] (6), [[Connacht]] (5) and [[Ulster]] (9). Historically, the counties of [[County Meath|Meath]] and [[County Westmeath|Westmeath]] and small parts of surrounding counties constituted the province of [[Mide]], which was one of the "Five Fifths" of Ireland (in the Irish language the word for province, {{lang|ga|cúige}}, means 'a fifth': from {{lang|ga|cúig}}, 'five'); however, these have long since been absorbed into Leinster. In the Republic each county is administered by an elected "[[county council]]", and the old provincial divisions are merely traditional names with no political significance.

The number and boundaries of administrative counties in the Republic of Ireland were reformed in the 1990s. For example, [[County Dublin]] was divided into three: [[Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown]], [[Fingal]], and [[South Dublin]]; the [[City of Dublin]] had existed for centuries before. The cities of [[Cork (city)|Cork]] and [[Galway]] have been separated from the town and rural areas of their counties. The cities of [[Limerick]] and [[Waterford]] were merged with their respective counties in 2014. Thus, the Republic of Ireland now has 31 'county-level' authorities, although the borders of the original twenty-six counties are still officially in place.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osi.ie/mapping/FAQ/areasMeasurements.shtml|title=Areas|publisher=[[Ordnance Survey Ireland]]|access-date=1 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703221652/http://www.osi.ie/mapping/FAQ/areasMeasurements.shtml|archive-date=3 July 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In Northern Ireland, the six county councils and the smaller town councils were abolished in 1973 and replaced by a single tier of local government. However, in the north as well as in the south, the traditional 32 counties and 4 provinces remain in common usage for many sporting, cultural and other purposes. County identity is heavily reinforced in the local culture by allegiances to county teams in [[hurling]] and [[Gaelic football]]. Each [[Gaelic Athletic Association county]] has its own flag/colours (and often a nickname), and county allegiances are taken quite seriously. See the [[counties of Ireland]] and the [[Gaelic Athletic Association]].