Editing Leinster

{{Short description|Traditional province in Ireland}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = Leinster
| native_name              = {{native name|ga|Laighin}}<ref>{{cite web|title=ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-1|date=19 February 2010|quotation=which gives ''Leinster'' as the official English name of the Province and {{lang|ga|Laighin}} as the official Irish name of the Province and cites "Ordnance Survey Office, Dublin 1993"|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_3166-2_newsletter_ii-1_corrected_2010-02-19.pdf|website=Iso.org|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203140951/http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_3166-2_newsletter_ii-1_corrected_2010-02-19.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| image_skyline            = 
| image_shield             = Coat of arms of Leinster.svg
| image_flag               = Flag of Leinster.svg
| flag_size                = 170px
| nickname                 = 
| motto                    = 
| image_map                = Leinster locator map.svg
| mapsize                  = 192px
| subdivision_type         = State
| subdivision_name         = [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[Counties of Ireland|Counties]]
| subdivision_name2        = {{Plainlist}}
* [[County Carlow|Carlow]]
* [[County Dublin|Dublin]]
* [[County Kildare|Kildare]]
* [[County Kilkenny|Kilkenny]]
* [[County Laois|Laois]]
* [[County Longford|Longford]]
* [[County Louth|Louth]]
* [[County Meath|Meath]]
* [[County Offaly|Offaly]]
* [[County Westmeath|Westmeath]]
* [[County Wexford|Wexford]]
* [[County Wicklow|Wicklow]]
{{endplainlist}}
| area_total_km2           = 19,801
| area_total_sq_mi         = 7,645
| area_rank                = [[Provinces of Ireland#Demographics and politics|3rd]]
| population_total         = 2,870,354
| population_rank          = [[Provinces of Ireland#Demographics and politics|1st]]
| population_as_of         = 2022
| timezone                 = [[Western European Time|WET]]
| utc_offset               = ±0
| timezone_DST             = [[Irish Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset_DST           = +1
| population_footnotes     = <ref name="census2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/Define.asp?maintable=EP001&PLanguage=0 |title=Population and Actual and Percentage Change 2011 to 2016 by Sex, Province County or City |publisher=[[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|Central Statistics Office]] |year=2016 |access-date=17 November 2016 |archive-date=31 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831234615/http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/Define.asp?maintable=EP001&PLanguage=0 |url-status=live }}{{failed verification|reason=2016 census results cannot support 2022 census numbers|date=August 2022}}</ref>
| population_density_km2   = auto
| iso_code                 = IE-L
| website                  = 
| area_code_type           = [[Telephone numbers in the Republic of Ireland|Telephone area codes]]
| area_code                = 01, 04''x'', 05''x'', 090 <small>(primarily)</small>
| postal_code_type         = [[Eircode]] routing keys
| postal_code              = Beginning with A, C, D, K, N, R, W, Y <small>(primarily)</small>
| footnotes                = Patron Saint: [[Brigid of Kildare|Brigid]]<ref>{{cite book | first = John | last = Koch | author-link = John T. Koch | title = Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia | volume = 1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&pg=PA288 | quote = Brigit (Goddess) | publisher = ABC-CLIO | date = 2006 | isbn = 9781851094400 | access-date = 13 March 2016 | archive-date = 4 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200804091603/https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&pg=PA288 | url-status = live }}</ref>
a. {{note|MEP}} Leinster contains the entirety of the [[Dublin (European Parliament constituency)|Dublin]] constituency and parts of the [[South (European Parliament constituency)|South]] and [[Midlands–North-West (European Parliament constituency)|Midlands–North-West]] constituencies; Leinster contains 44.4% of the population of the Midlands–North-West constituency and 32.3% of the population of the South constituency.<ref>Census of Ireland 2016</ref>
}}

'''Leinster''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɛ|n|s|t|ər}} {{respell|LEN|stər}}; {{langx|ga|Laighin}} {{IPA|ga|ˈl̪ˠəinʲ|}} or {{lang|ga|Cúige Laighean}} {{IPA|ga|ˌkuːɟə ˈl̪ˠəinˠ|}}) is one of the four [[provinces of Ireland]], in the southeast of [[Ireland]]. 

The modern province comprises the [[ancient Ireland|ancient]] Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Meath|Meath]], [[Kingdom of Leinster|Leinster]] and [[Kingdom of Osraige|Osraige]], which existed during [[Gaelic Ireland]].  Following the 12th-century [[Norman invasion of Ireland]], the historic [[provinces of Ireland|"fifths"]] of Leinster and Meath 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 [[shire]]d into a number of [[counties of Ireland#2.1 Pre-Norman sub-divisions|counties]] for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has prompted further sub-division of the historic counties.

Leinster has no official function for local-government purposes. However, it is an officially recognised subdivision of [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and is listed on [[ISO 3166-2]] as one of the four provinces of Ireland. "IE-L" is attributed to Leinster as its ''country sub-division'' code.  Leinster had a population of 2,858,501 according to the preliminary results of the [[2022 census of Ireland|2022 census]], making it the most populous province in the country.<ref name="census2016"/> The traditional flag of Leinster features a golden [[harp]] on a green background.

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Ireland Leinster Hogg 1784 700x1030.jpg|right|thumb|Leinster, province of Ireland (Hogg, 1784)]]

The [[Gaels|Gaelic]] [[List of kings of Leinster|Kingdom of Leinster]] before 1171, considerably smaller than the present-day province, usually did not include certain territories such as [[Kingdom of Meath|Meath]], {{lang|ga|[[Kingdom of Ossory|Osraige]]|italic=no}} or the [[Viking]] cities of [[Wexford]] and [[Dublin]].

The first part of the [[place names in Irish|name]] ''Leinster'' derives from {{lang|ga|[[Laigin]]}}, the name of a major [[tribe]] that once inhabited the area.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Irish History |author=Sean J Connolly |date=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CYeQwAACAAJ |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780199234837 |page=308 }}</ref> The latter part of the name derives either from the [[Irish language|Irish]] {{lang|ga|tír}} or from the [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|staðr}}, both of which translate as 'land' or 'territory'.

{{lang|ga|[[Úgaine Mór]]|italic=no}} (Hugony the Great), who supposedly built the [[hill fort]] of {{lang|ga|[[Dún Ailinne]]|italic=no}}, near [[Kilcullen]] in [[County Kildare]], united the tribes of Leinster. He is a likely, but uncertain, candidate as the first historical king of Laigin (Leinster) in the 7th century BC. Circa 175/185 AD, following a period of [[civil war]]s in Ireland, the legendary {{lang|ga|[[Cathair Mor]]|italic=no}} re-founded the kingdom of Laigin. The legendary Finn Mac Cool, or {{lang|ga|[[Fionn mac Cumhaill]]}}, reputedly built a stronghold at the [[Hill of Allen]], on the edge of the [[Bog of Allen]].

In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, after [[Magnus Maximus]] had left [[Great Britain|Britain]] in 383 AD with his [[Roman legion|legion]]s, leaving a power vacuum, colonists from Laigin settled in [[North Wales]], specifically in [[Anglesey]], [[Carnarvonshire]] and [[Denbighshire]].<ref>{{cite book |author=R F Foster |author-link=R. F. Foster (historian) |title=The Oxford History of Ireland |publisher=Oxford University Press |place=Oxford & New York |date=1992 |isbn=0-19-285271-X |quote=(References to Irish colony in North Wales, Lleyn Peninsula) |page=6 }}</ref> In [[Wales]] some of the Leinster-Irish colonists left their name on the [[Llŷn Peninsula]] (in [[Gwynedd]]), which derives its name from {{lang|ga|Laigin}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/GaelsLeinster.htm |work=HistoryFiles.co.uk |title=Kings of Laigin / Leinster (Gaels of Ireland) |access-date=17 February 2018 |archive-date=18 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218025450/http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/GaelsLeinster.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 5th century, the emerging {{lang|ga|[[Uí Néill]]|italic=no}} dynasties from [[Connacht]] conquered areas of Westmeath, Meath and Offaly from the {{lang|ga|[[Uí Enechglaiss]]|italic=no}} and {{lang|ga|Uí Failge|italic=no}} of the Laigin.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Settlement patterns in the early historic kingdom of Leinster (seventh-mid twelfth centuries) |first=Mark |last=Clinton |journal=Seanchas: Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis John Byrne |editor=Alfred P. Smyth |editor-link=Alfred P. Smyth |pages=275–298 |publisher=[[Four Courts Press]] |place=Dublin |date=2000 }}</ref> {{lang|ga|Uí Néill|italic=no}} {{lang|ga|[[High King of Ireland|Ard Rígh]]}} attempted to exact the {{lang|ga|Boroimhe Laighean}} (cattle-tribute) from the Laigin from that time, in the process becoming their traditional enemies.

By the 8th century the rulers of Laigin had split into two dynasties:<ref name="duffy">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a7uTAgAAQBAJ&q=Laigin |title=Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia |first=Seán |last=Duffy |pages=426, 449 |publisher=Routledge |date=2005 |isbn=9781135948245 }}</ref>
* Northern Leinster [[dynasty]]: {{lang|ga|Murchad mac Brain|italic=no}} (d. 727), King of {{lang|ga|[[Uí Dúnlainge]]|italic=no}}, and joint leader of the Laigin
* Southern Leinster dynasty: {{lang|ga|[[Áed mac Colggen]]|italic=no}} (d. 738), King of {{lang|ga|[[Uí Cheinnselaig]]|italic=no}}, and joint leader of the Laigin

After the death of the last Kildare-based King of Laigin, {{lang|ga|[[Murchad Mac Dunlainge]]|italic=no}} in 1042,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJNnAAAAMAAJ&q=1042 |publisher=Irish Academic Press |first=Alfred P. |last=Smyth |title=Celtic Leinster: towards an historical geography of early Irish civilization, A.D. 500–1600 |date=1982 |page=81 |isbn=9780716500971 |quote=Murchad, that {{lang|ga|Ui Dunlainge|italic=no}} king who founded an unbroken rotational line of Leinster kings which lasted from 715 to 1042 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924154354/https://books.google.com/books?id=WJNnAAAAMAAJ&q=1042 |url-status=live }}</ref> the kingship of Leinster reverted to the {{lang|ga|[[Uí Cheinnselaig]]|italic=no}} [[sept]] based in the southeast in present-day [[County Wexford]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Kings, the kingship of Leinster, and the regnal poems of "laidshenchas Laigen": a reflection of dynastic politics in Leinster, 650–1150 |first=Edel |last=Bhreathnach |author-link=Edel Bhreathnach |journal=Seanchas: Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis J. Byrne |pages=299–312 |editor=Alfred P. Smyth |publisher=[[Four Courts Press]] |place=Dublin |date=2000 }}</ref> This southern dynasty provided all the later [[Kings of Leinster]].

===Kingdom of Ireland period===
Leinster includes the extended "[[English Pale]]", counties controlled directly from Dublin, at the beginning of the 1600s. The other three provinces had their own regional "Presidency" systems, based on a Welsh model of administration, in theory if not in fact, from the 1570s and 1580s up to the 1670s, and were considered separate entities.  Gradually "Leinster" subsumed the term "[[The Pale]]", as the kingdom was pacified and the difference between the old Pale area and the wider province, now also under English administration, grew less distinct.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

The expansion of the province took in the territory of the ancient [[Kingdom of Mide]] encompassing much of present-day counties [[County Meath|Meath]], [[County Westmeath|Westmeath]] and [[County Longford|Longford]] with five west [[County Offaly]] baronies.<ref>{{cite book| title = Irish Leaders and Learning Through the Ages | publisher = Four Courts Press | first = Paul | last = Walsh | page = 33 | isbn = 9781851825431 | year = 2003 | chapter = 1 (Early Leinster and Meath, province and diocese ) }}</ref> Local lordships were incorporated during the [[Tudor conquest of Ireland]] and subsequent [[Plantations of Ireland|plantation schemes]].

Other boundary changes included [[County Louth]], officially removed from [[Ulster]] in 1596, the baronies of [[Ballybritt]] and [[Clonlisk]] (formerly [[Éile|Éile Uí Chearbhaill]] in the county palatine of [[County Tipperary|Tipperary]]) in [[Munster]] becoming part of Leinster in 1606, and the 'Lands of [[Ballymascanlon]]' transferred from Armagh to Louth {{Circa|1630}}. The provincial borders were redrawn by [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]] for administration and military reasons, and the Offaly parishes of [[Annally]] and [[Lusmagh]], formerly part of [[Connacht]], were transferred in 1660.

The last major boundary changes within Leinster occurred with the formation of [[County Wicklow]] (1603–1606),<ref>{{cite book | url = http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/archives/war-politics-and-the-irish-of-leinster/ | title = War, politics and the Irish of Leinster, 1156–1606 | publisher = Four Courts Press | date = 2003 | isbn = 1851826904 | quote = ''Leinster from the death of Toirdhealbhach O’Connor in 1156 to the establishment, in 1606, of County Wicklow – the last Irish and Leinster county to be created'' | first = Emmett | last = O'Byrne | access-date = 17 February 2018 | archive-date = 21 November 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171121174715/http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/archives/war-politics-and-the-irish-of-leinster/ | url-status = live }}</ref> from lands in the north of [[Carlow]] (which previously extended to the sea) and most of southern Dublin.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Kings, Saints and Sagas | publisher = Geography Publications |editor=Ken Hannigan |editor2=William F. Nolan | pages = [https://archive.org/details/wicklowhistoryso00kenh/page/41 41–111] | date = 1994 | first = Alfred P. | last = Smyth | journal = Wicklow History & Society | isbn = 9780906602300 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/wicklowhistoryso00kenh/page/41 }}</ref> Later minor changes dealt with "islands" of one county in another. By the late 1700s, Leinster looked as shown in the above map of 1784.

==Geography and subdivisions==
===Counties===
{{main|Counties of Ireland}}
The province is divided into twelve traditional [[Counties of Ireland|counties]]: [[County Carlow|Carlow]], [[County Dublin|Dublin]], [[County Kildare|Kildare]], [[County Kilkenny|Kilkenny]], [[County Laois|Laois]], [[County Longford|Longford]], [[County Louth|Louth]], [[County Meath|Meath]], [[County Offaly|Offaly]], [[County Westmeath|Westmeath]], [[County Wexford|Wexford]] and [[County Wicklow|Wicklow]]. Leinster has the most counties of any province, but is the second smallest of the four Irish provinces by land area. With a population of 2,870,354 as of 2022, it is the island's most populous province. [[Dublin]] is the only official city in the province, and is by far its largest settlement.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpr/censusofpopulation2016-preliminaryresults/geochan/ |title=Table B - Population of administrative counties, 2011 and 2016 |publisher=[[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|Central Statistics Office]] |access-date=2018-10-31 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924154355/https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpr/censusofpopulation2016-preliminaryresults/geochan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! County !! Population <br/> (2022) <br /> !! Area
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Carlow|Carlow]] <small>({{lang|ga|Ceatharlach}})</small> || 61,968 || {{convert|897|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Dublin|Dublin]] <small>({{lang|ga|Baile Átha Cliath}})</small> || 1,458,154 || {{convert|922|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Kildare|Kildare]] <small>({{lang|ga|Cill Dara}})</small> || 247,774 || {{convert|1695|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Kilkenny|Kilkenny]] <small>({{lang|ga|Cill Chainnigh}})</small> || 104,160 || {{convert|2073|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Laois|Laois]] <small>({{lang|ga|Laois}})</small> || 91,877 || {{convert|1720|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Longford|Longford]] <small>({{lang|ga|An Longfort}})</small> || 46,751 || {{convert|1091|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Louth|Louth]] <small>({{lang|ga|Lú}})</small> || 139,703 || {{convert|826|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Meath|Meath]] <small>({{lang|ga|An Mhí}})</small> || 220,826 || {{convert|2342|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Offaly|Offaly]] <small>({{lang|ga|Uíbh Fhailí}})</small> || 83,150 || {{convert|2001|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Westmeath|Westmeath]] <small>({{lang|ga|An Iarmhí}})</small> || 96,221 || {{convert|1840|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Wexford|Wexford]] <small>({{lang|ga|Loch Garman}})</small> || 163,919 || {{convert|2367|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
|align=left|[[County Wicklow|Wicklow]] <small>({{lang|ga|Cill Mhantáin}})</small> || 155,851 || {{convert|2027|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|-  style="text-align:right;"
! align=left |Total
! 2,870,354
! {{convert|19801|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|}

===Large settlements===
As of the 2016 census, the larger settlements in Leinster included:
{|class="wikitable sortable" |-
!#
!Settlement
!County
!'''Municipal District Pop.'''
!Settlement Pop.
!'''Former Legal Town Pop.'''
|-
|1||[[Dublin|Dublin City]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=EED4C2E4-43BA-428E-96FC-1C65CC0A4340|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Dublin City And Suburbs|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=13 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113075445/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=EED4C2E4-43BA-428E-96FC-1C65CC0A4340|url-status=live}}</ref>||[[County Dublin]]||1,347,359
|1,173,179
|554,554
|-
|2||[[Dundalk]]||[[County Louth]]||'''55,806'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=MD2014&Geog_Code=D4F91C38-FB2F-4081-82E9-4555AC2FD996|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Municipal District Dundalk|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=23 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223073705/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=MD2014&Geog_Code=D4F91C38-FB2F-4081-82E9-4555AC2FD996|url-status=live}}</ref>
|39,004<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=91DBC922-801B-421B-9D74-C2381BC684EC|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Dundalk|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730014936/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=91DBC922-801B-421B-9D74-C2381BC684EC|url-status=live}}</ref>
|32,520<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=FLT&Geog_Code=A8627A8A-E6D5-E711-80B7-D4AE52AE777C|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Former Legal Town Dundalk Legal Town|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=15 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415063903/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=FLT&Geog_Code=A8627A8A-E6D5-E711-80B7-D4AE52AE777C|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|3||[[Kilkenny]]||[[County Kilkenny]]||52,172<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=MD2014&Geog_Code=266F2E9A-7546-4452-B871-913552239087|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Municipal District Kilkenny City East|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=15 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415064201/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=MD2014&Geog_Code=266F2E9A-7546-4452-B871-913552239087|url-status=live}}</ref>
|26,512<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=82A1BB79-02A9-47E6-84D0-467FE8C8A31E|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Kilkenny|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=10 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810172210/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=82A1BB79-02A9-47E6-84D0-467FE8C8A31E|url-status=live}}</ref>
|9,842<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=FLT&Geog_Code=B5627A8A-E6D5-E711-80B7-D4AE52AE777C|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Former Legal Town Kilkenny Legal Town|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=15 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415063830/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=FLT&Geog_Code=B5627A8A-E6D5-E711-80B7-D4AE52AE777C|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|4||[[Drogheda]]||[[County Louth]]||44,052<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=MD2014&Geog_Code=85AC8604-1C4D-4FC3-8139-43BB5F16D081|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Municipal District Drogheda|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=15 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415064153/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=MD2014&Geog_Code=85AC8604-1C4D-4FC3-8139-43BB5F16D081|url-status=live}}</ref>
|'''40,956'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=3322F7F8-96A1-450C-9703-23C4EDADFD3A|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Drogheda|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730014620/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=3322F7F8-96A1-450C-9703-23C4EDADFD3A|url-status=live}}</ref>
|31,785<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=FLT&Geog_Code=A9627A8A-E6D5-E711-80B7-D4AE52AE777C|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Former Legal Town Drogheda Legal Town|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=15 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415063542/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=FLT&Geog_Code=A9627A8A-E6D5-E711-80B7-D4AE52AE777C|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|5||[[Swords, Dublin|Swords]]||[[County Dublin]]||42,738
|39,248<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=2B32F09A-1EA9-40C7-8EB5-9709E33C2983|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Swords|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730015429/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=2B32F09A-1EA9-40C7-8EB5-9709E33C2983|url-status=live}}</ref>
|'''36,924'''
|-
|6||[[Bray, County Wicklow|Bray]]||[[County Wicklow]]||35,531
|32,600<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=3AFC3DCF-1161-44B7-BDAE-C56872CF18A9|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Bray|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730015528/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=3AFC3DCF-1161-44B7-BDAE-C56872CF18A9|url-status=live}}</ref>
|27,709
|-
|7||[[Navan]]||[[County Meath]]||34,931
|30,173<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=B92C48CA-4722-499A-9F93-29015C461C3F|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements An Uaimh (Navan)|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730014721/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=B92C48CA-4722-499A-9F93-29015C461C3F|url-status=live}}</ref>
|30,097
|-
|8||[[Carlow]]||[[County Carlow]]||34,846
|24,272<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=49B04DC6-C8F1-4533-A71E-1BBC53EB3D27|title=Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Carlow|website=census.cso.ie|access-date=2018-04-14|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730015433/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=49B04DC6-C8F1-4533-A71E-1BBC53EB3D27|url-status=live}}</ref>
|14,425
|}

==Culture==
===Language===
As is the norm for [[Languages of Ireland|language in Ireland]], English is the primary spoken language, but there is an active [[Irish language|Irish-speaking]] minority in the province. According to the Census of Ireland of 2011, there were 18,947 daily speakers of Irish in Leinster outside the education system,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census2006results/volume9/volume_9_irish_language_entire_volume.pdf | publisher = CSO | title = Table 32A Irish speakers aged 3 years and over in each Province, County and City, classified by frequency of speaking Irish | work = Census 2006 – Volume 9 – Irish Language | access-date = 20 December 2017 | archive-date = 17 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190417210703/http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census2006results/volume9/volume_9_irish_language_entire_volume.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> including 1,299 native speakers in the small Gaeltacht of [[Ráth Chairn]]. As of 2011, there were 19,348 students attending the 66 [[Gaelscoil]]s (Irish-language primary schools) and 15 [[Gaelcholáiste|Gaelcholáistí]] (Irish-language secondary schools) in the province, primarily in the Dublin area.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gaelscoileanna.ie/assets/Staitistic%C3%AD-2010-2011_Gaeilge.pdf | publisher = Gaelscoileanna.ie | title = Statisticí – Oideachas Trí Mheán na Gaeilge in Éirinn sa Ghalltacht 2010–2011 | language = Irish | access-date = 20 December 2017 | date = 2011 | archive-date = 19 April 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120419091247/http://www.gaelscoileanna.ie/assets/Staitistic%C3%AD-2010-2011_Gaeilge.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Sport===
A number of sporting and cultural organisations organise themselves on provincial lines, including [[Leinster Rugby]], the [[Leinster Cricket Union]], Leinster Hockey Association and [[Leinster GAA]].  While Leinster GAA is made up primarily of the traditional counties of the province, GAA teams from Galway, Kerry and Antrim have played in the [[Leinster Senior Hurling Championship]], as has a team from London; Galway won the title in 2012.  Participation of these counties is based on their performances in the [[Christy Ring Cup]].

==See also==
* [[Duke of Leinster]]
* [[Leinster (European Parliament constituency)]]
* [[Leinster House]]
* [[List of kings of Leinster]]
* [[New Leinster Province]]
* [[Ó Laighin]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[Terence de Vere White]], ''Leinster'' (Faber & Faber, 1968)

==External links==
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Leinster |volume=16 |short=x}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111119091310/http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/economy/current/regincome.pdf CSO Irish Regional Income/GDP 2004 Report]

{{Ireland counties}}{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|53|20|52|N|6|15|35|W|type:adm1st_source:kolossus-itwiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Leinster| ]]
[[Category:Provinces of Ireland]]