The four provinces of Ireland are Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. Three of the four provinces—Connacht, Leinster, and Munster–are found entirely within the Republic of Ireland today, while the province of Ulster is located in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Meath has been considered to be the fifth province. In the medieval period, however, there were often more than five. The number of provinces and their delineation fluctuated until 1610, when they were permanently set by the administration of James I.
The provinces of Ireland no longer serve administrative or political purposes but function as historical and cultural entities. Each province is today represented by its own unique arms and flag. These arms or flags may be combined to make a Four Provinces Flag of Ireland for All-Ireland (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) sports teams and organisations.
Provinces Province Flag Arms Irish name Population (2022) Area (km2) Density Traditional counties Largest city Connacht 589,338 17,713 34 5 Galway Leinster 2,870,354 19,801 145 12 Dublin Munster 1,373,346 24,684 56 6 Cork Ulster 2,217,176 22,067 100 9 Belfast
Coats of arms
Each province is today represented by its own unique arms and flag. These are joined to represent various All Ireland sports teams and organisations via the Four Provinces Flag of Ireland and a four province coat of arms of Ireland, with examples including the Ireland national field hockey team, Ireland national rugby league team, Ireland national rugby union team and Irish Amateur Boxing Association.
History
Etymology In modern Irish, the word for province is (pl. ). The modern Irish term derives from the Old Irish (pl. ) which literally meant "a fifth". This term appears in 8th-century law texts such as and in the legendary tales of the Ulster Cycle where it refers to the five kingdoms of the "Pentarchy". MacNeill enumerates the five earliest fifths mentioned, these comprising the kingdoms of Ulster, Connacht, Munster, Tara (North Leinster) and Dinn Riogh (South Leinster), located on the Barrow. The earliest hero tales name the Boyne as the dividing boundary between Ulster and Leinster, indicating that no province representative of Meath or Brega was yet in existence. The kings of Tara and Dinn Riogh were said to derive from the same lineage, which ruled all the Laigin. In the 12th century (Book of Rights), the term means province, seemingly having lost its fractional meaning with seven listed. Similarly this seems to be the case in regards to titles with the Annals of Ulster using the term (king of the fifth/province) for certain overkings.
Mythological origins The earliest recorded mention of the major division of Ireland is in the Ulster Cycle of legends, such as the . The is set during the reign of , king of Ulster, and is believed to have happened in the 1st century. In this period Ireland is said to have been divided into five independent over-kingdoms, or whose (kings) were of equal rank, not subject to a central monarchy. Pseudo-historians called this era , which has been translated as: "Time of the Pentarchs"; "Time of the Five Fifths"; and "Time of the provincial kings". It was also described as "the Pentarchy".
The five provinces that made up the Pentarchy where: , with its royal seat at . (Ulster), with its royal seat at . (Munster), with its royal seat at . (North Leinster), with its royal seat at Tara (before it became the seat of the High King). (South Leinster), with its royal seat at .
Historians Geoffrey Keating and T. F. O'Rahilly differ suggesting that it is Munster, not Leinster, that formed two of the fifths. These two fifths were called by Keating: (eastern Munster) and (western Munster), both named after their respective king. Eoin MacNeill discounts this suggestion citing the , which makes mention of as king of all Munster, with simply a "great Munster hero". He also cites that the makes mention of the four fifths of Ireland that waged war on Ulster, which made reference to only one Munster. Another reason given by MacNeill was a problem made by Keating himself. According to Keating, when the province of was being founded, it was created from portions of each province which all met at the hill of Uisnech. The boundaries given by Keating himself for the five provinces, however, meant that this would have been highly unlikely, with the boundary between his Munster fifths nowhere near this area.
Pseudo-historians list 84 kings of Ireland prior to the formation of the Pentarchy. When this mythical kingship was interrupted is a matter of dispute. The Annals of Tigernach state that Ireland was divided into the five upon the slaying of Conaire Mór; however, it is suggested alternatively that it happened upon the death of Conaire's father, Eterscél Mór, the 84th king of Ireland. Keating, however, suggests it occurred in the reign of Eochu Feidlech who was the 82nd king of Ireland.
MacNeill claims that this division of Ireland into five is pre-historic and pre-Gaelic, describing the Pentarchy as "the oldest certain fact in the political history of Ireland". The notion of Ireland being divided into five permeated itself throughout Irish literature over the centuries despite what the representing no longer existing by the time of Saint Patrick in the 5th century. By then, Ireland had become divided into seven over-kingdoms.
The Three Collas and the founding of Airgíalla The main body of the events in the myth of the Three Collas may have occurred in the late 4th to early 5th century; however, as the centuries passed the myth underwent updating and alteration. The most oft quoted version of their story was written by Geoffrey Keating in the 17th century in his work the , also known as "The History of Ireland".
In it the Three Collas—Colla Menn, Colla Da Crioch, and Colla Uais—were the sons of Eocaidh Doimlén. It is from them that the Airgíalla are said to descend, branching off from the rest of the Connachta. The Northern and Southern Uí Néill dynasties are claimed to descend from Eocaidh's brother, Fiacha Sraibhtine. According to the story the Collas were told by Fiacha's son, Muiredach Tirech, the High King of Ireland, to conquer land of their own to pass on to their descendants, directing them to wage war on the Ulaid to avenge a slight against their great-grandfather Cormac mac Airt.
The Collas with their army along with a host from Connacht marched to Achaidh Leithdeircc in Fernmagh, southern Ulaid, and fought the Ulaid in seven battles over the course of seven days. The host from Connacht fought the first six battles, and the Collas fought the seventh. It is after this last battle that the king of Ulaid, Fergus Foga, was killed and his army routed. The Collas then pursued the Ulaid east of the "Glen Righe" (the valley of the Newry River in eastern County Armagh), before returning to loot and burn the Ulaid capital, Emain Macha, after which it never again had a king. They then took possession of central Ulaid spanning the modern counties of Armagh, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan and Tyrone founding the over-kingdom of Airgíalla.
Historical origins
The origins of the provinces of Ireland can be traced to the medieval (literally "fifths") or "over-kingdoms" of Ireland. There were theoretically five such over-kingdoms; however, in reality during the historical period there were always more. At the start of the 9th century the following are listed: Airgíalla, Connachta, Laigin, Northern Uí Néill (Ailech), Southern Uí Néill (Mide), Mumu, and Ulaid. These seven over-kingdoms are again listed in the 12th-century .
Each over-kingdom was divided into smaller territorial units, the definition of which, whilst not consistent in Irish law tracts, followed a pattern of different grades. In theory in the early medieval period: A province was ruled by a "king of over-kings", known as a . This was the highest rank allowed for in Irish law tracts despite claims by some dynasties to the symbolic title of (king of Tara), also known as the (High King of Ireland); The term was replaced at a later date by the term , "king of a fifth". Each province was made up of several petty-kingdoms that corresponded roughly to the size of modern Irish counties or dioceses, and were ruled by an overking known as a ; Each of these petty-kingdoms was further subdivided into smaller petty-kingdoms known as a (a group of people), equating at their largest to the size of an Irish barony. These túath were ruled by a king, or , and were also known as a , or "king of the people". By the 10th century the rulers of a were no longer assumed to be kings but became referred to as (a lord) or (a leader) instead. This pyramid structure, however, by the later medieval period, had little validity.
Paul MacCotter proposes the following structure of lordship in the 12th century: High-king of Ireland; semi-provincial king, such as Connacht, Ulaid, Desmumu; regional king, such as Dál Fiatach and Uí Fhiachrach Aidni; local king or king of a , such as Leth Cathail or Cenél Guaire; and at the bottom.
Early medieval
The kingdom of Osraige, which had its genealogy traced back by early Irish genealogists to the Laigin, was part of Mumu from the 6th to 8th century and ruled by the Corcu Loígde dynasty. By the 7th century Osraige had lost their dependence on the Corcu Loígde, with the restoration of the local Dál Birn dynasty. Osraige remained part of Mumu until 859 when Máel Sechnaill I, king of the Uí Néill, forced Mumu to surrender it to his overlordship. After this situation ended it became an independent kingdom which gradually moved towards the Laigin sphere of influence as they sought to claim the Laigin kingship. It was during the 9th century that Osraige, ruled by Cerball mac Dúnlainge, became a major political player.
Airgíalla had come under the dominance of the Ulaid; however, Niall Caille, the son of Áed Oirdnide, brought it under the hegemony of the Northern Uí Néill after defeating the combined forces of the Airgíalla and Ulaid at the battle of Leth Cam in 827.
Later medieval After a period of dynastic infighting in the early 12th century, Osraige fragmented and after a heavy defeat at the hands of High-King Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn became part of Laigin. In 1169, the king of Osraige, Domnall Mac Gilla Pátraic, hired the Norman knight Maurice de Prendergast to resist the Laigin king, Diarmait Mac Murchada, who had also recruited Norman aid.
In 1118, the king of Connacht, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, aided the Mac Cárthaigh of south Munster in a rebellion against the ruling Uí Briain dynasty. This resulted in the division of Mumu into two: (Thomond, meaning "north Munster") to the north under the Uí Briain; and (Desmond, meaning "south Munster") to the south under the Mac Cárthaigh. Ua Conchobair would then conquer the heartland of the Uí Briain situated around modern County Clare and make it part of Connacht. This was to force them to accept Cormac Mac Carthaig, king of Desmumu, as the king of Mumu. Despite Ua Conchobair's aid, Mac Carthaig and the Uí Briain would form an alliance to campaign against Connacht's hegemony, and by 1138 ended the threat from that kingdom. The following decades would see Mumu united and repartitioned several times as the Uí Briain and Mac Cárthaigh vied for complete control. In 1168, the king of Connacht, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, ensured Mumu remained divided. After Henry II, king of England, landed in Ireland in 1171, the Mac Cárthaigh submitted to him to prevent an Uí Briain invasion. The Uí Briain eventually followed suit in submitting to Henry II. The eagerness of these submissions encouraged Henry II to revive the papal grant, Laudabiliter, for Ireland.
Norman Ireland