Facts on Ireland and the Irish

Leinster is one of the four provinces of Ireland.

It contains twelve counties.

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

It has an area of approximately 7,630 sq miles.

It has a population of approximately 2,300,000 people.

The capital of the Republic of Ireland, Dublin, is located in Leinster.

During the Middle Ages, the province was divided between the region around Dublin which was controlled by the English, and the rest of Leinster which was controlled by the Irish and Anglo-Norman families.

This English dominated area around Dublin was known as “The Pale”.

It is from this that we get the expression, “Beyond the Pale”, meaning unacceptable behaviour or something that is barbarous or unlawful.

The Norman invasion of 1169 occurred in Leinster at Wexford.