Ireland Map with Counties

The Republic of Ireland has 26 counties. On the island as a whole there are 32: these 26 and the six counties of Northern Ireland, in the United Kingdom. The split into 26 and 6 dates from partition. Northern Ireland was formed from the six in 1921, and the other 26 became the Irish Free State in 1922, the forerunner of today's Republic. In alphabetical order, the 26 on this map are Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.

The four provinces of Ireland are Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster. They are a traditional grouping with no administrative role, and the map draws no separate province boundaries. To make a provinces map, color each county by its province. Leinster has 12 counties: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow. Munster has 6: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. Connacht has 5: Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo. Ulster crosses the border. Of its nine counties, only Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan are on this map, and the other six make up Northern Ireland.

Yes, but only as one gray area with no internal lines, because Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. The map's 26 counties are all in the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland's own six counties are Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry (Derry) and Tyrone, but the UK county maps divide it by districts instead. The UK counties map divides Northern Ireland into its district council areas from before 2015. The UK counties and Crown Dependencies map uses the 11 districts in place since 2015. The British Isles map draws Ireland as one unit beside Northern Ireland, Great Britain's nations and the Crown Dependencies.

No, the Republic of Ireland has no states. It is divided into 26 counties, the units on this map, and the counties are grouped into four traditional provinces, Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster, which have no administrative role. Ireland's official regions, used for planning and EU statistics, are Northern and Western, Southern, and Eastern and Midland. Each is made up of whole counties and has a regional assembly. The three assemblies date from 1 January 2015, and they took over the work of eight regional authorities abolished in 2014.

Cork is the largest county in Ireland, with an area of 7,501 km² (CSO, Census 2022). Galway, at 6,149 km², and Mayo, at 5,588 km², come next. Every county in Northern Ireland is less than half Cork's size, so the answer is the same for the island's 32 counties. Cork is also the second most populous county, with 584,156 people in 2022, after Dublin. On this map County Cork is one unit, Cork city included, although two councils share it.

Louth is the smallest county in Ireland, with an area of 827 km² (CSO, Census 2022). Carlow is the next smallest, at 896 km². Louth is also the smallest of the island's 32 counties, because Armagh, the smallest in Northern Ireland, is larger. Louth had 139,703 people in 2022, 12th of the 26 counties by population. At about 169 people per km², it is the most densely populated county after Dublin. In January 1977 it took over part of Drogheda's urban area south of the Boyne from Meath, and no county boundary in the Republic has moved since.

Dublin is the most populous county in Ireland, with 1,458,154 people at the census of 3 April 2022 (CSO). Its share of the State's 5,149,139 people is 28%. Dublin alone had more people than the next four counties put together: Cork, Galway, Kildare and Meath had 1,330,493 between them. By area it ranks 24th of the 26 counties, at 926 km², the third smallest. Dublin had about 41 times as many people as Leitrim, whose 35,199 was the smallest county population in 2022. Longford was second lowest, with 46,751.

Dublin is one county on this map because the map draws Ireland's 26 traditional counties, not its local councils. County Dublin has four councils: Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The map does not split them, and its name list leaves out their names, because each covers only part of the county and its figures would otherwise be assigned to all of Dublin. To map council figures, add the four Dublin counts into one county total first. Rates and averages have to be worked out again from the totals, not added. The same applies in Cork and Galway, which each have a city council and a county council.

You can create a custom map of Ireland in the free Ultimaps editor, and you don't need an account to start. Open this map and color the 26 counties by hand, or import a table with a column of county names and a column of values. Names match in English or Irish and in forms such as Co. Kerry. You can also add pins and labels, then share the map by link or embed it on a website. Saving and publishing need a free account. A free export is a standard PNG with a small Ultimaps credit. High-resolution PNG, SVG and PDF exports come with Ultimaps Pro.