Historical geography of Ireland

thumb|Connemara highlighted in red, and Joyce Country or Partry highlighted in green thumb|A view of the Connemara coast from Diamond Hill thumb|220px|A view of Derryclare from the [[N59 road.]]

part of Ireland controlled by England in the Late Middle Ages

thumb|Ireland (Ἰέρνην) in Strabo's Geographica, from an 11th century manuscript. thumb|right|Color depth#Truecolor|True-colour satellite image of Ireland

thumb|upright=1.7|Map of Rathlin Island with townlands A townland (; Ulster-Scots: toonlann) is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and most have Irish-derived names. However, some townland names and boundaries come from Norman manors, plantation divisions, or later creations of the Ordnance Survey. Townlands cover the whole island of Ireland, and the total number of inhabited townlands in Ireland was 60,679 in 1911. The total number recognis

Erin is a personal name taken from the Hiberno-English word for Ireland, originating from the Irish word "Éirinn". "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in prepositional phrases such as "go hÉirinn" "to Ireland", "in Éirinn" "in Ireland", "ó Éirinn" "from Ireland".

thumb|Ulaid during the 10th–11th century and its three main sub-kingdoms, along with some of its neighbouring kingdoms. These boundaries would be used as the basis for the dioceses created in the 12th century. ' (Old Irish, ) or (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which is the Latin form of , and ', Irish for 'the Fifth'. The king of Ulaid was called the or .

Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the Kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare as well as parts of County Limerick and County Tipperary, particularly around Nenagh and its hinterland. The kingdom represented the core homeland of the Dál gCais people, although there were other Gaels in the area such as the Éile and Eóganachta, and even the Norse of Limerick. It existed from the collapse of the Kingdom of Munster in the 12th century as competition between the Ó Briain and the Mac Cárthaigh led to the sc

Túath (plural túatha) is the Old Irish term for the basic political and jurisdictional unit of Gaelic Ireland. Túath can refer to both a geographical territory as well the people who lived in that territory. The smallest túath controlled by a king was about the size of a later Irish barony (about 177sq miles) and kings with greater power would have two or more túatha under their control, according to A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland.

Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny, western County Laois and parts of eastern County Tipperary, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of the Osraige people, it existed from around the first century until the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. It was ruled by the Dál Birn dynasty, whose medieval descendants assumed the surname Mac Giolla Phádraig.

Irish dynasty

Airgíalla (; Modern Irish: Oirialla, English: Oriel, Latin: Ergallia) was a medieval Irish over-kingdom and the collective name for the confederation of tribes that formed it. The confederation consisted of nine minor kingdoms, all independent of each other but paying nominal suzerainty to an overking, usually from the most powerful dynasty. Airgíalla at its peak roughly matched the modern dioceses of Armagh and Clogher, spanning parts of counties Armagh, Monaghan, Louth, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry. Its main towns were Armagh and Clogher. The name's usage survives as a cultural area of

The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as Cóiced Laigen, meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinstermen" (Modern Irish Cúige Laighean), where their descendants ruled till the 17th century. Their territory, located in south-east Ireland, is thought to have once extended from the River Shannon to the River Boyne. The surnames of those descended from the Laigin are still counted amongst the most numerous in Ireland.

historical subdivision of a county of Ireland

ancient Irish kingdom

rural track

cultural region in the west of Ireland