Place Names in Ireland - Names of Provinces

Names of Provinces

There are four provinces in Ireland, three of which derive their English name from a mixture of their ancient Irish provincial name with the Old Norse term for land/territory/place; staðr.

• Connacht, formerly anglicised as "Connaught", is derived from the Connachta dynasty, which means "the descendants of Conn". In modern Irish it is called Connachta or Cúige Chonnacht.
• Munster, derived from Irish: Mumhan + Old Norse staðr, meaning "land of Mumha". In modern Irish it is called an Mhumhain or Cúige Mumhan.
• Leinster, derived from Irish: Laighin + Old Norse staðr, meaning "land of the Laighin". In modern Irish it is called Laighin or Cúige Laighean.
• Ulster, derived from Irish: Ulaidh + Old Norse staðr, meaning "land of the Ulaidh". In modern Irish it is called Ulaidh or Cúige Uladh.

In Irish the provinces are known as cúigí, the singular of which is cúige. The word cúige originally meant "a fifth", as in one-fifth part of Ireland. This is because Meath, as seat of the High King of Ireland, was once a province in its own right, incorporating modern counties Meath, Westmeath and parts of surrounding counties. Meath was later absorbed into Leinster.