Province of Munster - Definition and Overview

Munster
Real_Munster_Flag.gif Flag of Munster
Statistics
Area:	24,607.52 km²
Population:	1,100,614 (2002)
Map

Alternate uses: See Munster (disambiguation).

Munster (Irish: An Mhumhain) is the southernmost province of Ireland, comprising the counties of Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

The name is derived from the Celtic goddess, Muma. The province was once divided into six regions Tuadh Mhuman (north Munster), Des Mhuman (south Munster), Urh Mumhan (east Munster), Iar mumhan (west Munster), Ernaibh Muman (the Ernai tribe's portion of Munster), and Deisi Muman (the Deisi tribe's portion of Munster). Ultimately, these were all subsumed into the kingdoms of Thomond (north), Desmond (south), and Ormond (east), all of which were eventually subsumed by surrender and regrant as Earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland. The names exist only indirectly today, particularly in the case of Thomond. The three crowns represent these three kingdoms, this flag can easily be confused with the flag of Dublin which has three castles in a similar pattern on a blue background.

Munster is also a Irish Rugby Football Union club. It competes in the Celtic League and for the Heineken Cup.

See also

• Provinces of Ireland

	Traditional counties of Ireland
Connacht: Galway | Leitrim | Mayo | Roscommon | Sligo
Munster: Clare | Cork | Kerry | Limerick | Tipperary | Waterford
Leinster: Carlow | Dublin | Kildare | Kilkenny | Laois | Longford | Louth | Meath | Offaly | Westmeath | Wexford | Wicklow
Ulster: Antrim * | Armagh * | Cavan | Donegal | Down * | Fermanagh * | Londonderry * | Monaghan | Tyrone *
* Counties in Northern Ireland (other counties are in the Republic of Ireland)
edit this box (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Template:Ireland_counties)

External links

• Munster Rugby (http://www.munsterrugby.ie)