170-477: County Carlow ( / ˈ k ɑːr l oʊ / KAR -loh ; Irish : Contae Cheatharlach ) is a county located in the Southern Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster . Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow County Council is the governing local authority . The county is named after the town of Carlow , which lies on
340-547: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There
510-587: A Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn , from which Dyflin took its name. Evidence indicating that Anglo-Saxons occupied Dublin before the Vikings arrived in 841 has been found in an archaeological dig in Temple Bar . Beginning in the 9th and 10th centuries, there were two settlements which later became modern Dublin. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle ,
680-532: A Protestant city, Queen Elizabeth I established Trinity College in 1592 as a solely Protestant university and ordered that the Catholic St. Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals be converted to the Protestant church. The earliest map of the city of Dublin dates from 1610, and was by John Speed . The city had a population of 21,000 in 1640 before a plague from 1649 to 1651 wiped out almost half of
850-717: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of
1020-491: A barony in Carlow was in 1841, when the barony of St. Mullin's was divided into St. Mullin's Lower and St. Mullin's Upper. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units". The largest barony in Carlow is Idrone East, at 52,857 acres (214 km2), and the smallest barony is St. Mullin's Upper, at 7,784 acres (32 km2). Townlands are
1190-575: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It
1360-478: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,
1530-553: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of
1700-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in
1870-501: A lack of temperature extremes. Met Éireann records climate data for Carlow from their station at Oak Park , situated at 61 m (200 ft) above sea level. The coldest month is February, with an average daily minimum temperature of 2.1 °C (36 °F), and the hottest month is July, with an average daily maximum temperature of 21.3 °C (70 °F). The driest months are April and May, with 45 mm (2 in) and 50 mm (2 in) of rain respectively. The wettest month
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#17327730674602040-521: A limited impact on Carlow, as both Charles and the Parliament of Ireland had shown leniency to ordinary soldiers who were granted land elsewhere in Ireland, but all regicides were either exiled or executed. Carlow, along with neighbouring Wexford , saw some of the fiercest fighting of the 1798 Rebellion . The rebellion in Carlow is particularly infamous for the sectarian excesses committed within
2210-472: A long ridge of sand and gravel known as an esker . One such example is preserved within the county and is a proposed natural heritage area, referred to as the Ballymoon Esker. The north of the county is generally flat, while central and southern Carlow are characterised by an undulating to rolling topography which becomes progressively hillier towards the south and east. The Blackstairs Mountains are
2380-582: A new church was built at the site in 1727, known as St. Mary's Church. A 59.5 m (195 ft) spire was added in 1834, which remains the tallest building in the county. The Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow town was built in a Gothic Revival style in the early 1800s and is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin . It once boasted a 6 m (20 ft)-tall ornately carved wooden pulpit, which
2550-585: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in
2720-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on
2890-625: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by
3060-492: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within
3230-458: A substantial cemetery remains which includes high crosses , ogham stones, ballaun stones and numerous inscribed grave slabs from Early Christian Ireland . Another monastery was established by Saint Comhgall in 634 and is located in present-day Carlow town. The Normans built a stone wall around the town in the 13th century. The monastery, which was by that stage in ruins, lay just outside of it. The burial grounds survive today at Castle Hill and
3400-471: A thin belt extending across the east of the county. These sediments were intensely metamorphosed by the heat of the granite into high-grade schists and hornfels . Minerals such as staurolite , andalusite and garnet are commonplace in these older formations. The soils of the county are mostly derived from glacial till , rather than solid bedrock geology. These typically consist of a mix of clay, sand and gravel. Occasionally glacial melt-water would form
3570-574: A trade centre, despite an attempt by King Robert the Bruce of Scotland to capture the city in 1317. It remained a relatively small walled medieval town during the 14th century and was under constant threat from the surrounding native clans. In 1348, the Black Death , a lethal plague which had ravaged Europe, took hold in Dublin and killed thousands over the following decade. Dublin was the heart of
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#17327730674603740-838: A tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay . The Dubhlinn was a pool on the lowest stretch of the Poddle, where ships used to moor. This pool was finally fully infilled during the early 18th century, as the city grew. The Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library within Dublin Castle . Táin Bó Cuailgne ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") refers to Dublind rissa ratter Áth Cliath , meaning "Dublin, which
3910-545: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss
4080-538: Is November, with 98 mm (4 in) of rain on average. Humidity is high year round and rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year. A number of synoptic stations which record rainfall are located throughout the county. The driest area of the county is at Tullow, which receives 840 mm (33 in) of rainfall per year, and the Blackstairs Mountains are the wettest area, receiving 1,446 mm (57 in) of rainfall per year. While Carlow
4250-603: Is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as
4420-688: Is a place name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, currently occupied by Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church . There are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire , Scotland, which is anglicised as Hurlford . The area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times; fish traps discovered from excavations during
4590-452: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of
4760-575: Is an illustrated manuscript created by Irish monks circa 800 AD. The Ha'penny Bridge , an iron footbridge over the River Liffey, is one of the most photographed sights in Dublin and is considered to be one of Dublin's most iconic landmarks. Other landmarks and monuments include Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick's Cathedral , the Mansion House , the Molly Malone statue, the complex of buildings around Leinster House, including part of
4930-711: Is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range and sub range of the Wicklow Mountains , to the south and surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west. The River Liffey divides the city in two, between the Northside and the Southside. The Liffey bends at Leixlip from a northeasterly route to a predominantly eastward direction, and this point also marks the transition to urban development from more agricultural land usage. The city itself
5100-571: Is called Ath Cliath". In 841, the Vikings established a fortified base in Dublin. The town grew into a substantial commercial center under Olaf Guthfrithson in the mid-to-late 10th century and, despite a number of attacks by the native Irish, it remained largely under Viking control until the Norman invasion of Ireland was launched from Wales in 1169. The hinterland of Dublin in the Norse period
5270-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years
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5440-722: Is encircled by the Royal Canal and Grand Canal , bounded to the west by Heuston railway station and Phoenix Park , and to the east by the IFSC and the Docklands . O'Connell Street is the main thoroughfare of the inner city and many Dublin Bus routes, as well as the Green line of the Luas , have a stop at O'Connell Street. The main shopping streets of the inner city include Henry Street on
5610-533: Is generally rural in nature and has a population density of 63 people per km2, with the majority of the population living within the Barrow Valley. The River Barrow, at 192 km (119 mi) in length, is Ireland's second longest river. The river cuts out a low-lying valley as it traverse through the county, and much of the county is drained by the Barrow and its tributaries. The most prominent tributary of
5780-490: Is governed by the Local Government Acts. There is a single level of local government in the county, with Carlow County Council responsible for local services. There are 18 councillors on the county council. It is currently divided into three local electoral areas (LEAs), each of which is also a municipal district: Carlow (7), Muine Bheag (5) and Tullow (6). Council elections are held every 5 years, with
5950-483: Is intended to mark Dublin's place in the 21st century. The spire was designed by Ian Ritchie Architects , who sought an "Elegant and dynamic simplicity bridging art and technology". The base of the monument is lit and the top is illuminated to provide a beacon in the night sky across the city. The Old Library of Trinity College Dublin , holding the Book of Kells , is one of the city's most visited sites. The Book of Kells
6120-514: Is landlocked and bordered by five counties – Kilkenny to the west, Wicklow to the east, Wexford to the southeast, and Laois and Kildare to the north. Carlow town is both the county town and largest settlement, and is situated on the River Barrow in the north of the county approximately 80 km (50 mi) from Waterford and 85 km (53 mi) from Dublin . Carlow's southern, western and eastern boundaries are demarcated by
6290-571: Is now on display in the Carlow County Museum and was featured in A History of Ireland in 100 Objects , a national project which identified one hundred archaeological or cultural objects that are important to Irish history . The oldest known castles within the county date from the first few centuries AD. The two most common forms of early defensive structures were ringforts and Motte-and-bailey castles . This style of fortification remained prevalent for centuries, persisting even after
6460-469: Is often marketed as being part of the Sunny Southeast alongside Wexford and Waterford , due to its inland location it does not typically benefit from the elevated sunshine hours observed in the coastal areas of those counties. However, it does experience significantly higher average temperatures and lighter winds during the summer months due to its sheltered location. This was exemplified during
6630-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described
6800-560: Is part of the Dáil constituency of Carlow–Kilkenny which returns 5 TDs . The constituency has been in existence since the 1948 general election . Prior to 1801, the county was represented in the Irish House of Commons through the constituencies of County Carlow , Carlow and the bishop's borough of Old Leighlin , each of which returned two MPs. Following the Act of Union , the county
6970-631: Is partially in Dublin City, but predominantly in Fingal . At the 2020 general election , the Dublin city area elected 5 Sinn Féin , 3 Fine Gael , 3 Fianna Fáil , 3 Green Party , 3 Social Democrats , 1 Right to Change , 1 Solidarity–People Before Profit and 1 Labour TDs. Dublin is situated at the mouth of the River Liffey and its urban area encompasses approximately 345 square kilometres (133 sq mi) in east-central Ireland. It
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7140-573: Is rain; however snow showers do occur between November and March. Hail is more common than snow. Strong Atlantic winds are most common in autumn. These winds can affect Dublin, but due to its easterly location, it is least affected compared to other parts of the country. However, in winter, easterly winds render the city colder and more prone to snow showers. The city experiences long summer days and short winter days. Based on satellite observations, Met Éireann estimates that Dublin's coastal areas typically receive over 1,600 hours of sunshine per year, with
7310-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it
7480-462: Is the capital city of Ireland . On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey , it is in the province of Leinster , bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2022 census , the city council area had a population of 592,713, while Dublin City and its suburbs had a population of 1,263,219, and County Dublin had a population of 1,501,500, making it
7650-554: Is today, covering approximately 724,000 acres (2,930 km) and encompassing the majority of the old Diocese of Leighlin , extending to and including the coastal area around Arklow . The modern county boundary was shaped by the Gaelic Resurgence from the 14th to 16th centuries. During this period, Carlow was part of the patrimony of the Anglo-Norman Butler dynasty ; however Art MacMurrough-Kavanagh ,
7820-666: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act
7990-599: The 2018 summer heat wave , when Oak Park was both the hottest and driest location in Ireland. The bedrock geology of Carlow consists primarily of granite , which underlies roughly 70% of the county. Following the closure of the Iapetus Ocean approximately 400 Mya , a mountain range formed in the area which was then intruded with magma . This cooled slowly beneath the surface, forming a large granite pluton . The mountains, which were mostly composed of Ordovician seafloor sediments, were eventually eroded away, exposing
8160-802: The Acts of Union in 1800. Following independence in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State , renamed Ireland in 1937. As of 2018 , the city was listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city , with a ranking of "Alpha minus", which placed it among the top thirty cities in the world. The name Dublin comes from the Middle Irish word Du(i)blind (literally "Blackpool"), from dubh [d̪ˠuβˠ] "black, dark" and linn [l̠ʲin̠ʲ(dʲ)] "pool". This evolved into
8330-452: The Dublin and Monaghan bombings in which 34 people died, mainly in central Dublin. Large parts of Georgian Dublin were demolished or substantially redeveloped in the mid-20th century during a boom in office building. After this boom, the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s slowed down the pace of building. Cumulatively, this led to a large decline in the number of people living in the centre of
8500-684: The Early Modern Irish form Du(i)bhlinn , which was pronounced "Duílinn" [ˈd̪ˠiːlʲin̠ʲ] in the local dialect . The name refers to a dark tidal pool on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle , where the River Poddle entered the Liffey . Historically, scribes writing in Gaelic script , used a b with a dot over it to represent a modern bh , resulting in Du(i)ḃlinn. Those without knowledge of Irish omitted
8670-745: The Free State Army deployed hundreds of soldiers to the former RIC strongholds within the county, effectively strangling the Irregulars . The first head of an independent Irish-Government, President of the Executive Council W. T. Cosgrave , served as TD for Carlow–Kilkenny from 1921 to 1927. Carlow is nicknamed the "Dolmen County", reflecting the abundance of dolmens found within its borders. Dolmens or " portal tombs " are above-grove burial chambers which were used by Neolithic farming communities. The Brownshill Dolmen , situated on
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#17327730674608840-569: The Hacketstown Road ( R726 ), has a capstone which weighs an estimated 100 metric tons, and is reputed to be the heaviest in Europe. The tomb is listed as a national monument . There are at least 10 megalithic tombs within the county, of which 7 are dolmens. Carlow and Kilkenny have 14 dolmens between them, many of which are among the most impressive in Ireland. This is unusual for such a small area. In contrast, County Galway , over twice
9010-620: The Labour Party , People Before Profit , and Independent Ireland hold 1 seat each, and there are 2 independents. As part of the Southern Region ( NUTS II Region ), the council has two representatives on the Southern Regional Assembly, where it is part of the South-East strategic planning area (NUTS III Region). It was formerly divided into the rural districts of Baltinglass No. 2, Carlow, and Idrone, and
9180-456: The National Museum of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland , The Custom House and Áras an Uachtaráin . Other sights include the Anna Livia monument . The Poolbeg Towers are also landmark features of Dublin, and visible from various spots around the city. There are 302 parks and 66 green spaces within the Dublin City Council area as of 2018, with the council managing over 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of parks. Public parks include
9350-475: The Norman Invasion in the 12th century. The Rathvilly Moat , constructed in the 400s, was home to Crimthann mac Énnai , King of Leinster. The town of Rathvilly itself is named after an unknown historic ringfort, derived from the Irish ( Irish : Ráth Bhile , meaning ' ringfort of the trees'). The arrival of the Normans was followed by the widespread construction of stone castles and tower houses throughout Ireland. These structures did not entirely supplant
9520-408: The Phoenix Park , Herbert Park , St Stephen's Green , Saint Anne's Park and Bull Island . The Phoenix Park is about 3 km (2 miles) west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey . Its 16-kilometre (10 mi) perimeter wall encloses 707 hectares (1,750 acres), making it one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since
9690-512: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")
9860-411: The River Barrow and is both the county town and largest settlement, with over 40% of the county's population. Much of the remainder of the population also reside within the Barrow valley, in towns such as Leighlinbridge , Bagenalstown , Tinnahinch , Borris and St Mullins . Carlow shares a border with Kildare and Laois to the north, Kilkenny to the west, Wicklow to the east and Wexford to
10030-454: The Royal Exchange . The Wide Streets Commission was established in 1757 at the request of Dublin Corporation to govern architectural standards on the layout of streets, bridges and buildings. In 1759, the Guinness brewery was founded, and would eventually grow to become the largest brewery in the world and the largest employer in Dublin. During the 1700s, linen was not subject to the same trade restrictions with England as wool, and became
10200-433: The barony of Dublin . Since 2001, both baronies have been redesignated as the City of Dublin . Dublin Castle , which became the centre of Anglo-Norman power in Ireland, was founded in 1204 as a major defensive work on the orders of King John of England . Following the appointment of the first Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1229, the city expanded and had a population of 8,000 by the end of the 13th century. Dublin prospered as
10370-416: The urban district of Carlow . The rural districts were abolished in 1925. Bagnelstown (Muine Bheag) and Tullow , within the former rural district of Carlow, had town commissioners . The town of Tullow was later disestablished as separate area. In 2002, the urban district of Carlow and the town commissioners of Muinebheag became town councils . All town councils in Ireland were abolished in 2014. Carlow
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#173277306746010540-470: The yew grove at the Huntington Gardens , which were planted by the Esmonde family over 500 years ago. Other notable woodland areas include the Oak Park Forest, which is a ca. 123 acre mixed forest of beech , oak , Scots pine , silver fir , larch and sycamore ; the Altamont Gardens and the Barrow Way . Carlow is in a maritime temperate oceanic region according to Köppen climate classification . It experiences cool winters, mild humid summers, and
10710-450: The 17th century has been home to a herd of wild fallow deer . The residence of the President of Ireland (Áras an Uachtaráin), which was built in 1751, is located in the park. The park is also home to Dublin Zoo , Ashtown Castle , and the official residence of the United States Ambassador . Music concerts are also sometimes held in the park. St Stephen's Green is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street , and to
10880-400: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English
11050-604: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as
11220-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which
11390-536: The 9th and 10th centuries. Prisoners from slave raids and kidnappings, which captured men, women and children, brought revenue to the Gaelic Irish Sea raiders, as well as to the Vikings who had initiated the practice. The victims came from Wales , England, Normandy and beyond. The King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada , after his exile by Ruaidhrí, enlisted the help of Strongbow , the Earl of Pembroke, to conquer Dublin. Following Mac Murchada's death, Strongbow declared himself King of Leinster after gaining control of
11560-399: The 9th century, the area remained under the control of the Kingdom of Leinster until the early 13th century. Following the Norman conquest , the "Borough of Carlow" was founded in July 1210, and formed part of the Norman palatine county of Leinster. This was later divided and the independent Liberty of Carlow was established in 1247. At that time the county was over three times larger than it
11730-466: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
11900-402: The Anglo-Normans remained the status quo for decades, as it kept the peace and made both sides immensely wealthy. Cognisant of the political landscape, the Anglo-Normans began to marry into Gaelic families and adapt to native customs , forging alliances with Irish kingdoms to gain the upper hand over their fellow Anglo-Norman rivals. In a bid to halt the decline of English authority in the region,
12070-411: The Barrow in the area is the Burren River , which rises at Mount Leinster and flows through the county for 39 km (24 mi) before joining the Barrow at Carlow town. The east and northeast of the county are drained by the River Slaney and its tributaries – the River Derreen , which flows through Hacketstown and Tullow, and the River Derry , which rises at Eagle Hill south of Hacketstown and forms
12240-608: The Civic Offices on Wood Quay . The party or coalition of parties with the majority of seats assigns committee members, introduces policies, and proposes the Lord Mayor. The Council passes an annual budget for spending on areas such as housing, traffic management, refuse, drainage, and planning. The Dublin City Manager is responsible for implementing City Council decisions but also has considerable executive power. As
12410-678: The Docklands Quarter (around the Dublin Docklands and Silicon Docks ), the Cultural Quarter (around Temple Bar ), and Creative Quarter (between South William Street and George's Street). Dublin has dozens of suburbs; northside suburbs include Blanchardstown , Finglas , Ballymun , Clontarf , Raheny , Malahide and Howth , while southside suburbs include Tallaght , Sandyford , Templeogue , Drimnagh , Rathmines , Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey . Starting in
12580-535: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish
12750-751: The Great Recession, Dublin has rebounded and as of 2017 has close to full employment, but has a significant problem with housing supply in both the city and surrounds. Dublin City Council is a unicameral assembly of 63 members elected every five years from local electoral areas . It is presided over by the Lord Mayor , who is elected for a yearly term and resides in Dublin's Mansion House . Council meetings occur at Dublin City Hall , while most of its administrative activities are based in
12920-513: The Greco-Roman astronomer and cartographer , called it Eblana polis ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἔβλανα πόλις ). Dublin celebrated its 'official' millennium in 1988, meaning the Irish government recognised 988 as the year in which the city was settled and that this first settlement would later become the city of Dublin. It is now thought the Viking settlement of about 841 was preceded by
13090-549: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but
13260-553: The Northside, and Grafton Street on the Southside. In some tourism and real-estate marketing contexts, inner Dublin is sometimes divided into a number of quarters. These include the Medieval Quarter (in the area of Dublin Castle , Christ Church and St Patrick's Cathedral and the old city walls), the Georgian Quarter (including the area around St Stephen's Green, Trinity College, and Merrion Square ),
13430-539: The Parliament. The Battle of Carlow was one of the opening skirmishes of the rebellion in May 1798, and ended in a crushing defeat for the rebel forces. Months of intimidation and revenge attacks followed, led by Reverend Robert Rochfort of Clogrennan House, who oversaw the unlawful kidnapping, torture and execution of suspected United Irishmen, earning Rochfort the nickname "the slashing parson " . The Irish language
13600-620: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
13770-466: The Waterstown ecclesiastical site, is now illegible. Early Christian settlements were founded throughout Carlow from the 5th to 7th century. An extensive monastic site is located at St Mullin's in the southern tip of the county. The village is named after Saint Moling , who founded a monastery there in the early 7th century. The monastery was said to have been built with the help of " Gobán Saor ",
13940-513: The area known as the Pale , a narrow strip of English settlement along the eastern coast, under the control of the English Crown . The Tudor conquest of Ireland in the 16th century spelt a new era for Dublin, with the city enjoying a renewed prominence as the centre of administrative rule in Ireland where English control and settlement had become much more extensive. Determined to make Dublin
14110-653: The area which had persisted since the 12th century, propped up by the Caomhánach dynasty. Following the Irish Confederate Wars in the 1650s, the great majority of Gaelic Irish and Anglo-Norman landowners were dispossessed, and their lands were granted to English soldiers who took part in the Cromwellian conquest . Carlow was one of four counties set aside by the Commonwealth government for
14280-565: The ascendant King of Leinster, controlled more than half of the liberty. He was paid by the Anglo-Normans for his "services" in keeping the roads and trade routes of the area free of bandits, but in reality this amounted to nothing more than rent exacted by MacMurrough-Kavanagh as recognition of his sovereignty over the area. His authority was so absolute that the MacMurrough-Kavanagh's retained control over large portions of
14450-641: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
14620-475: The border between Carlow and Wexford before joining the Slaney at Bunclody . As of 2017, there is a total of 8,403 ha (20,764 acres) of forest cover in the county, representing 9.4% of total land area. This is below the national average of 11% forest cover and represents just 1.1% of the national forest total. The majority of the county's forests are located in upland areas, namely the Blackstairs Mountains in
14790-709: The capital city, Dublin is the seat of the national parliament of Ireland, the Oireachtas . It is composed of the President of Ireland , Dáil Éireann as the house of representatives, and Seanad Éireann as the upper house. The President resides in Áras an Uachtaráin in Phoenix Park , while both houses of the Oireachtas meet in Leinster House , a former ducal residence on Kildare Street . It has been
14960-642: The capital of the Irish Free State (1922–1937) and now is the capital of Ireland. One of the memorials to commemorate that time is the Garden of Remembrance . Dublin was also a victim of the Northern Irish Troubles , although during this 30-year conflict, violence mainly occurred within Northern Ireland. A Loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force , bombed the city during this time – notably in an atrocity known as
15130-497: The castle formed one corner of the outer perimeter of the city, using the River Poddle as a natural means of defence. One of Dublin's most prominent landmarks is the Spire of Dublin , officially entitled the "Monument of Light." It is a 121.2-metre (398 ft) conical spire made of stainless steel, completed in 2003 and located on O'Connell Street , where it meets Henry Street and North Earl Street. It replaced Nelson's Pillar and
15300-539: The cathedral church of the former Diocese of Leighlin , it is now one of the six cathedrals in the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory of the Church of Ireland . The remote abbey of Clonmore was founded in the 6th century by Máedóc of Ferns . It flourished until the 11th century and taught Saint Finian Lobhar as well as Saint Oncho , who is buried at the site. While the monastery's buildings have long since been demolished,
15470-477: The centre of administration and a transport hub for most of the island. Ireland had no significant sources of coal, the fuel of the time, and Dublin was not a centre of ship manufacturing, the other main driver of industrial development in Britain and Ireland. Belfast developed faster than Dublin during this period on a mixture of international trade, factory-based linen cloth production and shipbuilding. By 1814,
15640-522: The city, and by 1985 the city had approximately 150 acres of derelict land which had been earmarked for development and 10 million square feet (900 thousand square metres) of office space. Since 1997, the landscape of Dublin has changed. The city was at the forefront of Ireland's economic expansion during the Celtic Tiger period, with private sector and state development of housing, transport and business. Following an economic decline during
15810-401: The city. In response to Strongbow's successful invasion, Henry II of England affirmed his ultimate sovereignty by mounting a larger invasion in 1171 and pronounced himself Lord of Ireland . Around this time, the county of the City of Dublin was established along with certain liberties adjacent to the city proper. This continued down to 1840 when the barony of Dublin City was separated from
15980-445: The climate getting progressively duller inland. Dublin airport, located north of city and about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the coast, records an average of 1,485 hours of sunshine per year. The station at Dublin airport has been maintaining climate records since November 1941. The sunniest year on record was 1,740 hours in 1959, and the dullest year was 1987 with 1,240 hours of sunshine. The lowest amount of monthly sunshine on record
16150-483: The coldest month is February, with an average minimum temperature of 4.1 °C (39.4 °F), and the warmest month is July, with an average maximum temperature of 20.1 °C (68.2 °F). Due to the urban heat island effect, Dublin city has the warmest summertime nights in Ireland. The average minimum temperature at Merrion Square in July is 13.5 °C (56.3 °F), and the lowest July temperature ever recorded at
16320-489: The construction of the Convention Centre Dublin indicate human habitation as far back as 6,000 years ago. Further traps were discovered closer to the old settlement of the city of Dublin on the south quays near St. James's Gate which also indicate mesolithic human activity. Ptolemy's map of Ireland , of about 140 AD, provides possibly the earliest reference to a settlement near Dublin. Ptolemy ,
16490-515: The county for centuries, despite radical political changes. In the late 15th-century, James Butler , the 9th Earl of Ormond , purchased land within the county to give to his heirs, rather than enter into conflict with the dynasty. Descendants of the King of Leinster are still in possession of their ancestral home of Borris House to this day. The informal alliance between the Kingdom of Leinster and
16660-726: The county has perhaps the highest concentration of megalithic monuments per square kilometre in Ireland. Numerous standing stones , bullauns and cairns mark the landscape. Carlow is nicknamed the "Dolmen County", reflecting the abundance of dolmens found within its borders, of which the Brownshill Dolmen is reputed to be the largest in Europe. The historic clan territories of the county included Uí Drona ( O'Ryan ), Fothairt Feadh ( O'Nolan ), Uí Ceinnselaig ( Kinsella ), Dál Coirpri Cliach (Kerwick), Uí Bairrche Magh dá chonn ( Kearney ), Uí Felmeda Tuaidh ( O'Garvey ) and Uí Bairrch Maige hAilbe ( O'Gorman ). As Carlow contained both
16830-671: The county part of the Carlow-Kildare constituency, and the southern half joining the Wexford constituency. Since 1948, the county has again been joined with Kilkenny for national elections as Carlow–Kilkenny. From 1997 to 2020, a portion of the county was in the Wicklow , rejoining the rest of Carlow at the 2020 general election . Carlow is part of the European Parliament constituency of South (5 seats). The area of present-day Carlow has been inhabited for thousands of years, and
17000-586: The county was the seat of power of the Kingdom of Leinster , as well as the capital of the Lordship of Ireland from 1361 to 1374. The county was named after the town of Carlow, which is an anglicisation of the Irish Ceatharlach . Historically, it was anglicised as Caherlagh , Caterlagh and Catherlagh , which are closer to the Irish spelling. In the 19th century, John O'Donovan , a scholar working with Ordnance Survey Ireland , hypothesised that
17170-715: The county's three principal geographic features – the River Barrow , the River Slaney and the Blackstairs Mountains – which are all European Union designated Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). The county is divided into six physiographic regions – the Barrow Valley, Castlecomer Plateau , Nurney Ridge and Blackstairs Mountains, as well as the Tullow Lowlands and Southern Wedge, which are grouped together as an "Intermediate Region". The county
17340-611: The county. Prior to the rebellion, United Irishmen member William Farrell had claimed "there was no part of Ireland where a better feeling of friendship existed between both Catholics and Protestants, nor no part where greater numbers of both were blood relations". However, in the wake of the French Revolution , local members of the Orange Order organised into a Yeomanry Cavalry Corps which conducted nightly raids on Catholic and Dissenter homes, often burning them to
17510-534: The crown made Carlow the capital of the Lordship of Ireland from 1361 until 1374, just 13 km (8.1 mi) north of MacMurrough-Kavanagh's permanent residence at Leighlin . Large areas on the northern and eastern fringes of the Liberty of Carlow gradually fell completely to the O'Moores , O'Byrnes and other chiefdoms. Consequently, when the Tudors reconquered these areas in the mid 16th century ownership
17680-437: The dot, spelling the name as Dublin . The Middle Irish pronunciation is preserved in the names for the city in other languages such as Old English Difelin , Old Norse Dyflin , modern Icelandic Dyflinn and modern Manx Divlyn as well as Welsh Dulyn and Breton Dulenn . Other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn , variously anglicised as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Variations on
17850-463: The earlier forms of fortification, as evidenced by Castlemore Moat , which is an example of a much later Motte-and-bailey. It was built by Raymond FitzGerald in the 12th century following his conquest of O'Nolan lands in the Barony of Forth . Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
18020-472: The east of the county, and the Castlecomer Plateau in the west of the county. Conifers are primarily grown in these areas and constitute 69.9% of all forest cover within the county. Due to the high quality of land in the lowlands and southern wedge, the area under forest is low, as most of the land is used for agricultural purposes. Some of the oldest deciduous trees in the county are found in
18190-718: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
18360-474: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
18530-494: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
18700-471: The first part of the name derives from the Old Irish word cethrae ("animals, cattle, herds, flocks"), which is related to ceathar ("four") and therefore signified "four-legged". The second part of the name is the ending -lach , meaning that "Ceatharlach" referred to a "place of cattle or herds". As the local dialect of Irish evolved, the " th " phoneme became obsolete. Consequently, by the 13th century
18870-481: The granite at the surface. During the Carboniferous , ca. 300 Mya, limestone re-buried this granite, but has also since been eroded away. More resilient Carboniferous period shales and sandstones are preserved in the Castlecomer Plateau, along with significant quantities of coal. The oldest rocks in the county are the surviving remnants of these Ordovician seafloor sediments (ca. 540 Mya), and are found in
19040-433: The ground, in search of weapons and revolutionary literature. As feelings of persecution and religious division grew amongst the overwhelmingly Catholic populace, local United Irish leader Laurence Griffin lamented "the people of Carlow think of all Protestants as Orangemen" . Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants could not vote to effect change, so they eventually joined forces with radical liberal Anglicans to overthrow
19210-466: The headquarters of the Carlow Brigade from 1919 to 1922. Plagued by poor supply-lines and hindered by a heavy Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) presence, the Carlow Brigade was one of the least active of the war and mostly specialised in delaying tactics such as blocking roads, destroying bridges and intercepting mail. The brigade carried out a botched ambush near Ballymurphy in April 1921, with
19380-399: The highest and most extensive upland area, with Mount Leinster rising to 794 m (2,605 ft), making it the highest point in both Carlow and Wexford and the seventh highest county top in Ireland. There are seven historic baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for administrative purposes. The last boundary change of
19550-812: The home of the Irish parliament since the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922. The old Irish Houses of Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland , which dissolved in 1801, are located in College Green . Government Buildings house the Department of the Taoiseach , the Council Chamber, the Department of Finance and the Office of the Attorney General . It consists of a main building (completed 1911) with two wings (completed 1921). It
19720-481: The inhabitants. However, the city prospered again soon after as a result of the wool and linen trade with England and reached a population of over 50,000 in 1700. By 1698 the manufacture of wool employed 12,000 people. As the city continued to prosper during the 18th century, Georgian Dublin became, for a short period, the second-largest city of the British Empire and the fifth largest city in Europe, with
19890-658: The landscape of the county. The stones use Ogham inscription to record personal names, and were most likely commemorative monuments to the deceased individual. Many of the stones are inscribed with Old Irish , but some have been distinctly "Christianised" through the influence of local monastic settlements, such as the Rathglass Ogham Stone which reads "Donaidonas Maqi Mariani" – Donaidonas son of. Marianus. The stones are typically cut from weather-resistant granite, although they are not immune to decay. The Patrickswell Ogham Stone, believed to have been associated with
20060-716: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
20230-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of
20400-476: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
20570-511: The largest city by population on the island of Ireland . A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century, followed by the Vikings . As the Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Ireland's principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland . The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixth largest in Western Europe after
20740-458: The late 2010s, there was a significant amount of high density residential developments in the suburbs of Dublin, with mid to high-rise apartments being built in Sandyford, Ashtown , and Tallaght. A north–south division once, to some extent, traditionally existed, with the River Liffey as the divider. The southside was, in recent times, generally seen as being more affluent and genteel than
20910-400: The legendary Irish builder. An 8th-century manuscript, The Book of Mulling , contains a plan of the monastery – the earliest known plan of an Irish monastery – which shows four crosses inside and eight crosses outside the circular monastic wall. Old Leighlin was the site of one of the largest monastic settlements in Ireland, founded by St Goban in the 6th century. In 630 AD a church synod
21080-639: The loss of 12 members (4 killed and 8 captured) and vital munitions, after which no further active engagements with either the RIC or British Army were attempted. The Carlow Republican District Court, established in February 1922 at the Carlow Courthouse , was the first post-independence court held by the government of the Irish Free State . Carlow saw relatively little action during the Civil War , as
21250-582: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
21420-574: The modern city stands. The Viking settlement of about 841, Dyflin , and a Gaelic settlement, Áth Cliath ("ford of hurdles") further up the river, at the present-day Father Mathew Bridge (also known as Dublin Bridge), at the bottom of Church Street. Baile Átha Cliath , meaning "town of the hurdled ford ", is the common name for the city in Modern Irish, which is often contracted to Bleá Cliath or Blea Cliath when spoken. Áth Cliath
21590-632: The most important Irish export. Over 1.5 million yards of linen was exported from Ireland in 1710, rising to almost 19 million yards by 1779. Dublin suffered a period of political and economic decline during the 19th century following the Acts of Union 1800 , under which the seat of government was transferred to the Westminster Parliament in London. The city played no major role in the Industrial Revolution , but remained
21760-440: The name are also found in traditionally Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland ( Gàidhealtachd , cognate with Irish Gaeltacht ), such as An Linne Dhubh ("the black pool"), which is part of Loch Linnhe . It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn , from which Dyflin took its name. Beginning in the 9th and 10th centuries, there were two settlements where
21930-497: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
22100-443: The navigable river Barrow as well as the Slighe Cualann (one of the key arterial roads leading to Tara ), control of the area was vital to the claim of any prospective king of Leinster, and the area was much fought over. By the 11th century the Mac Murchada branch of the Uí Ceinnselaig dynasty had firmly established themselves as the Kings of Leinster . With the exception of a short-lived Norse–Gael settlement near St. Mullin's in
22270-409: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them
22440-426: The new parliament, the Oireachtas , in Leinster House . Since the beginning of Norman rule in the 12th century, the city has functioned as the capital in varying geopolitical entities: Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), and the Irish Republic (1919–1922). Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, it became
22610-443: The next election due to be held in June 2029. The 2024 Carlow local election had a voter turnout of 47.5%, a decrease of 1.9% on the 2019 local election . The highest turnout was at Muine Bheag (51.3%) and the lowest was at Carlow (43.5%). As was the case in much of Ireland, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael emerged as the two dominant parties in the 2024 local elections, holding 11 of the 18 seats between them. Sinn Féin hold 2 seats,
22780-441: The northside. There have also been some social divisions evident between the coastal suburbs in the east of the city, and the newer developments further to the west. Dublin has many landmarks and monuments dating back hundreds of years. One of the oldest is Dublin Castle , which was first founded as a major defensive work on the orders of England's King John in 1204, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169, when it
22950-522: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as
23120-409: The origin of the name was Ceatharloch (meaning "quadruple lake"), since ceathar means "four" and loch means "lake". It is therefore directly translated as "Four lakes". This was accepted by the foremost etymologist of the time, PW Joyce , as the definitive origin of the name; although Joyce noted there was no evidence to suggest that these lakes ever existed in the area. It is today believed that
23290-448: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish
23460-404: The payment of public debt, although much of the land in these counties eventually ended up in the hands of notable regicides , considered "friends of the Republic" . These lands were legally deemed to be in the possession of King Charles II following the Restoration , and many dispossessed Irish nobles were able to petition the king and recover their lands. The Cromwellian conquest therefore had
23630-404: The permanent homes of parliament from then on. For elections to Dáil Éireann , there are five constituencies that are wholly or predominantly in the Dublin City area: Dublin Central (4 seats), Dublin Bay North (5 seats), Dublin North-West (3 seats), Dublin South-Central (4 seats) and Dublin Bay South (4 seats). Twenty TDs are elected in total. The constituency of Dublin West (4 seats)
23800-415: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After
23970-460: The population exceeding 130,000. While some medieval streets and layouts (including the areas around Temple Bar , Aungier Street, Capel Street and Thomas Street) were less affected by the wave of Georgian reconstruction, much of Dublin's architecture and layout dates from this period. Dublin grew even more dramatically during the 18th century, with the construction of many new districts and buildings, such as Merrion Square , Parliament House and
24140-407: The population of Dublin was 175,319 as counted under the Population Act, making the population of Dublin higher than any town in England except London. The Easter Rising of 1916, the Irish War of Independence , and the subsequent Irish Civil War resulted in a significant amount of physical destruction in central Dublin. The Government of the Irish Free State rebuilt the city centre and located
24310-432: The pronunciation of the name would have been much closer to its modern anglicised form. Surviving texts from the 15th and 16th centuries which spell the name as "Carelagh" and "Kerlac" seem to reflect this change in pronunciation. Carlow is the second-smallest of Ireland's 32 counties by area, and the third-smallest in terms of population. It is the second-smallest of Leinster's 12 counties in both size and population. Carlow
24480-445: The proposed route and yielded a variety of relics, including flint arrowheads and bone scrapers, pottery , hammers and axeheads made of granite and an Iron Age glass bead. These artefacts are now housed in the Carlow County Museum . Their discovery a significant distance from any water sources revealed that the extent of early settlement in the area was more widespread than previously thought. Numerous surviving Ogham stones dot
24650-523: The rainfall of the west coast. Ringsend in the south of the city records the lowest rainfall in the country, with an average annual precipitation of 683 mm (27 in), with the average annual precipitation in the city centre being 726 mm (29 in). At Merrion Square, the wettest year and driest year on record occurred within 5 years of each other, with 1953 receiving just 463.1 mm (18.23 in) of rainfall, while 1958 recorded 1,022.5 mm (40.26 in). The main precipitation in winter
24820-436: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )
24990-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need
25160-452: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in
25330-437: The sea within the suburban parts of the city. Two canals – the Grand Canal on the southside and the Royal Canal on the northside – ring the inner city on their way from the west, both connecting with the River Shannon . Similar to much of the rest of northwestern Europe, Dublin experiences a maritime climate ( Cfb ) with mild-warm summers, cool winters, and a lack of temperature extremes. At Merrion Square ,
25500-421: The size of Carlow and Kilkenny combined, has 7 dolmens, and Cork – Ireland's largest county – has just 2. This suggests that the fertile plains of the Barrow and its tributaries were well inhabited during the prehistoric era. A wealth of Neolithic, Mesolithic and Bronze Age artefacts were discovered during excavations for the M9 Carlow Bypass in 2006. A total of 57 archaeological sites were identified along
25670-471: The smallest officially defined geographical divisions in Ireland. There are 650 townlands in Carlow, of which 22 are historic town boundaries. These town boundaries are registered as their own townlands and are much larger than rural townlands. The rural townlands of Carlow range from just 1 acre in size (Acuan) to 1,822 acres (Kilbrannish South), with the average size of a townland in the county (excluding towns) being 371 acres. Local government in County Carlow
25840-412: The southeast. Carlow is known as "The Dolmen County", a nickname based on the Brownshill Dolmen , a 6,000-year-old megalithic portal tomb which is reputed to have the heaviest capstone in Europe, weighing over 100 metric tonnes. The town of Carlow was founded by the Normans in 1207 and the county was shired shortly thereafter, making it one of the oldest counties in Ireland. During the 14th century,
26010-399: The station was 7.8 °C (46.0 °F) on 3 July 1974. The highest temperature officially recorded in Dublin is 33.1 °C (91.6 °F) on 18 July 2022, at the Phoenix Park . A non-official record of 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) was also recorded at Phoenix Park in July 1876 Dublin's sheltered location on the east coast makes it the driest place in Ireland, receiving only about half
26180-536: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at
26350-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By
26520-543: Was 16.4 hours in January 1996, while the highest was 305.9 hours in July 1955. In the 20th century, smog and air-pollution were an issue in the city, precipitating a ban on bituminous fuels across Dublin. The ban was implemented in 1990 to address black smoke concentrations, that had been linked to cardiovascular and respiratory deaths in residents. Since the ban, non-trauma death rates, respiratory death rates and cardiovascular death rates have declined – by an estimated 350 deaths annually. The historic city centre of Dublin
26690-431: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from
26860-429: Was commanded that a castle be built with strong walls and good ditches for the defence of the city, the administration of justice, and the protection of the King's treasure. Largely complete by 1230, the castle was of typical Norman courtyard design, with a central square without a keep , bounded on all sides by tall defensive walls and protected at each corner by a circular tower. Sited to the south-east of Norman Dublin,
27030-438: Was designed by Thomas Manley Dean and Sir Aston Webb as the Royal College of Science . The First Dáil originally met in the Mansion House in 1919. The Irish Free State government took over the two wings of the building to serve as a temporary home for some ministries, while the central building became the College of Technology until 1989. Although both it and Leinster House were intended to be temporary locations, they became
27200-425: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build
27370-595: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. Dublin Dublin ( / ˈ d ʌ b l ɪ n / ; Irish : Baile Átha Cliath , pronounced [ˈbˠalʲə aːhə ˈclʲiə] or [ˌbʲlʲaː ˈclʲiə] )
27540-475: Was founded where the River Poddle met the Liffey, and the early Viking settlement was also facilitated by the small Steine or Steyne River, the larger Camac and the Bradogue, in particular. Two secondary rivers further divide the city: the River Tolka , running southeast into Dublin Bay, and the River Dodder running northeast to near the mouth of the Liffey, and these and the Liffey have multiple tributaries. A number of lesser rivers and streams also flow to
27710-434: Was held at Old Leighlin which determined the date of Easter. The main abbey of Old Leighlin was destroyed by fire in 1060 and replaced in the 12th century with St Laserian's Cathedral . The cathedral remains in use to this day and was modified over centuries, with each change adding unique elements to the building. Among the most recent additions are the stained glass windows created by Catherine Amelia O'Brien in 1934. Once
27880-450: Was named in Old Norse : Dyflinnar skíði , lit. 'Dublinshire'. It was upon the death of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn in early 1166 that Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair , King of Connacht , proceeded to Dublin and was inaugurated King of Ireland without opposition. According to some historians, part of the city's early economic growth is attributed to a trade in slaves. Slavery in Ireland and Dublin reached its pinnacle in
28050-416: Was not reverted to the Anglo-Normans of Carlow but was instead granted to settlers from Britain . Carlow retained its Irish Sea border, though control of this land became disputed with the ruling chiefs of the area who were petitioning for their own shire . These areas were eventually given over to County Wicklow in 1606. The present-day boundary of Carlow therefore represents the core Norman holdings in
28220-403: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in
28390-410: Was represented in Westminster through the County Carlow constituency, which returned two MPs (reduced to one under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 . It was this constituency that gave Carlow representation in the First Dáil , convened in 1919. It was part of the Dáil constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny from 1921 to 1937. Between 1937 and 1948 the county was divided, with the northern half of
28560-527: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in
28730-420: Was still spoken in Carlow as late as the 1870s. During the War of Independence , the Carlow Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had 6 battalions which operated in the shadow of the Curragh Camp – the British Army 's headquarters in Ireland – across Carlow, western Wicklow, southern Kildare and eastern Laois and Kilkenny. The abandoned estate at Duckett's Grove served as both an IRA training camp and
28900-442: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,
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