37 Facts About County Meath

County Meath is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster.

The county town and largest settlement in Meath is Navan, located in the centre of the county along the River Boyne.

Colloquially known as "The Royal County", the historic Kingdom of Meath was the seat of the High King of Ireland and, for a time, was the island's fifth province.

County Meath has an abundance of historical sites, including the Hill of Tara, Hill of Slane, Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Loughcrew, the Abbey of Kells, Trim Castle and Slane Castle.

County Meath is the 14th-largest of Ireland's 32 counties by area, and the eighth-largest in terms of population.

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Loughs typically form in between the poorly-drained inter-drumlin areas, however unlike in neighbouring Cavan and Westmeath, Meath has no sizable loughs, other than Lough Sheelin, on which the county shares a small coastline in its westernmost tip.

County Meath town is Navan, where the county hall and government are located, although Trim, the former county town, has historical significance and remains a sitting place of the circuit court.

County Meath was divided under the Local Government Act 1898 into the rural districts of Ardee No 2, Dunshaughlin, Kells, Meath, Navan, Oldcastle, Trim, and Edenderry No 3, and the urban districts of An Uaimh, Ceannanus Mor, and Trim.

County Meath is part of the 4-seat Midlands–North-West constituency for elections to the European Parliament.

County Meath is colloquially known by the nickname "The Royal County Meath", owing to its history as the seat of the High King of Ireland.

The County Meath king requested a month-long truce to rally his subordinates to his side, which Boru accepted Mael Sechnaill was quickly abandoned by his northern Ui Neill kinsmen.

Successive High Kings and Kings of County Meath supported the establishment of prominent religious settlements and institutions, such as Kells and Clonard Abbey, the latter of which taught Ireland's most significant saints, dubbed the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.

Shortly after Henry left Ireland, Hugh de Lacy invaded County Meath, setting up countless motte and bailey fortifications throughout the kingdom.

County Meath expanded existing settlements into charter towns throughout Meath, including Trim, Athboy, Kells and Navan; and he married Rose Ni Conchobair, the High-King's daughter, in order to cement his claim as Lord of Meath.

County Meath was invaded by Tyrone and its allies in 1539 who raided as far south as Navan, which was razed to the ground.

Exaggerated news of brutal Catholic massacres against Protestants spurred the English into aggressive action, and the peaceful lands of County Meath were indiscriminately ransacked by puritanical armies in retribution.

Nationalist sentiment was widespread in County Meath, as reflected in the County Meath Parliamentary constituency, which returned several of 19th century Ireland's most prominent nationalist politicians, including Daniel O'Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt.

Pre-famine census records show that Meath had been a region with an "undoubted Irish speaking majority", but by the late 1800s the Irish language was virtually extinct within the county.

Under the reforms, small sub-councils and boroughs were abolished and Meath County Council was granted full control over the jurisdiction.

County Meath's Eamonn Duggan served as the IRA's director of intelligence during and after the rising and was a signatory of the Anglo-Irish treaty in 1921.

County Meath largely sided with the pro-treaty forces during the Civil War, with the Louth–County Meath constituency returning one anti-treaty and four pro-treaty TDs in the 1922 general election.

County Meath surpassed its pre-famine population in 2011, becoming one of only five counties in the State to do so.

Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Trim was the seat of the former Diocese of County Meath, which is the Diocese of County Meath and Kildare in the Church of Ireland.

County Meath is one of only 5 counties in the state which has a population higher than its 1841 pre-famine peak.

County Meath contains Leinster's only Gaeltacht areas, at Rath Chairn, close to Athboy, and Baile Ghib, located northwest of Navan.

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Unlike the Gaeltachts of the west of Ireland, the County Meath Gaeltachts are the result of a government gaelicisation scheme to reintroduce the Irish language to the east of the country.

County Meath residents are the 6th highest per capita tax contributors to the State, returning a total of €1.

County Meath has a small but growing biomass industry, however other forms of renewable energy such as wind power and hydroelectricity have stalled due to widespread objections.

Commercial and international flights, Meath is serviced by Dublin Airport, which is the closest international airport to the county and has good road links with most major towns.

Gaelic football is the most popular sport in the county, and Meath GAA competes annually in Division 2 of the National Football League, the provincial Leinster Senior Football Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

County Meath has long been the second power of Leinster football, behind rivals Dublin, and 26 Leinster Senior Football Championship Finals have been contested between the two, of which County Meath emerged victorious on 9 occasions.

In total, Meath has won 21 Leinster titles, making the county the second most successful in the province after Dublin.

County Meath has won the national football league 7 times, between 1933 and 1994, the fifth most titles in Ireland.

Additionally, Meath has won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the most prestigious competition in Gaelic football, on 7 occasions between 1949 and 1999, making it the fifth most successful county in Ireland.

County Meath has won Leinster's O'Byrne Cup on 10 occasions, the second most after Kildare.

The most successful club in County Meath is Navan O'Mahonys with 20 Senior Football Championship titles.

Several teams from Meath compete in the Leinster League in Rugby union, most notably Ashbourne RFC, Athboy RFC, Navan R F C and North Meath RFC.