Munster

Munster (Irish: An mhumhain or Cúige Mumhan ) is the southernmost province of Ireland, consisting of the counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. The province has 1,243,726 inhabitants ( 2011) and an area of ​​24,608 km ².

Name

At mhumhain, old nominative Mumha ( genitive Mumhan, dative and nominative today Mumhain ) altir. Muma. Today in Irish usually used with the word cúige ( province): Cúige Mumhan = province of Munster. The resident Munsters is a Muimhneach. The English suffix " -ster " of the province name comes from the Irish tír or Anglo-Norman terre = country.

The province's name derives from the Celtic goddess Muma. In earlier times, the province was divided into three kingdoms: the Kingdom of Ormond ( gäl. Urmhumhain ) in the east, Desmond ( gäl. Deasmhumhain ) in the south and Thomond ( gäl. Tuadhmhumhain ) in the north. The classification was made according to the directions no longer has any meaning; However, they still reflected in the names of some devices, such as the colleges of Thomond resist.

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