The following is a list of Irish counties' coats of arms. In the majority of cases these are arms assigned to county councils created by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 or later legislation, either by the Chief Herald of Ireland in what is now the Republic of Ireland or by the College of Arms in Northern Ireland. All but two county councils in the Republic have a coat of arms. In Northern Ireland county councils were abolished in 1973, but the traditional arms are still occasionally used. The arms of the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

have sometimes been used as an unofficial symbol of a county instead of those of its county council, or when the council had no arms. There are no official county flags. Flags with the GAA county colours serve as de facto county flags. County flags flown at Dublin Castle incorporate the county council arms, while those sold by the GAA county board include the county GAA crest. Coats of arms granted in recent decades often incorporate the GAA colours in the field.

History

The earliest Irish county arms date from the late 17th century, when those of counties Carlow, Kilkenny and "Typerary" were recorded by

Richard Carney Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

, Ulster King of Arms.Genealogical office Ms.60, ''Some 1150 Tricks of Family arms, with arms of Bishoprics and of counties Carlow, Tipperary and Kilkenny collected by Carney, Ulster about 1668'', folio 190 In each case the arms consist of an ermine shield bearing a ''fesse'' or central horizontal band on which heraldic devices of local families are displayed. The arms of Tipperary became obsolete when the county was divided into North and South Ridings in 1838. When county councils were established in 1899, each was obliged to adopt a seal. In some cases these used an unofficial coat of arms, but no arms were officially granted prior to the splitting of heraldic jurisdiction in 1943. In 1914 a system of county and city flags were designed as unit colours for the Irish Volunteers. Each county flag was to include a coat of arms, with a list of suggested designs drawn by

The O'Rahilly , birth_date = , birth_place = Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland , death_date = , death_place = Dublin, Ireland , resting_place = Glasnevin Cemetery , nationality = Irish - British subject ...

. While few of these colours were ever manufactured, some of the county devices were later to occur in official grants.

Grants by the Chief Herald of Ireland

With the establishment of the Genealogical Office in 1943, a native Irish heraldic jurisdiction was established. One of the earliest grants by the new office was to Dublin County Council on 30 September 1944. The grant was notable for its use of Norse symbolism and the motto in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

.Susan Hood, ''Royal Roots - Republican Inheritance, the Survival of the Office of Arms'', Dublin, 2002 In 1949 Edward MacLysaght, the Chief Herald, discovered the 17th century arms of counties Carlow and Kilkenny, and wrote to the county councils concerned informing them of their existence. From 1956 there was a steady flow of grants to county councils. In 1990 Tipperary South Riding County Council was granted arms based on those recorded by Richard Carney. Genealogical Office, Register of Arms Q (1943-52),
Register of Arms R
(1952-59)
Register of Arms S
(1959-66),
Register of Arms T
(1966-72),
Register of Arms U
(1973-78), Register of Arms V (1978-81
Pt.1Pt.2Register of Arms W+X
(1982-95), Register of Arms Y (1996-99
Pt.1Pt.2

Grants by the College of Arms

In 1943 heraldic jurisdiction in Northern Ireland passed to the College of Arms in London, with the creation of the merged office of

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the River Trent, Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King ...

. Five out of the six county councils received grants of arms from London. In each case

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. H ...

were also granted.Geoffrey Briggs, ''Civic and Corporate Heraldry'', London, 1971 In all cases these arms became obsolete with the abolition of county councils by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.

State

Present

Republic of Ireland

File:Arms of the Republic of Ireland.svg, Official arms of the Republic of Ireland 1945–present

Northern Ireland

File:Coat of Arms of Northern Ireland.svg, Coat of arms of Northern Ireland File:NI shield.svg, Escutcheon File:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.svg, Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom File:Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg, Escutcheon

Historical

File:Arms of Ireland (historical).svg, Arms of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

File:Royal arms of Ireland.svg, Arms of the

(with

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

) FIle:Badge of Ireland.svg, The

heraldic badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

of Ireland, created during the Tudor era, is distinguished from the arms of Ireland by being ensigned with a royal crown. File:Kingdom Ireland.svg, Unofficial or 'artistic' Arms of the

after 1707 File:Coat of arms of the Lordship of Ireland.svg, Arms of the Lordship of Ireland File:Royal Arms of United Kingdom (1801-1816).svg,

Royal arms The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varian ...

of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1801–1816 File:Royal Arms of United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg, Royal arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1816–1837 File:Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg, Royal arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1837–1922

Provinces

Present

Joint symbol

The provincial arms are popularly displayed together, quartered as a coat of arms of all-island Ireland. This symbol, as well as the flag equivalent, are used by various all-Ireland sports teams and cultural organisations. The order in which the flags appear varies. The flag and its variations are currently used by many organizations in Ireland, especially those that operate in an all-Ireland context, for example the

Ireland rugby league team The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete ...

. Other teams use variations of the flag, including the Irish hockey team, the

Irish rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champi ...

and the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. Image:Four Provinces Flag.svg, The "Four Provinces Flag" as used by the Ireland Rugby League Team Image:IRFU flag.svg, Flag of the Ireland Rugby Union Team Image:Flag of Ireland hockey team.svg, Flag of the Ireland Field Hockey Team

Historical

File:Coat of arms of Meath.svg,

Arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of the historical

Kingdom of Meath Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all of ...

Counties

Present

Former

Towns and Cities

File:Armagh arms.svg,

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

, County Armagh File:Ballina Coat of Arms.png, Ballina, County Mayo File:Ballinasloe Coat of Arms.png, Ballinasloe, County Galway File:Bantry Coat of Arms.svg,

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula is ...

, County Cork File:Coat of arms of Ballymena.svg,

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

, County Antrim File:Belfast City Coat of Arms.svg, Belfast, County Antrim File:Birr Coat of Arms.png, Birr, County Offaly File:Bray COA.png, Bray, County Wicklow File:Buncrana COA.png, Buncrana, Inishowen, County Donegal File:Castlebar Coat of Arms.png, Castlebar, County Mayo File:Cobh Coat of Arms.png,

Cóbh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour a ...

, County Cork File:Cork (Ireland) coat of arms.svg, Cork City, County Cork File:Clonmel COA.png,

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

, County Tipperary File:Londonderry COA.svg,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

File:Drogheda crest.svg,

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, County Louth File:Coat-of-arms-of-Dublin.svg, Dublin, County Dublin File:Dungannon Coat of Arms v2.png,

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

, County Tyrone File:Edenderry Coat of Arms.png, Edenderry, County Offaly File:Ennis coat of arms.svg,

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

, County Clare File:Galway_CoA.svg, Galway City, County Galway File:Killarney COA.png, Killarney, County Kerry File:Kilkee coat of arms.png, Kilkee, County Clare File:COA IRL Kilkenny City.svg,

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, County Kilkenny File:Letterkenny_COA.png, Letterkenny, County Donegal File:IRL COA Limerick.svg, Limerick, County Limerick File:Lisburn coat of arms small.svg,

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, County Antrim File:Loughrea crest.png, Loughrea, County Galway File:Mountmellick Coat of Arms.png, Mountmellick, County Laois File:Mullingar COA.png, Mullingar, County Westmeath File:Coa Ireland Town Muine Bheag.svg,

Muine Bheag Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. History and name The town grew within the townland of Moneybeg, from Irish ''Muine Bheag'' or ''Muinebheag'' (meaning "small th ...

, County Carlow File:Portlaoise COA.svg,

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050 ...

, County Laois File:Shannon_coat_of_arms.png, Shannon, County Clare File:Tipp Town COA.svg, Tipperary Town, County Tipperary File:Tramore CoA.png, Tramore, County Waterford File:Tralee COA.svg, Tralee, County Kerry File:Tuam Coat of Arms.svg, Tuam, County Galway File:Tullamore Coat of Arms.svg, Tullamore, County Offaly File:Waterford coa.png, Waterford City, County Waterford File:Westport Coat of Arms.png, Westport, County Mayo File:IRL COA Wexford Town 3D.svg, Wexford town,

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Irish Counties' Coats Of Arms Ireland

History

Grants by the Chief Herald of Ireland

Grants by the College of Arms

State

Present

Republic of Ireland

Northern Ireland

Historical

Provinces

Present

Joint symbol

Historical

Counties

Present

Former

Towns and Cities

See also

References