South Tipperary ( ga, Tiobraid Árann Theas) was a
county in
Ireland. It was part of the
South-East Region and was also located in the
province of
Munster. It was named after the town of
Tipperary and consisted of 52% of the land area of the traditional
county of Tipperary.
South Tipperary County Council
South Tipperary County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Thiobraid Árann Theas) was the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Tipperary, Ireland. The council had 26 elected members. The head of the council had the titl ...
was the
local authority
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...
for the county. The population of the county was 88,433 according to the 2011 census. It was abolished on 3 June 2014, merged with
North Tipperary under a new
Tipperary County Council
Tipperary County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Thiobraid Árann) is the authority responsible for local government in County Tipperary, Ireland. It came into operation on 3 June 2014 after the 2014 local elections, following the merger of No ...
.
Geography and political subdivisions
The county was part of the central plain of Ireland, but the diversified terrain contained several mountain ranges, notably the
Knockmealdowns
The Knockmealdown Mountains ( ga, Sléibhte Chnoc Mhaoldomhnaigh) are a mountain range located on the border of counties Tipperary and Waterford in Ireland, running east and west between the two counties. The highest peak of the range is Knockme ...
and the
Galtees. The county was
landlocked
A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...
and drained by the
River Suir
The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of .
The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2. . The centre of the county included much of the
Golden Vale, a rich pastoral stretch of land in the Suir basin which extends into counties Limerick and Cork.
The county was established in 1898 with separate
assize court
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
s since 1838. The
county town was
Clonmel
Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Drogheda and Wexford. With the exception of the townlan ...
; other important urban centres included
Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the so ...
,
Cashel,
Cahir
Cahir (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Iffa and Offa West.
Location and access
For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: the Dubl ...
and
Tipperary. The county's motto was ''Vallis Aurea Siurensis'' ( la, The Golden Vale of the
Suir
The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of .
The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2. ).
Baronies
There were six historic
baronies Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
in South Tipperary:
Clanwilliam,
Iffa and Offa East
Iffa and Offa East (Irish: ''Uíbh Eoghain agus Uíbh Fhathaidh Thoir'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Clonmel. The barony lies between Iffa ...
,
Iffa and Offa West
Iffa and Offa West ( Irish: ''Uíbh Eoghain agus Uíbh Fhathaidh Thiar'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Cahir. The barony lies between Clanw ...
,
Kilnamanagh Lower
Kilnamanagh Lower (Irish: ''Cill na Manach Íochtarach'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Dundrum. The barony lies between Kilnamanagh Upper t ...
,
Middle Third and
Slievardagh
Slievardagh ( ga, Sliabh Ardach) is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Mullinahone. The barony lies between Eliogarty to the north (whose chief town ...
.
Civil parishes and townlands
Civil parishes in Ireland
Civil parishes () are units of territory in the island of Ireland that have their origins in old Gaelic territorial divisions. They were adopted by the Anglo-Norman Lordship of Ireland and then by the Elizabethan Kingdom of Ireland, and were f ...
were delineated after the
Down Survey
The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist, William Petty, in 1655 and 1656.
The survey was apparently called the "Down Survey" by Petty, either because the results were set down in maps or because the ...
as an intermediate subdivision, with multiple
townlands per parish and multiple parishes per barony. The civil parishes had some use in local taxation and were included on the nineteenth century maps of the
Ordnance Survey of Ireland
Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI; ga, Suirbhéireacht Ordanáis Éireann) is the national mapping agency of Ireland. It was established on 4 March 2002 as a body corporate. It is the successor to the former Ordnance Survey of Ireland. It and the ...
. For
poor law purposes,
district electoral division
An electoral division (ED, ) is a legally defined administrative area in the Republic of Ireland, generally comprising multiple townlands, and formerly a subdivision of urban and rural districts. Until 1996, EDs were known as district electora ...
s replaced civil parishes in the mid-nineteenth century. There were 123 civil parishes in the county.
Local government and politics
The administrative county of Tipperary (South Riding) was established in 1898. The area also had a separate existence as a judicial county following the establishment of
assize court
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
s in 1838. The county's name changed to South Tipperary, and the council's name to
South Tipperary County Council
South Tipperary County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Thiobraid Árann Theas) was the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Tipperary, Ireland. The council had 26 elected members. The head of the council had the titl ...
under the
Local Government Act 2001. The Council oversaw the county as an independent local government area. The council was made up of 21 representatives, directly elected through the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.
Under the provisions of the ''Local Government Act 1991, (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order'', 1993, the territory of South Tipperary was defined as being in the
South-East Region. This region was a
NUTS III
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, ...
region of the
European Union. The county of
North Tipperary, by contrast, was part of the
Mid-West Region. At a
NUTS II
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, ...
level, both counties were in the
Southern and Eastern region.
Irish language
There were native speakers of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
in South Tipperary until the middle of the 20th century. Recordings of their dialect, made before the last native speakers died, have been made available through a project of the
Royal Irish Academy Library.
References
{{Authority control
Munster
2014 disestablishments in Ireland
Former counties of Ireland