Administrative counties of Ireland facts for kids

Administrative counties were a type of local government area used in Ireland. They were created a long time ago, in 1899, by a special law from the United Kingdom's Parliament. These areas helped manage local services and decisions.

After Ireland split into two parts – the Irish Free State (which later became the Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland – administrative counties continued to be used in both places. They were eventually replaced with new systems: in Northern Ireland in 1973, and in the Republic of Ireland in 2002.

Administrative Counties in 1898

How Administrative Counties Started

Administrative counties were set up by a law called the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. This law created a new way to manage local areas in Ireland. It introduced county councils, which were groups of elected people who made decisions for their county. This system was similar to ones already in place in England and Wales and Scotland.

The law also created special areas called county boroughs for Ireland's biggest towns. These county boroughs were like mini-administrative counties themselves. They managed their own affairs and were independent of the surrounding county councils.

In total, there were 38 administrative counties, and 8 of these were county boroughs. When the Irish Free State separated from the United Kingdom, 8 administrative counties (including two county boroughs) remained in Northern Ireland. The new Irish Free State had 30 administrative counties (including four county boroughs).

Changes Over Time

In Northern Ireland, the administrative counties were stopped as local government areas by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. This change officially happened in 1973.

In the Republic of Ireland, the original 1898 law was replaced by the Local Government Act 2001. This new law started on January 1, 2002. It simply called these areas counties instead of administrative counties.

There were also some changes to specific areas:

• Galway city became a county borough in 1986. This meant it gained more control over its own local government.
• In 1994, the administrative county of Dublin was divided. Its area was split into three new local government areas: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin.

Former Administrative Counties of Northern Ireland

The administrative counties in what is now Northern Ireland were set up as follows:

County Boroughs in Northern Ireland

These were the main towns that acted as their own administrative counties:

Former Administrative Counties of the Republic of Ireland

The administrative counties in what is now the Republic of Ireland were created as follows:

County Boroughs in the Republic of Ireland

These were the major cities that acted as their own administrative counties:

County and County Borough Boundaries

When the administrative counties were created, some small areas were moved from one county to another. This was done to make sure that towns and local service areas stayed within a single administrative county.

The exact borders of these counties and county boroughs were set on April 18, 1899, by special orders from the Local Government Board for Ireland.

See Also

• Local government in the Republic of Ireland
• Local government in Northern Ireland