Munster

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Munster
Cúige Mumhan
Flag of Munster
Location
centerMap highlighting Munster
Statistics
Area: 24,607.52
Population (2006) 1,172,170

Munster (Irish: An Mhumhain, IPA: [ənˈvuːnʲ], Cúige Mumhan or Mumha) is the southernmost of the four provinces of Ireland. It comprises the counties of:

The largest city in Munster is Cork.

The name is derived from the Celtic goddess, Muma. The province was once divided into six regions: Tuadh Mhuman (North Munster), Deas Mhuman (South Munster), Urh Mumhan (East Munster), Iar mumhan (West Munster), Ernaibh Muman (the Ernai tribe's portion of Munster), and Deisi Muman (the Deisi tribe's portion of Munster). Ultimately, these were all subsumed into the kingdoms of Thomond (North Munster), Desmond (South Munster), and Ormond (East Munster), all of which were eventually subsumed by surrender and regrant as Earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland. The names exist only indirectly today, particularly in the case of Thomond. The three crowns represent these three kingdoms. This flag can easily be confused with the flag of Dublin which has three castles in a similar pattern on a blue background; it also resembles the lesser coat-of-arms of Sweden, the Three Crowns.

Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond (d. 1356), was described as the "ruler of Munster" in his lifetime.

In 1841 before the Great Famine, there were just under 3 million people living in the province of Munster, but the population had dropped devastatingly low due to mass emigration in the 1840s and continued emigration up until the 1980s.

For 30 days during the Irish Civil War, the province of Munster broke away from the Irish Free State and established the Munster Republic in opposition to the acceptance of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The Munster Republic was short lived and subsequently crushed by heavily-armed Irish Free State forces.

Munster is also an Irish Rugby Football Union representative side which competes in the Celtic League and for the Heineken Cup, winning in 2006.

Contents

Cork is the largest city conurbation, which has a population of 190,384 (2006) and 380,000 within the Greater Cork Area. (See Cork Co. Council population report below)

Other important cities are Limerick 90,757 (2006) which also has over 100,000 people in the greater Limerick area and Waterford 49,213 (2006).

In order of size of population

(* towns/suburbs in Metropolitan Cork area) (** suburbs in Greater Limerick area)

  • (All figures - 2006 Census)

The province of Munster contributes 40 billion euro (US$52.57bn) to Irish GDP (25% of total Irish GDP) (2004) (greater than the GDP of Northern Ireland) (See "GDP stats" below). Munster is the home to many modern capital intensive, highly productive private sector enterprises.

The Cork harbour area was the centre of Ireland's heavy industry manufacturing sector. Cork had a steel mill, a shipyard, a car assembly plant, a tyre plant, a deep harbour, and a thriving textile sector in the mid twentieth century. (Cork people are proud point out that this was greater than any other Irish city including Belfast, which did not figure in the automotive industry). However heavy taxes, excessive regulation, competition from larger centres of economic activity, and the sudden removal of protective tarifs upon membership of the European Economic Community caused a decline in the 1970s. Cork was Ireland's rust belt city in the 1980s, as heavy industry moved out, and newer sectors tried to get established in as unemployment peaked.

The majority of the Republic's power stations are located in Munster.

Waterford was the location of the high end Waterford Crystal plant, which at time paid the highest manufacturing wages in Ireland. H

Ireland's only oil refinery and oil storage facility is still located at Whiddy Island.

Munster was the home of 'The Munster and Leinster Bank', which is parent of Ireland's richest and largest bank Allied Irish Bank. Cork, in Munster, is also home of the two largest Irish owned retailing organizations, Dunnes Stores, and the Musgrave Group. Cork is also home to two of the three Irish Stout brands; Murphy's Irish stout, and Beamish, as well as the 'Paddy' brand of Irish whiskey.

Shannon airport, a rich music tradition, the best food from land and sea, and landscapes of international renown, have all been influential in the development of the tourist sector in Munster.

Munster has developed into the centre of Ireland's Pharmaceutical industry. The province plays an ever greater role in the bio-pharmaceutical industry and is successful in fighting off stiff competition from Switzerland and Singapore for inward investments in the bio-pharmaceutical area in companies such as Amgen and Pfizer.

Munster is one of Ireland's most important I.T. hubs with such multinationals as Apple, Intel, Amazon and Dell locating in the province. Fexco Financial Services in Killorgan one of many organizations to locate in the South-West, to avail of a long tradition of astute financial management.

The following are some of the more important employers in the region: AOL, Bausch & Lomb, Dairygold, Dell, Amazon, Motorola, Amgen, Pfizer, Analog Devices, Fexco Financial Services, Vistakon, Waterford Crystal, Apple Computer, Intel, Novartis, O2, Lufthansa Technik, Kerry Group, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Siemens, Sony. The largest employment hub in Munster is Metropolitan Cork, with many large multinational firms located in the area. The second most important is the Shannon Free Zone with over 120 international firms based there employing over 7,500 people.

The Irish language is spoken as a first language in Gaeltachtaí (Irish speaking areas);

  • in West Kerry (Corca Dhuibhne)
  • in South Kerry (Uíbh Ráthach). Here, the language died out in the 1950s.
  • in West Cork (Múscraí)
  • in south-west Cork (Oileán Cléire)
  • in south-west Waterford (Gaeltacht na Rinne or Gaeltacht na nDeise)

The number of Gaelscoileanna (Irish language schools) has increased sharply in the last ten years. Children learn Irish and speak Irish in the Gaelscoileanna.

  • The Irish Examiner - Cork based National Newspaper
  • The Avondhu - covers North East Cork, West Waterford, South Limerick and South Tipperary.
  • The Munster Express - covers the South East.
  • Nationalist & Munster Advertiser

The Limerick Leader (covers the Mid West)

  • Clare Champion
  • Clare People
  • Clare Courier

  • The Guardian, Nenagh
  • The Tipperary Star
  • The Nationalist, Clonmel

  • The Waterford News and Star
  • The Munster Express, Dungarvan

  • Red FM - Cork Youth-driven service.
  • Clare FM - County Clare
  • Tipp FM - County Tipprary
  • Radio Kerry - County Kerry
  • WLR FM - Waterford City and County
  • 96FM and 103FM County Sound (dual franchise) - General service for Cork
  • Limerick East community radio - Limerick East
  • Live 95FM - Limerick City and County
  • West Limerick 102 - Limerick city and County
  • Spin SW
  • Beat 102-103 - Youth-driven service. Counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and South Tipperary.
  • RTÉ Ráidió na Gaeltachta "Camchuairt" - Tralee, County Kerry

In order of capacity

v • d • e
Counties of Ireland
Connacht
Munster
Leinster
Ulster

Cavan · Donegal · Monaghan · Antrim · Armagh · Down · Fermanagh · Londonderry · Tyrone
Italics denote non-administrative counties  ·   (Parentheses) denote eponymous cities or non-traditional counties
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munster"
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