Münster (Ireland)

Munster (Irish: An Mhumhain) is the southernmost of the historic provinces on the island of Ireland. It is made up of the six counties of Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. The population registered in the census in 2011 was 1,246,088 inhabitants.

The name of the province derives from the Celtic god Muma. It was once divided into three kingdoms: Ormond to the east, Desmond to the south, and Thomond to the north.

The three crowns on the flag 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.

In 1841, just before the great famine, there were almost 3 million people living in the province of Munster, but the population declined dramatically due to emigration that began in the 1840s and continued until the 1980s.

During 30 days into the Irish Civil War, the province of Munster declared itself independent of the Irish Free State and established the Republic of Munster, opposing acceptance of the Anglo-Irish treaty. The Republic of Munster was intended to last only a short time and was subsequently subdued by the armed forces of the Irish Free State.

Munster is also the name of the dialect of the Irish language that originates from this part of the island.

History

The Rock of Cashel that was the traditional settlement of the kings of Munster.

Like the other provinces of Leinster and Ulster, the full English name incorporates the original Irish Gaelic, along with the Norman suffix "-ster", which is relates to the "terre" from Modern French, meaning "land". Thus, Munster would be the "land of Mun".

In pre-Christian years, Munster would be dominated by the Iverni and later by Cú Roí who appears referenced in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.

In the divisions used before the arrival of the Normans, the province was divided in two, Thomond to the north and Desmond to the south, with the border running through the Slieve Luachra mountains. For centuries the dynasties of Munster have belonged to the Eoghanachta - after acquiring surnames such as MacCarthy, O'Sullivan and O'Connell - they fought intermittent wars with the High Kings of Leinster, and with the O'Briens. After the arrival of the Normans their power waned and the Norman Butler and FitzGerald families dominated the north and south of the province, respectively.

In 1569, James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald a Catholic nobleman and cousin of the Earl of Desmond launched a rebellion in Munster as a protest against Elizabeth I of England for the reconquest of the island, enlisting the help of the court of Philip II of Spain and about six hundred men. Fitzgerald surrenders in 1573 and leaves for France two years later. In 1579 he returned with another rebellion and seven hundred soldiers, using banners with papal slogans, he managed to get several lords of the region to join his cause, however, Fitzgerald was assassinated a month later.

Apart from the large cities of Cork, Waterford and Limerick, in the 19th century Munster is still a predominantly rural region, with a wide variation in prosperity from the relatively fertile and wealthy areas of southern Tipperary and eastern Cork, to bare subsistence levels along the Atlantic coast in southern County Kerry and in western Cork. It was these latter areas that suffered the most from famine and the great emigrant depopulation that followed.

"And with the help of God's holy mother we will do it again (...) our empty ports, Queenstown, Kinsale, Galway, Blacksod Bay, Ventry in the kingdom of Kerry, Killybegs (...). And he will do it again, he says, when the first Irish warship is defying the waves with our own flag in the foreground, none of the harps of your Enrique Tudor, no, the oldest flag afloat, the flag of the provinces of Desmond and Thomond, three crowns in a blue field, the three sons of Milesius."

Extract from James Joyce's Ulysses.

Geography

Mount Carrantuohill in County Kerry is the highest in all of Ireland at 1,041 meters above sea level. The second highest point is also in Kerry and is Mount Beenkeragh with an altitude of 1,010 meters above sea level.

Cities

Waterford City at night.

• Cork is the capital and largest city of Munster, has a population of 119,230 (2011) and a metropolitan area of 399,216.
• Other major cities are Limerick 91,456 (2011) and Waterford 51,519 (2011).

Large populations

King John's castle in Limerick.

• Ennis (34.204)
• Tralee (22.190)
• Clonmel (16.910)
• Carrigaline (16,664)*
• Killarney (16,931)
• Mallow (11,195)
• Cobh (12,887)*
• Midleton (10.336)*
• Thurles (8,987)
• Tramore (8,799)
• Newcastle West (5,915)

(*) Peoples within the metropolitan area of Cork

Economy

The Province of Munster contributes more than €35bn (US$44.5bn) to Irish GNP (2002) (greater than Northern Ireland's GNP). The following are some of the largest companies in the region: AOL, Bausch and Lomb, Dell, Amazon, Motorola, Amgen, Pfizer, Vistakon, Waterford Crystal, Apple Computers, Novartis, O2, Siemens, Sony. The province continues to play an increasing role in the biopharmaceutical industry and is battling with Switzerland and Singapore in stiff competition for in-house biopharmaceutical investments such as Amgen and Pfizer. Munster is growing as one of Ireland's major information and communication technology centers outside of Dublin, with multinationals such as Apple, Amazon and Dell locating their operations in the province.

International airports

• Shannon International Airport
• Cork Airport
• Kerry Airport

Irish Language

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

• in the west of Kerry (Corce Dhuibhne).
• in the south of Kerry (Uíbh Ráthach).
• in the west of Cork (Múscraí).
• in the southwest of Cork (Oileán Cléire).
• in the southwest of Waterford (Gaeltacht na Rinne or Gaeltacht na nDeise).

The Irish language in Munster, as in the rest of Ireland, is also increasing outside of Gaeltachtaí. In the last thirty years, there has been a large increase in the number of Gaelscoileanna (Irish language schools) outside the Gaeltachtaí. As in Dublin and Belfast, there is now a mini Gaeltacht 'urban city' within Cork, although it does not have the same language quality.