County Tipperary

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County Tipperary
Contae Thiobraid Árann

Location

Statistics

Province:

Munster

County Town:

North: Nenagh
South: Clonmel

Code:

North: TN
South: TS

Area:

4,303 km²

Population (2006)

149,040[[1]]

County Tipperary (Contae Thiobraid Árann in Irish) is a county in the Republic of Ireland, and situated in the province of Munster. Tipperary was one of the first Irish counties to be established in the 13th century. For all government administration purposes the county is divided into North Tipperary (county town: Nenagh) and South Tipperary (county town: Clonmel). This division dates back to the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the county's two "ridings" having had separate assize courts for much longer. The use of riding for the divisions was a historical misnomer, since the word derives from the dividing of an area into three parts.

Tipperary is sometimes referred to as the Premier County, a description attributed to Thomas Davis, Editor of The Nation newspaper in the 1840s as a tribute to the nationalistic feeling in Tipperary and said that "where Tipperary leads, Ireland follows". Tipperary is famous for its horse breeding industry and is the home of Coolmore Stud, which is the largest thoroughbred breeding operation in the world. The County forms a large part of the Golden Vale (or Vein) of Munster, boasting a rich and fertile agricultural landscape. The County particularly nurtures the ancient game of hurling and its teams have regularly been champions of Ireland since the 19th century.

The town of Tipperary situated in the south west of the county was the subject of the famous World War I British army song It's a Long Way to Tipperary.