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Munster Wiki Information

Munster (Irish: an Mhumhain / Cúige Mumhan — ) is a province of Ireland, located in the south-west of the island. The province is not used as an administration division as such, with the counties filling that role. Much of the area aside from Clare is represented internationally by the South constituency of the European Parliament. The province is of ancient origin and continues as a cultural region forming a strong part of local identity. Geographically Munster covers a total area of and the most populated city is Cork.

During the Early Middle Ages most of the area was part of the Kingdom of Munster, ruled by the Eóganachta, who succeeded the Dáirine or Corcu Loígde from the 7th century onwards. By the 9th century the Gaels had been joined by Norse Vikings who founded towns such as Cork, Waterford and Limerick. Around this period Kingdom of Ossory broke away from Munster. The following century saw the rise of the Dalcassians who annexed Thomond, north of the Shannon to Munster. Their leaders were the O'Briens and spawned Brian Bóruma, perhaps the most noted High King of Ireland. By 1118 Munster had fractured into the Kingdom of Thomond, Kingdom of Desmond and the short-lived Kingdom of Ormond.

There was Norman influence from the 14th century, due to adventuring of the FitzGerald, de Clare and Butler houses, two of whom carved out earldoms within the Lordship of Ireland. The O'Brien of Thomond and MacCarthy of Desmond surrendered and regranted sovereignty to the Tudors in 1543 and 1565, joining the Kingdom of Ireland. Much of the area was hit hard in the Great Hunger, especially the west. After the kingdom was merged into the United Kingdom, there was a war in the 20th century resulting in secession of the Irish Free State. There was a brief Munster Republic during the Irish Civil War, soon defeated by the Irish Army — the Free State became a republic in 1937.

The culture of Munster features prominently in the overall culture of Ireland. The area is famed for Irish traditional music, especially in County Clare where the Willie Clancy Summer School is held. Munster has a strong sporting heritage, being the birthplace of the modern Gaelic games, especially hurling — the provincial rugby union side Munster Rugby are a prominent identity symbol and are amongst the elite of Europe. There are many ancient castles and monasteries in the province; this coupled with the vast green countryside and three cities makes it a feature of the tourism industry. A 5th century bishop named Ailbe is the patron saint of Munster.

An ancient and frequently remarked upon feature of the spiritual life of Munster is the number of celebrated and notorious goddesses the province claims: Anann, Áine, Grian, Clídna, Aimend, Mór Muman, Bébinn, Aibell, and the infamous Queen Mongfind. Each is historically associated with certain septs of the nobility, but these relationships are not exclusive and many commoners have greatly enjoyed their company when offered. Several are known into modern times.

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MUNSTER TICKETS

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History

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.

In 1841 before the Great Famine, there were just under three million people living in the province of Munster, but the population 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.

Counties

It comprises the counties of:

County/City	Population ^[1]	Area
County Clare	110,800	3,147 km²
Ennis	(30,000)
County Cork	480,909	7,457 km²
Cork city	(190,384)
County Kerry	139,616	4,746 km²
County Limerick	183,863	2,686 km²
Limerick city	(90,757)
County Tipperary	149,050	4,303 km²
County Waterford	107,942	1,837 km²
Waterford city	(49,213)
Grand Total	1,172,170	24,607.52 km²

Cities

Cork is the largest city conurbation, which has a population of 190,384 (2006) and 380,000 within the Greater Cork Area. ^[2]

Other important cities are Limerick (90,757) and Waterford (49,213).

Large towns over 7,000

In order of size of population

Ennis (24,253)
Douglas, County Cork (23,193)*
Tralee (22,190)
Killarney (16,931)
Clonmel (16,910)
Carrigaline (16,664)*
Ballincollig (16,339)*
Ballycummin (16,279)**
Glanmire (15,498)*
Cobh (12,887)*
Ballysimon (11,260)**
Mallow (11,195)
Kilrush (11,194)
Midleton (10,336)*
Shannon/Clenagh (9,774)
Lehenagh (9,435)*
Dungarvan (9,254)
Nenagh (9,219)
Thurles (8,987)
Tramore (8,799)
Caherdavin (7,248)**
Youghal (7,195)
Rathcooney (7,141)*
Newcastle West (7,075)

(* towns/suburbs in the Metropolitan Cork area) (** suburbs in the Limerick urban area)

(All figures - 2006 Census)

Economy

The province of Munster contributes 40 billion euro (US$52.57bn) to Irish GDP (25% of total Irish GDP) (2004) (greater than the Economy of Northern Ireland 37.3bn euro). ^[3] Munster also is wealthier than Slovenia (pop. 2m), Lithuania (pop. 3.5m), Latvia (pop. 2.5m) and Kenya (pop. 35m). Munster is the home to many modern capital intensive, highly productive private sector enterprises.

The Economy of Cork and Economy of Limerick are the main engines of the province's economy. 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. 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.

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.

Power generation

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

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

The majority of Ireland's gas production comes from Kinsale Head in County Cork, from where it is transported by pipeline across the country.

I.T. & pharmaceutical industry

Munster is one of Ireland's most important I.T. hubs with such multinationals as Apple, Intel, Amazon and Dell locating in the province. The Atlantic Quarter in Cork is a new plan to create a smaller version of Dublin's IFSC in Cork docklands. In Kerry, FEXCO Financial Services in Killorglin is a foreign exchange and global payments group. ^[4]

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 and Roche(located in Clarecastle Co.Clare). ^[5]

Metropolitan Cork & Shannon Free Zone

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.

Cork Harbour

Cork Harbour is the largest natural harbour in Europe and has always had a long and important maritime history.

Haulbowline Island is the location of the Irish naval fleet and the Irish Naval College.

The town of Cobh is one of Ireland's only cruise ship destinations.

Golden Vale

The Golden Vale is considered rich pastureland and has historically contributed to the wealth of Munster. It is the best land in Ireland for dairy farming.

International airports

Cork Airport (Ireland's 3rd busiest airport)
Kerry Airport
Shannon Airport (Ireland's 2nd busiest airport)
Waterford Airport

Major infrastructural projects

The Limerick Tunnel
The Jack Lynch Tunnel
The restoration of the Cork to Midleton railway line Cork Suburban Rail (3 lines)
Limerick Suburban Rail (2 lines)
The restoration of the Limerick to Galway railway line Western Rail Corridor
The construction of M7 Limerick to Dublin
The construction of M8 Cork to Dublin
The construction of M9 Waterford to Dublin
The introduction of new Dublin-Cork railway line trains
The Atlantic Quarter, Cork docklands.
Riverpoint building, Limerick
Clarion Hotel, Limerick
Cork County Hall, Cork (2nd tallest building in ROI at 67m)
The Elysian, Cork (tallest building in ROI at 80m)
Cork City Hall
Thomond Park Stadium

Irish language

The Irish language, or more specifically Munster Irish is spoken as a first language in Gaeltachtaí (Irish speaking areas);

in West Kerry (Corca Dhuibhne )
in South Kerry (Uíbh Ráthach ).
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. Munster has the second highest number of Irish-medium primary schools(46) in Ireland and the highest number of Irish-medium secondary schools(22) of any Irish province.

Third level institutions

University College Cork 17,000 students
University of Limerick 13,000 students
Institute of Technology, Tralee 3,500 students
Waterford Institute of Technology 10,000 students
Cork Institute of Technology 17,000 students
Limerick Institute of Technology 6,500 students
Mary Immaculate College, Limerick 2,500 students
Cork College of Commerce
Central Technical Institute Waterford
Central Technical Institute Clonmel
Limerick Senior College
West Clare VTOS
Burren College of Art
Griffith College Cork
Griffith College Limerick
Mid West Business Institute
Shannon College of Hotel Management
Tipperary Institute
Garda Síochána College

Munster media

Television

RTÉ Cork - Cork based television broadcasting studios for RTÉ
South Coast TV - Cork based television company
Channel South

Newspapers

The Irish Examiner - Cork-based national newspaper
Evening Echo - daily evening paper covering Cork city. Also a daily Limerick edition
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

Clare Champion
Clare People
Clare Courier
Clare County Express

Cork

The Imokilly People (East Cork)
The Carrigdhoun
The Cork Weekly ^[6] Free paper for Metropolitan Cork incorporating the Douglas Weekly
The Corkman
The Mallow Star
The Southern Star
The Vale Star
The Avondhu
Evening Echo

Kerry

The Kerryman
The Kingdom
Kerry's Eye

Limerick

Limerick Leader
Limerick Post
Limerick Independent
The Vale Star (South & East Limerick)
The Weekly Observer (West Limerick)

Tipperary

The Guardian , Nenagh
The Tipperary Star
The Nationalist , Clonmel

Waterford

The Waterford News and Star , Waterford City
The Waterford Today , Waterford City
The Munster Express , Dungarvan
The Dungarvan Leader , Dungarvan
The Dungarvan Observer , Dungarvan

Radio

Red FM - Cork Youth-driven service
Clare FM - County Clare
Tipp FM - County Tipperary
Radio Kerry - County Kerry
WLR FM - Waterford City and County
96FM and C103 (dual franchise) - General service for Cork
Limerick East community radio - Limerick East
Live 95FM - Limerick City and County, covering Thomond(Tuadh Mumhan North Munster)
West Limerick 102 - Limerick city and County
Spin SW - province-wide- Based in Limerick city
Beat 102-103 - Youth-driven service. Counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, South Tipperary and East Limerick covering the Ormond(Urh Mumhan East Munster)
RTÉ Ráidió na Gaeltachta "Camchuairt" - Tralee, County Kerry covering Desmond (Deas Mumhan South Munster)
RTÉ lyric FM - 96-99FM - Cornmarket Row, Limerick City. Broadcast Country wide

Sport

The most popular sports in Munster are Gaelic games, soccer and rugby.

Hurling

Munster is famous for its tradition of hurling. The town of Thurles in County Tipperary is the birthplace of modern GAA. Three of the four most successful teams in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship are from Munster; Cork GAA, Tipperary GAA and Limerick GAA. Clare GAA and Waterford GAA are also among the most prominent teams in the sport. The final of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship is one of the most important days in the Irish GAA calendar.

Gaelic football

Traditionally, the dominant teams in Munster football are Kerry GAA and Cork GAA, although Tipperary GAA and Limerick GAA have also won All-Ireland Senior Football Championships. Kerry in particular are famous as the most successful team in the history of football.

Rugby Union

Rugby is a popular game in the cities of Limerick and Cork. Munster is an Irish Rugby Football Union representative side which competes in the Magners' League, winning in 2003 and 2009, and in the Heineken Cup, winning in 2006 and 2008. The Munster side is the only Irish side to have defeated the New Zealand All Blacks.

Soccer

Soccer is also a popular game in Munster. Five Munster clubs play in the FAI League of Ireland; Cork City, Waterford United, Cobh Ramblers Limerick 37 and Allow Rangers of Freemount.