Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Westmeath wĕstmēthˈ, wĕstˈmēᵺ [key], county (1991 pop. 61,880), 681 sq mi (1,764 sq km), central Republic of Ireland. The county seat is Mullingar. A part of the central plain of Ireland, the ...

(Encyclopedia) Connacht or Connaught both: kŏnˈôt, kənôtˈ [key], province, 6,611 sq mi (17,122 km)...

(Encyclopedia) McGuinness, Martin (James Martin Pacelli McGuinness), 1950–2017, Northern Irish political leader, b. Derry. He joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as a young man and was active in both its regula...

(Encyclopedia) Corrib, Lough lŏkh kŏrˈĭb [key], lake, 68 sq mi (176 sq km), Counties Galway and Mayo, W Republic of Ireland. The irregularly shaped lake, which is 27 mi (43 km) long, drains into Galway Bay throu...

(Encyclopedia) Connemara kŏnəmärˈə [key], wild, mountainous region, Co. Galway, W Republic of Ireland, lying between the Atlantic Ocean and Loughs Corrib and Mask. Many mountains, lakes, streams, and glens help...

(Encyclopedia) Avoca or Ovoca əvōˈkə [key], river, c.15 mi (24 km) long, formed by the union of the Avonmore and Avonbeg rivers, in Co. Wicklow, E Republic of Ireland. It flows SE to the Irish Sea at Arklow. The...

(Encyclopedia) Aran Islands ărˈən [key], 18 sq mi (47 sq km), Co. Galway, W Republic of Ireland, in Galway Bay. The three islands are Inishmore (the largest), Inisheer, and Inishmaan. The islands are barren; farm...

(Encyclopedia) Tóibín, Colm, 1955–, Irish writer, b. Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, grad. University College, Dublin (1975). A prolific and varied author who prose is lucid and often brilliant, Tóibín has written n...

(Encyclopedia) Glendalough glĕnˈdəlōˌ [key], wooded valley, Co. Wicklow, E Republic of Ireland, W of Wicklow. It is noted for the ruins of several churches of the 11th and 12th cent. (part of the center of Iris...

(Encyclopedia) Kerry, county (1991 pop. 121,894), 1,815 sq mi (4,701 sq km), SW Republic of Ireland. The county town is Tralee. Kerry consists of a series of mountainous peninsulas that extend into the Atlantic. The...