Browse Leitrim  :  Leitrim M

County Leitrim
(Irish: Contae Liatroma) is one of the counties of the island of Ireland and of the Republic of Ireland and is part of the province of Connacht, in the west of the island. Its name derives from the Irish Liath Druim a "grey ridge." Leitrim has a short length of Atlantic coastline but is mostly inland country. Neighbouring Leitrim are the Ulster counties of Donegal to the north, Fermanagh to the northeast, and Cavan to the east, the Leinster county of Longford to the south and, to the west, the Connacht counties of Roscommon and Sligo. Fermanagh is in Northern Ireland. All the other neighbouring counties are within the republic. The Shannon and Lough Allen divide Leitrim into North Leitrim and South Leitrim. In ancient times Leitrim formed the western half of the kingdom of Breifne. This region was long influenced by the O'Rourke family of Dromahair, whose heraldic lion occupies the official county crest to this day. Close ties initially existed with East Breifne, now County Cavan, and the O'Reilly clan seated there. The Anglo-Normans invaded in the thirteenth century and occupied the south of Breifne until the exile of Irish landholders in 1620.

Based on an article on Leitrim from Ireland Information Guide