County Carlow
Contae Cheatharlach | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Nicknames: The Dolmen County (Others) | |
| Anthem: "Follow Me up to Carlow" | |
 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| Region | Southern |
| Established | 1210[1] |
| County town | Carlow |
| Government | |
| • Local authority | Carlow County Council |
| • Dáil constituency | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| • EP constituency | South |
| Area | |
| • Total | 897 km2 (346 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 31st |
| Highest elevation | 794 m (2,605 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 61,931 |
| • Rank | 30th |
| • Density | 69/km2 (180/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Carlovian[3] |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode routing keys | R21, R93 (primarily) |
| Telephone area codes | 059 (primarily) |
| ISO 3166 code | IE-CW |
| Vehicle index mark code | CW |
| Website | Official website  |
 | |
County Carlow (/ˈkɑːrloʊ/ KAR-loh; Irish: Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the Southern Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster.[4] Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties.[2] Carlow County Council is the governing local authority.
The county is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow and is both the county town and largest settlement, with over 40% of the county's population. Much of the remainder of the population also reside within the Barrow valley, in towns such as Leighlinbridge, Bagenalstown, Tinnahinch, Borris and St Mullins. Carlow shares a border with Kildare and Laois to the north, Kilkenny to the west, Wicklow to the east and Wexford to the southeast.
Carlow is known as "The Dolmen County", a nickname based on the Brownshill Dolmen, a 6,000-year-old megalithic portal tomb which is reputed to have the heaviest capstone in Europe, weighing over 100 metric tonnes. The town of Carlow was founded by the Normans in 1207 and the county was shired shortly thereafter, making it one of the oldest counties in Ireland. During the 14th century, the county was the seat of power of the Kingdom of Leinster, as well as the capital of the Lordship of Ireland from 1361 to 1374.
- ^ Ryan, John (22 June 2019). "The history and antiquities of the county of Carlow". Dublin, R. M. Times [etc.] – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b "Census of Population 2022 – Preliminary Results". Central Statistics Office (Ireland). 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Carlow". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.