Province, in Roman times, was a conquered district ruled by an official from Rome. Later, independent countries that united to form a state frequently called themselves provinces. An example is the United Provinces of Holland. Still later, independent countries were divided into regions called provinces.

In early times Ireland consisted of five provinces, each of which generally had its own king, the modern Irish word for province is cúige, literally 'a fifth' The four provincial kings of Ulaidh (Ulster), of Connacht, of Muman (Munster) and of Laigan (Leinster) gave their qualified allegience to the Ard Rí or High King who ruled from Tara, in the royal fifth province of Midhe (Meath) which means the middle province. The boundaries of these tended to change from time to time, as a result of tribal infighting and conflicts. (See Irish History) Eventually, the five provinces evolved into four called Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. Ireland's provinces no longer have any political or administrative meaning, but they are still important for some cultural reasons. For example, Gaelic sports are organized on the basis of the Irish provinces.

Subdivision of the Provinces.

It was the Anglo Normans who first introduced the idea of counties to Ireland in the 12th century, the concept was probably quite widespread in England at the time. In Leinster and Munster they defined 12 counties.

Elizabeth I of England sent surveyors to Ireland around 1585 one of these was Bernard Ward (see Castle Ward Co Down). Counties were set up to facilitate administration and I suppose ultimately tax collection. The last county to be surveyed and designated as a county was Wicklow in 1606. The republic still use the county system for administration, although Northern Ireland has been divided into administrative districts.