History of County Leitrim.

Leitrim takes its name from a villiage Liath Druim (the grey ridge) close to the river Shannon, the village was of some importance in early times as it guarded a fordable section of the river, and was the main stronghold of the O'Rourks. Leitrim is one of the most commonly used place names, with about fourty to be found across the country.

Ancient County Leitrim was part of the Kingdom of Breffni and was ruled by the O'Rourke clan up to the thirteenth century when it was invaded by the Normans who only managed to capture the south of the kingdon, the north remained in the hands of the O'Rourke's until the latter part of the sixteenth century when it fell to the English in the Tudor invasion. In 1583 the county as we know it today came into being when the Lord Deputy Sir John Perrott marked out its boundries.

Around 1620 large tracts of the county were confiscated by the crown and given to English planters, or undertakers (Who undertook to settle the land with English settlers) these included Villers and Hamilton, the latter founded the town of Manorhamilton which became a successful market town, the plantation of Leitrim however was generally unsuccessful.

The Great famine of 1845-47 devistated the county, the 1841 census recorded a population of 155,00 which dropped to 112,00 in 1851, a trend which continues almost to this day, due to poor agricultural productivity and the younger people seeking employment in the cities.

Read about Co Leitrim in earlier times from Samuel Lewis' Topographical Directory of Ireland