Leinster is one of the four provinces of Ireland. It occupies much of the eastern and central part of the Republic of Ireland. Leinster consists of 12 counties: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow. The province also contains the city of Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. It is the most economically developed of the provinces.

The People.

The population of Leinster has increased much more than other parts of the country since independence in the 1920's. Growth has been greatest in and around the city of Dublin.

County Dublin elects 48 members to Dail Eireann (the lower house of the Republic of Ireland's parliament). The other counties make up eight constituencies, and are represented by 37 members of parliament

Most land of Leinster is agricultural. Chief arable crops are barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beet, turnips, and wheat. Market gardens in Dublin supply the city with vegetables and fruit. Farmers raise beef and dairy cattle, horses, and sheep are also important. Over a fifth of the population work in the manufacturing industry. Dublin is by far the largest industrial center, followed by Dundalk, and Drogheda. More than half of the people work in service industries. Peat from the Midland bogs is of great importance. Stone, sand, and gravel quarries supply the construction industry in Dublin. One of the world's largest lead and zinc mines is at Navan in County Meath.

Much of Leinster is in the central lowland of Ireland. The main upland area is in the southeast, where the Leinster Chain extends from Dublin through the Wicklow Mountains to the Blackstairs Mountains.

The Climate.

Leinster is the driest and sunniest of Ireland's provinces. The yearly rainfall rises from 75 centimeters on the lowlands to more than 150 centimeters on the Wicklow Mountains. The average temperature is 5 °C in January and 16 °C in July.

The tombs of Newgrange and other burial sites in the Boyne valley, dating from about 3000 B.C., provide evidence of early human settlement. After the Celtic invasions of Ireland, which took place in the 300's B.C., Leinster became divided into two kingdoms, South Leinster and North Leinster (or Meath). . Important Celtic monastic sites in Leinster include Glendalough in Wicklow and Clonmacnoise in Offaly. From the A.D. 800's, the Vikings invaded the area and developed Dublin as a major trading center.

The Anglo-Normans arrived in 1169 they gained more control in Leinster than in other of the provinces. In the 1500's, British settlers colonized part of the Midlands. King William III defeated King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.