Leinster Laighin / Cúige Laighean
Flag
State	Ireland
Counties	Carlow Dublin Kildare Kilkenny Laois Longford Louth Meath Offaly Westmeath Wexford Wicklow
Government
• Teachta Dála	36 Fine Gael TDs 27 Labour Party TDs 8 Fianna Fáil TDs 7 Sinn Féin TDs 6 Independent TDs 4 ULA TDs
Area
• Total	19,800 km2 (7,644 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	2,501,208 (1st)

Leinster (/ˈlɛnstər/ — Irish: Laighin / Cúige Laighean — pronounced [ˈl̪ˠaːjɪnʲ]) is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled both, thereby forming the present-day province of Leinster. The ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties. In modern times, clusters of counties have been attributed to certain provinces but these clusters have no legal status. The province itself, while enjoying common usage and forming a strong part of local identity, has no official function for local government purposes. The population of Leinster is 2,501,208 according to the 2006 census, making it the most populous province in the country.^[1] The traditional flag of Leinster features a golden harp on a green background.

History[link]

Early history[link]

Leinster, province of Ireland (Hogg, 1784)

The Gaelic Kingdom of Leinster before 1171 was considerably smaller than today's province. The first part of the name Leinster derives from Laigin, the name of a major tribe that once inhabited the area. The latter part of the name derives either from the Irish tír or the Old Norse staðr, both of which translate as "land" or "territory".

The tribes of Leinster were united by Úgaine Mor (Hugony, the Great), who supposedly built the hill-fort of Dún Ailinne, near Kilcullen, County Kildare. He is a likely, but uncertain candidate as the first historical king of Laigin (Leinster) in the 7th century BC. The kingdom of Laigin was re-founded circa 175/185 AD following a period of civil wars in Ireland by the legendary Cathair Mor. Finn Mac Cool, or Fionn mac Cumhaill, was reputed to have built a stronghold at the Hill of Allen, on the edge of the Bog of Allen, in what was then Leinster.

In the 4th and 5th centuries, after Magnus Maximus left Britain with his legions, leaving a power vacuum, colonists from Laigin settled in North Wales, specifically in Anglesey, Carnarvonshire and Denbighshire. In Wales some of the Leinster-Irish colonists left their name on the Llŷn Peninsula, which derives its name from Laigin.

By the 8th century, the rulers of Laigin had split into two dynasties:

• Northern Leinster dynasty: Murchad mac Brain (d. 727), King of Uí Dúnlainge, and joint leader of the Laigin
• Southern Leinster dynasty: Áed mac Colggen (d. 738), King of Uí Cheinnselaig, and joint leader of the Laigin

After the death of the last Kildare-based King of Laigin, Murchad Mac Dunlainge in 1042, the kingship of Leinster reverted to the Uí Cheinnselaig sept based in the south east, now County Wexford. This southern dynasty gave all the later Kings of Leinster.

Kingdom of Ireland period[link]

The ancient Kingdom of Mide today encompasses much of counties Meath and Westmeath. The parishes of Annally and Lusmagh in County Offaly were formerly part of Connacht. County Louth was formerly part of Ulster. The last major boundary changes occurred with the formation of County Wicklow (1603–1606), from lands in the north of Carlow (which previously extended to the sea) and most of southern Dublin. The provincial borders were redrawn by Cromwell for administration and military reasons. Later minor changes dealt with "islands" of one county in another. By the late 1700's, Leinster looked as shown in the above map of 1784.

Leinster represents the extended "English Pale", counties controlled directly from Dublin, at the beginning of the 1600's. The other Provinces had their own regional Presidency systems, based on a Welsh model of administration, in theory if not in fact from the 1570s and 1580s up to the 1670s, and were considered separate entities. Gradually "Leinster" subsumed the term of "The Pale", as the difference between the old Pale area and the wider province, now under English administration, grew less distinct.

Counties and Counties Corporate[link]

Following the abolition of County Dublin, three successor counties were created that cover the same area. They are Dún Laoghaire Rathdown^[2], Fingal and South Dublin. To these may be added the historic County Corporate of the city of Dublin, which, under the terms of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 was abolished to be succeeded by the County borough of Dublin. This was is in turn abolished under the terms of the Local Government Act 2001 and the area is now under the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council. The remaining counties of the province are Kildare, Offaly, Laois, Wexford, Carlow, Wicklow, Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Longford and Kilkenny. While Kilkenny city was once a county corporate, by the terms of the 1898 Act it became part of the administrative county.^[3] although it retains the privilege of calling itself a city.

Irish language[link]

There are 39,594 Irish speakers; 1,299 native speakers in the Meath Gaeltacht and this doesn't count the 19,348 attending the 66 Gaelscoils (Irish language primary schools) and 15 Gaelcholáiste (Irish language secondary schools) all across the province. According to the Irish Census 2006 there are 18,947 daily speakers outside the education system in the province.

Leinster today[link]

The main urban areas in order of size (2006 census figures; urban areas with over 10,000 inhabitants) are:

According to the CSO regional income report, GDP for the province of Leinster in 2004 was estimated to be over 75 billion Euro.

See also[link]

• Kings of Leinster
• Duke of Leinster
• Leinster (European Parliament constituency)
• Leinster House
• Leinster GAA
• Leinster Rugby

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Foster, R. F. The Oxford History of Ireland. Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York, 1992. ISBN 0-19-285271-X (references to Irish colony in North Wales, Lleyn Peninsula, page 6)
• Kings, Saints and Sagas, Alfred. P. Smyth, in Wicklow:History and Society, 1994. ISBN 7980906602300
• Settlement patterns in the early historic kingdom of Leinster (seventh-mid twelfth centuries), Mark Clinton, in Seanchas:Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis John Byrne, ed. Alfred P. Smyth, pp. 275–298, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2000.
• Kings, the kingship of Leinster, and the regnal poems of "laidshenchas Laigen":a reflection of dynastic politics in Leinster, 650-1150, Edel Bhreathnach, Seanchas ...", pp. 299–312.

External links[link]

• 2006 Town population estimates
• CSO Irish Regional Income/GDP 2004 Report
• [http://www.gaelscoileanna.ie/assets/Staitistic%C3%AD-2010-2011_Gaeilge.pdf Gaelscoil stats

• Irish census 2006 -
• Gaeltacht Comprehensive Language Study 2007

v t e Counties of Ireland The counties are listed per province Connacht Galway Leitrim Mayo Roscommon Sligo Munster Clare Cork Kerry Limerick Tipperary (North Tipperary · South Tipperary) Waterford Leinster Carlow Dublin (Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown · Fingal · South Dublin) Kildare Kilkenny Laois Longford Louth Meath Offaly Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Ulster Antrim† Armagh† Cavan Donegal Down† Fermanagh† Londonderry† Monaghan Tyrone† Italics denote non-administrative counties. Brackets denote non-traditional counties. †denotes non-administrative counties of Northern Ireland

Coordinates: 53°20′52″N 6°15′35″W / 53.34778°N 6.25972°W / 53.34778; -6.25972

Isakeli Nacewa (born 22 July 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born rugby union footballer of Fijian descent. He is a utility back and represents Leinster Rugby in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup competitions. He previously represented the Blues in the Super Rugby competition and Auckland in the Air New Zealand Cup. He has also represented Fiji at international level.

Career[link]

One of the stand-out players for Auckland in their 2005 NPC-winning season, Nacewa is a speedy and versatile player who can play as an outside back or centre. He also proved that he can play as a first five-eighth when he covered successfully for the injured Luke McAlister during the 2006 Super 14 season.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Nacewa qualified to play for Fiji through his ancestral links. He was included in Fiji's squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and came on as a substitute against Scotland. In 2006, he quit the Fiji national team as he wanted his eligibility changed from Fiji to New Zealand. But due to IRB law, his appearance for Fiji in the World Cup made him ineligible for the All Blacks, Nacewa considered legal advice to persuade the IRB to annul his Fiji cap,^[1] however the IRB has since ruled that Nacewa is a Fijian citizen and has played for Fiji during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, making him only eligible to play for Fiji.^[2] According to media reports in October 2009, Nacewa was sounded out about the possibility of again playing for Fiji on their tour to Europe, but he rebuffed these approaches to retain his focus on club rugby with Leinster.^[3]

In the 2007 Super 14 coach David Nucifora trialled him in their first match against the Crusaders at Fly-half in place of first-choice Luke McAlister who was out because of an injury. Nacewa played so well that Nucifora decided to play him at number 10 and when McAlister returned he was placed in his favorite position at inside centre in order to cater for Nacewa. The Blues defeated the defending champions and Nacewa scored 19 points. In the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup, Nacewa was voted the player of the tournament after guiding his Auckland team to another thrilling victory and thus winning the coveted Air New Zealand Cup in another thriller defeating finalist Wellington. He has won the Air New Zealand Cup 3 times with Auckland in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

In 2008 he moved to Ireland to represent Leinster Rugby, scoring two tries in his opening game for the province. However, he suffered a setback when he sustained a broken arm in the win over the Ospreys on September 19, a game in which he scored two drop goals.

He returned for the later stages of the Heineken Cup pool stages and played on the right wing in the quarter-final victory over Harlequins but moved to full-back for the semi-final against Munster with great success. The Irish Times said of his performance "Nacewa’s selection at fullback was vindicated for his stunning line and pass for D’Arcy’s opening try. But there was so much more than that as well: his security and strength at the back, his counter-attacking runs, his passing and kicking".^[4] He retained his place at full-back for the Heineken Cup final on 23/5/09, keeping Ireland first-choice and Lions tourist Rob Kearney on the bench, and contributed well to Leinster's 19–16 victory.

In the 2009/2010 season, Nacewa alternated between full-back and wing but was almost ever-present in the starting Leinster XV. Rumours circulated that Nacewa was contemplating a return to the Fijian national team when they toured Ireland and Britain in November 2009; however Nacewa himself rejected this.^[3]

In the 2010/2011 season, Nacewa established himself as one of the finest full-backs in Europe with eye-catching displays for Leinster in their Heineken Cup run, scoring two tries in the pool stages as well as a brilliant solo effort in the quarter-final against Leicester. Following that game, his Leinster colleague, Gordon D'Arcy said of Nacewa; “It gets kind of boring when he’s that good. He’s probably one of the best players I’ve played with in any shape, way or form." ^[5] Nacewa picked up his second Heineken Cup winners medal after playing a key role in Leinster's second-half comeback against Northampton at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

On an individual level, Nacewa was named both the Irish Rugby Union Players' Association (IRUPA) and the Leinster Rugby Player of the Year, as well as being chosen as full-back on the 'Magners League Dream Team' for 2011 and was shortlised for the ERC European Player of the Year, losing out to his Leinster colleague, Sean O'Brien.

He was included for the Barbarian F.C.'s match against Wales starting at fullback. He scored 2 tries, one of which came in the final minute of the game to give the Barbarians a win.^[6] Following that game, speculation arose that Nacewa would play for Fiji at the 2011 World Cup, however it was later confirmed by the Fiji rugby union that he would not make himself available, citing family commitments .^[7]

Doubts were raised about his future at Leinster after the IRFU announced a new policy restricting non-Irish players in December 2011 ^[8]. However, in April 2012, it was announced that Nacewa had signed an extension to his contract which will see him remain with Leinster until the end of the 2013/14 season.

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Leinster[link]

• Heineken Cup: 2008/09

• Heineken Cup: 2010/2011

• Heineken Cup: 2011/2012

Individual[link]

• IRUPA Player of the Year: 2011
• Leinster Rugby Player of the Year: 2011

Points for Leinster[link]

• Tries

2011-12: 4 tries 2010-11: 7 tries 2009-10: 5 tries 2008-09: 0 tries

• Conversions

2011-12: 13 cons 2010-11: 21 cons 2009-10: 4 cons 2008-09: 0 cons

• Drop Goals

2011-12: 0 DG 2010-11: 0 DG 2009-10: 1 DG 2008-09: 2 DG

• Penalties

2011-12: 27 pens 2010-11: 31 pens 2009-10: 3 pens 2008-09: 0 pens

References[link]

External links[link]

• Blues profile
• Leinster profile

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2010)

Tom Denton (born 13 February 1988)^[1] in York, Yorkshire, England is a rugby union player for Leeds Carnegie in the Aviva Championship, playing as a lock.^[1]

Denton has agreed to sign for RaboDirect Pro 12 side Leinster for the 2012 season onwards. He is Irish qualified.^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Leeds Carnegie Profile

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