Laois · Leinster
Hunter-gatherers passed through Laois about 8,500 years ago; Neolithic farmers left burial mounds at Clonaslee and Cuffsborough, and the Bronze Age a stone circle at Monamonry. Cashel Man suggests ritual killing around 2000 BC. The county is named after Loígis, whose rulers took the name Ó Mórdha — O'More — in the 11th century; the eastern part was divided among the Seven Septs of Laois, the western third belonged to Ossory.
| Province | Leinster |
|---|---|
| County town | Portlaoise |
| Population | 91,657 (2022) |
| Area (km²) | 1,720 |
| Population change in the Famine, 1841–51 | -28% |
| Daily Irish speakers | 678 (2022) |
| Highest point (m) | 527 — Arderin |
| All-Ireland hurling titles | 1 |
| Townlands | 1,111 |
| Baronies | 11 |
| Civil parishes | 53 |
| Recorded monuments | 2,216 |
| Ringforts | 205 |
| Holy wells | 49 |
| Historic buildings recorded | 692 |
| Castles on the site | 5 |
| Workhouses | 3 |
| Railway stations (with an article) | 5 |
| Towns on the site | 5 |
| Surnames on the site | 26 |
Every figure is from a page on myireland.ie that names its source — see https://myireland.ie/counties/laois/. Printed from myireland.ie, the atlas of Irish history.