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Glencar Lough, County Leitrim
Photograph: Nogwater · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Province of Connacht

County Leitrim

Liatroim

Known as The Wild Rose County. For the dog roses in the hedges, in the county with the smallest population and the least worked land in Ireland.

Did you know? Leitrim held 155,000 people before the Famine. By the 1990s it held barely 25,000 — the steepest long fall of any Irish county.
Carlow Cavan Cork Donegal Dublin Clare Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry Tyrone

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Clans & surnames of Leitrim
Clancy Mac Fhlannchaidh Gaelic learned family · “son of Flannchadh, 'the red warrior'” Curran Ó Corráin Gaelic septs (several) · “descendant of Corrán” Forde Mac Conshnámha / Mac Giolla na Naomh / Ó Fuaráin Gaelic septs (several) & English settlers · “three Irish names all mistranslated as 'ford': 'son of the swimming-hound' (Leitrim), 'son of the devotee of the saints' (Galway), 'descendant of Fuarthán, the cold one' (Cork)” McGovern Mág Shamhradháin Gaelic sept · “son of Samhradhán, 'summer's child'” Meehan Ó Miadhacháin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Miadhachán, 'the honourable'” Moran Ó Móráin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Mórán, 'the great one'” O'Rourke Ó Ruairc Gaelic dynasty · “descendant of Ruarc (a Norse name)” Reynolds Mac Raghnaill Norse-Gaelic · “son of Raghnall — the Irish form of the Norse name Rögnvaldr” Smith Mac Gabhann Gaelic sept · “son of the smith”

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On the ground in Leitrim

Every pin is placed by its documented coordinates. All the monuments of Ireland →

Quick answers
What is the Irish name for County Leitrim?

Liatroim. Leitrim is one of the 5 counties of Connacht (Cúige Chonnacht).

Who ruled County Leitrim in the Middle Ages?

Around 1014 it was held by Bréifne (O'Rourke); by 1450, West Bréifne (O'Rourke). The full era-by-era chronology is on this page.

What surnames come from County Leitrim?

Names historically associated with Leitrim include Clancy, Curran, Forde, McGovern, Meehan, Moran, O'Rourke, Reynolds, among others.

Trace your ancestors in Leitrim

Free, from the holding institutions. How to begin: the six-step guide → · Spotted an error on this page? Suggest a correction.