With twelve counties (including Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow), Leinster is Ireland's most populous province and home to the capital, Dublin. Historically, the area around Dublin was known as "The Pale" — the region where the English crown exercised direct control during the medieval period, while the rest of Ireland remained largely self-governing.
The Boyne Valley in Meath contains some of Europe's most significant Neolithic monuments, including Newgrange, a passage tomb older than the pyramids of Giza that floods with sunlight at the winter solstice. The Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin are home to Glendalough, an early Christian monastic settlement between two lakes and one of Ireland's most photographed destinations.
Kilkenny is considered one of Ireland's best-preserved medieval towns, while Wexford in the southeast is known for its sunny beaches and its role in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Dublin itself blends Georgian architecture, literary heritage from James Joyce to Oscar Wilde, and vibrant city life around Temple Bar and Trinity College.
Leinster is thus the province where Ireland's political, cultural and economic centre meets some of the oldest traces of human settlement on the island.