Take a look at some interesting facts about County Tipperary from its common surnames to famous folks from the Premier County.
Irish name: Tiobraid Arann / “The Well of Ara”
Nickname: The Premier County
Population: 167,661 (as of 2022)
Area: 1,647 Square Miles
Province: Munster
County town: Nenagh/Clonmel
GAA colors: Blue and Gold
Banks of the River Suir, Clonmel, County Tipperary. (Ireland's Content Pool)
Common Surnames in County Tipperary
Burke, Butler, Cahir, Caplice, Carey, Carey, Casey, Donovan, Dwyer, Dwyer, Everard, Fennessy, Fitzgerald, MacCarthy, McGrath, Prendergast, Purcell, Ryan, Quirke, Shea, Sheady, Tobin, Tracey, Walsh.
Famous people with roots in County Tipperary
Former Australian Prime Minister Ben Chiffley; Olympians Johnny Hayes, Matt McGrath, Bob Tisdall; James Dewey Watson, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology with two others in 1962 for their discovery of DNA structure, The Clancy Brothers and American President Ronald Reagan.
A brief history of County Tipperary
County Tipperary is situated in the south of Ireland and extends from the border of Galway nearly to the south coast. Tipperary is the largest inland county in the country and is a very picturesque region, with the stunning Galtee Mountains, the River Suir, and a rich, lush, green landscape, famous for its horse studs.
Tipperary is better known as the Premier County, dating from the 1840s when Thomas Davis in the Nation newspaper lauded Tipperary for its nationalistic feeling and claimed ‘Where Tipperary leads, Ireland follows.’
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Key attractions in County Tipperary
The Rock of Cashel is one of the most famous of Tipperary's landmarks with a group of medieval buildings sitting on top of a rocky outcrop dominating the skyline of the town of Cashel. Cashel is where Ireland's most famous King, Brian Boru the last High King of Ireland, was crowned.
The Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary. (Getty Images)
Lough Derg is the largest of the lakes along the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, and is almost an inland sea. It is well known for game and coarse angling, boating, sailing, windsurfing, and skiing. The lake itself has many islands, the most famous of which is Inis Cealtra - Holy Island, which is the site of a 7th-century monastic settlement. Lough Derg is a well-known pilgrimage destination for Irish Catholics. Lough Derg is also popular for day cruises.
Kayaking on Lough Derg in County Tipperary. (Ireland's Content Pool)
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