County Donegal in the far northwest of Ireland is widely known as "The Forgotten County" due to its remote location, limited accessibility (no direct train line), and historical neglect by Dublin, despite its stunning landscapes, strong Gaelic culture, and wild Atlantic beauty, making it feel isolated from the rest of the country.
On the flipside, Longford was Ireland's least visited county, according to the National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland.
Donegal has been labelled the "forgotten county" by its own politicians, owing to the perception that it is ignored by the government, even in times of crisis.
With the foundation of Northern Ireland, the nine-county province of Ulster was divided. Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal joined, what would become, the Irish Free State. The six north-eastern counties – Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry – formed the new Northern Ireland.
Longford is the poorest in terms of disposable income per capita; it is 22% below the state average, falling a further 5.2% from 2022.
Galway welcomes more overseas visitors than Cork or Kerry, and Longford is Ireland's least-visited county, according to new data from Fáilte Ireland.
Dublin is believed to be the most unsafe county in the Republic of Ireland over the last five years. This might not be too hard to imagine with Store Street Garda Station in the city centre being the busiest station in the country, recording 43,731 crimes between September 2020 and September 2025.
The county with the fewest inhabitants is county Leitrim with just 25,032 inhabitants at the last estimate. The next lowest is county Longford with 30,128 inhabitants. The most sparsely populated county in Ireland is Leitrim, with a mere 15.8 inhabitants per square kilometre at the last estimate.
The name refers to the 32 counties of Ireland which were created during the Lordship and Kingdom of Ireland.
Ireland is now made up of two separate countries: 1) The Republic of Ireland Republic and 2)Northern Ireland. Most people whether in Northern Ireland or The Republic of Ireland refer to themselves as Irish, some people in Northern Ireland refer to themselves as British.
The 11 Most Beautiful Counties in Ireland
Gallagher is also the most common surname in County Donegal (Dún na nGall means "fort of the foreigner"), and thus is very common in Derry, and is the fourteenth-most-common by birth records in Ireland.
Although approximately 85% of its population is Catholic, County Donegal also has a sizeable Protestant minority.
Add in cozy pubs, great food, traditional crafts, and beautiful scenery, and it's easy to see why Galway is known in Ireland — and beyond — as the “most Irish city in Ireland.” Here are five reasons why Galway lives up to its name.
I suggest taking a close look at Sligo Leitrim and Donegal. All three of those counties are very quaint and not very touristy at all. Michael J. Waugh I'll add Roscommon to that list.
Unless at least one parent or an Irish-born grandparent was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, you have no automatic right to Irish citizenship on the basis of extended previous ancestry (that is, ancestors other than your parents or grandparents).
The K is Ireland's busiest policing district and includes Blanchardstown, Finglas and Cabra.
The anglicised name-form Offaly, however, does not come directly from Uí Fhailí, but rather from an oblique form of the name, namely from the old genitive, as in barúntacht, or contae, Ua bhFailghe (in modern spelling Ó bhFailí) – which means 'the barony, or county, of the Uí Fhailghe.
Kildare, officially Ireland's flattest county, has put its modest topography to good use.
Boston is the most Irish city in the world outside of Ireland, according to a new study. Meal-kit company HelloFresh Ireland researched which cities are the most Irish outside of the Emerald Isle, and Boston took the top spot.
Dublin accounts for more than two-thirds of all homelessness in Ireland, a new report from Focus Ireland says.
What not to do in Ireland
It may not seem like a big deal to wear a hat wherever you go when you're in most countries. However, in Ireland it is considered rude to not take off your hat when you're entering a home, church or pub, so do remember this! (Alternatively, it might help to not wear a hat at all.)
Housing was seen as the most important issue facing the Republic of Ireland as of 2025, with 64 percent of respondents placing it as one of the top two issues facing the country.