The following table and map show the areas in Ireland, previously designated as Cities, Boroughs, or Towns in the Local Government Act 2001.
Under the Local Government Reform Act 2014, only Dublin, Cork and Galway retain separate city councils. Limerick and Waterford were merged into the corresponding county councils and all borough and town councils were abolished. Municipal districts were created from local electoral areas with councillors being those elected to the county councils. In the case of Limerick and Waterford, these are called Metropolitan Districts; in the case of Drogheda, Wexford, Sligo and Clonmel, these are called Borough Districts; and in the case of Kilkenny, it is called the Municipal District of Kilkenny City.[1]
Explanation of table
Column name
Meaning
Explanation
Sources
Name(s)
Names of the town
The first name listed is the commonest English name, and links to the relevant article. Alternative names are listed in parentheses. If the official name used in census reports is not the linked name, it is in italics. Only the name of the municipality is given, not that of any suburban areas (e.g. Tallaght is not named separately from Dublin).
The Local Government Act 2001 defines three types of municipal council, namely "City", "Borough", and "Town". The "Town council" label replaced the earlier "Urban district council" and "Town commissioners", but did not abolish the distinction in their respective powers. Values listed in this column `are as follows:
For the few ancient boroughs whose charters were not extinguished by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 or promoted to the status later. Their powers were practically identical to those of the former urban districts and later town councils, but the label "borough" was more prestigious. Abolished in 2014.
Area which was governed by town commissioners under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, less powerful than an urban district council, and a town council under the Local Government Act 2001. Abolished in 2014.
County is that in which the municipal area is entirely located. In the case of cities, the namesake county is considered the core county even though the city is administratively separate from it.
The Local Government Act 1994 extended the boundaries of some towns for electoral purposes only.[11] That is, people living outside the municipal area were entitled to vote for the town council even though their residence was outside its jurisdiction. In a few cases, the municipal boundary of the town was subsequently extended to remove this anomaly.[9][12] The remaining cases are marked by an asterisk in this column. Where the municipal area changed between the 2006 census and the 2009 election, this is noted. (No municipal area changed between the 2009 election and the 2011 census.[9])
Called "Suburbs" for cities and "Environs" for boroughs and towns. Defined as "the continuation of a distinct population cluster outside its legally defined boundary in which no occupied dwelling is more than 200 metres distant from the nearest occupied dwelling. In applying the 200-metre criterion, industrial, commercial and recreational buildings and facilities are not regarded as breaking the continuity of a built-up area. New suburbs or environs are defined only where there are at least twenty occupied dwellings outside the legal boundary within the new limit."[14]
^ abcKilkenny was goverened by Borough Council until 2014, but retained the right to the description "City" for ceremonial purposes.[3] Since 2014, it has been governed by the Municipal District of Kilkenny City within Kilkenny County Council.
^ abcdCity boundary extended after the 2006 census and before the 2009 election.[15]
^ abcdBorough boundary extended after the 2006 census and before the 2009 election.[16]
^ abcdTown boundary extended after the 2006 census and before the 2009 election.[17]
^Droichead Nua (Newbridge) Urban electoral division
^ abcdefghCensus 2011 Population Classified by Area Table 5 "Population of towns ordered by county and size, 2006 and 2011"
^Census 2011 Population Classified by Area Appendix 4 "Population of Towns or Environs/Suburbs which are located in more than one County"
^Census 2011 Population Classified by Area Table 7 "Population of each town with 1,500 population and over, distinguishing those within legally defined boundaries and in the surrounding suburbs or environs, 2006 and 2011" (Interactive table)
^ abcdCensus 2011 Population Classified by Area Appendix 3 "Extensions to Legal Towns and Boroughs since 1926"
^ abCensus 2011 Population Classified by Area Table 6 "Population of each province, county, city, urban area, rural area and electoral division, 2006 and 2011"
For City, Borough, and former UD towns, there is an explicit summary row in Table 6 for the town.
For former commissioner towns, the area is that of one or more electoral divisions in a rural area of the relevant county. These divisions are noted.
^ abLocal Government Act 1994 (Irish Statute Book)
^"The Local Government Commission and Boundaries". Stronger Local Democracy- Options for Change. Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government. April 2008. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012. Those towns which had their boundaries extended, for electoral purposes only, in 1994, represent an anomaly, as residents of the environs of a town may help elect the town council but do not fall within the functional area of the council. A number of these towns' boundaries have been altered since 1994, however in the majority of cases the anomaly continues to exist. The correction of this anomaly would appear to be in order.
^Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2010). Local Elections 2009: Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics. Dublin: Stationery Office. ISBN978-1-4064-2510-9.