South Tipperary

South Tipperary Tiobraid Árann Theas
County
Motto: Vallis Aurea Siurensis  (Latin) "The Golden Vale of the Suir"
Location of South Tipperary
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County town	Clonmel
Government
• Type	County Council
Area
• Total	2,257 km2 (871 sq mi)
Population (2011)	88,433
Car plates	T (since 2014) TS (1987–2013)
Website	www.southtipperary.ie

South Tipperary (Irish: Tiobraid Árann Theas) was a county in Ireland. It was part of the South-East Region and was also located in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary and consisted of 52% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. South Tipperary County Council was the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 88,433 according to the 2011 census. It was abolished on 3 June 2014.

Geography and political subdivisions

The Galtee Mountains seen from the Glen of Aherlow.

The region is part of the central plain of Ireland, but the diversified terrain contains several mountain ranges: the Knockmealdown, the Galtee. No part of the county touches the coast. The county is drained by the River Suir. The centre is known as 'the Golden Vale', a rich pastoral stretch of land in the Suir basin which extends into counties Limerick and Cork.

The county was established in 1898 and has had a county council ever since, with separate assize courts since 1838. The county town is Clonmel; other important urban centres include Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Cahir, and Tipperary. The county's motto is Vallis Aurea Siurensis (Latin: The Golden Vale of the Suir).

Vital statistics for 2004 released by the Central Statistics Office show that South Tipperary has the lowest rate of neo-natal mortality in the country, at 0.9 occurrences per 1000 people. This compares with 2.9 for North Tipperary, and 3.4 for Dublin City.

Baronies

There are six historic baronies in South Tipperary: Clanwilliam, Iffa and Offa East, Iffa and Offa West, Kilnamanagh Lower, Middle Third and Slievardagh.

Civil parishes and townlands

Main article: List of civil parishes of Ireland § Tipperary

Civil parishes in Ireland were delineated after the Down Survey as an intermediate subdivision, with multiple townlands per parish and multiple parishes per barony. The civil parishes had some use in local taxation and were included on the nineteenth century maps of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland. For poor law purposes, District Electoral Divisions replaced civil parishes in the mid-nineteenth century. There are 123 civil parishes in the county.

Local government and politics

The administrative county of Tipperary (South Riding) was established in 1898. The area also had a separate existence as a judicial county following the establishment of assize courts in 1838. The county's name changed to South Tipperary, and the council's name to South Tipperary County Council under the Local Government Act 2001. The Council oversees the county as an independent local government area. Per Schedule 8 of the Local Government Act 2001, the Council resolved to give to the office of its chairperson and vice-chairperson the title of "Mayor" or "Deputy Mayor", respectively. The Council is made up of 21 representatives, directly elected through the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The present Council was elected at the local elections held in June 2004.

Ardfinnan Castle, Ardfinnan.

The functions of the Council are divided into reserved and executive functions. Reserved functions are carried out by the members and relate primarily to policy issues, including the county development plan and the annual budget. Executive functions are the responsibility of the county manager. These include the day-to-day administration of services.

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1991, (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993, the territory of South Tipperary is defined as being in the South-East Region. This region is a NUTS III region of the European Union. The county of North Tipperary, by contrast, is part of the Mid-West Region Region. At a NUTS II level, both counties are in the Southern and Eastern region.

For the purposes of elections to Dáil Éireann, the bulk of the county is part of the constituency of Tipperary South. The constituency returns 3 deputies (TDs) to the Dáil. Some northern portions of the county lie in the constituency of Tipperary North. Some southern portions of the county lie in the constituency of Waterford. For elections to the European Parliament, the county is part of the South constituency which returns 3 MEPs.

Irish language

There were native speakers of Irish in South Tipperary until the middle of the 20th century. Recordings of their dialect, made before the last native speakers died, have been made available through a project of the Royal Irish Academy Library.