Connacht or Connaught (Irish: Connacht or Cúige Chonnacht) is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a “king of over-kings” (in Irish: rí ruirech). In Gaelic historical annals from old Irish it was described as a western kingdom of learning, the seat of the greatest and wisest druids and magicians and where the men are famed for their eloquence, their handsomeness and their ability to pronounce true judgement.
Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties. The Province Connacht has no official function for local government purposes however it is a officially recognised subdivision of Ireland. It is listed on ISO-3166-2 as one of the four provinces of Ireland and “IE-C” is attributed to Connacht as its country sub-division code. Along with counties from other provinces, Connacht lies in the North-West constituency for elections to the European Parliament.
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