South Tipperary

The Galtee Mountains seen from the Glen of Aherlow.

The county was part of the central plain of Ireland, but the diversified terrain contained several mountain ranges, notably the Knockmealdowns and the Galtees. The county was landlocked and drained by the River Suir. The centre of the county included much of 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 with separate assize courts since 1838. The county town was Clonmel; other important urban centres included Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Cahir and Tipperary. The county's motto was Vallis Aurea Siurensis (Latin: The Golden Vale of the Suir).

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 oversaw the county as an independent local government area. The Council was made up of 21 representatives, directly elected through the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

Ardfinnan Castle, Ardfinnan.

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1991, (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993,[5] the territory of South Tipperary was defined as being in the South-East Region. This region was a NUTS III region of the European Union. The county of North Tipperary, by contrast, was part of the Mid-West Region. At a NUTS II level, both counties were in the Southern and Eastern region.

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.[6]