The Border Region is a NUTS Level III region of Ireland and is governed by the Border Regional Authority. It consists of the area under the jurisdiction of the county councils of counties Donegal, Cavan, Louth, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo. The Border region spans 12,156 km2, 17.3% of the total area of the state and has a population in excess of 432,500.[1][2] Its NUTS code is IE011.
According to the Irish Regions Office, the Border region has five regional capitals, the towns of Cavan, Dundalk, Letterkenny, Monaghan, and Sligo.[1]
Contents |
The region stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Irish Sea in the east. Two of Ireland's longest rivers, the Shannon and the Erne have their source here and have been connected to form one of the world's longest waterways - the Shannon–Erne Waterway. The region has a large rural landscape with many distinctive geographical features.[1] There are many large mountain ranges and high sea cliffs in Donegal, such as Derryveagh Mountains and Slieve League. The region contains two of Ireland's three fjords:Lough Swilly in County Donegal and Carlingford Lough in County Louth.
The Border region is administered by the Border Regional Authority, which consists of 38 elected representatives including the region's representative on the EU Committee of the Regions. These representatives meet once a month and are nominated from the six local government councils of the region:[1]
Like each Regional Authority, the Border Regional Authority is assisted in its duties by an Operational Committee and EU Operational Committee.[1]
A list of the ten largest settlements in the Border region. County capitals are included and are shown in bold.
| Rank | Town | County | Population (2006 census) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drogheda | Louth | 35,090 |
| 2 | Dundalk | Louth | 35,085 |
| 3 | Sligo | Sligo | 19,402 |
| 4 | Letterkenny | Donegal | 17,586 |
| 5 | Cavan | Cavan | 7,883 |
| 6 | Monaghan | Monaghan | 6,710 |
| 7 | Buncrana | Donegal | 5,911 |
| 8 | Ardee | Louth | 4,694 |
| 9 | Carrickmacross | Monaghan | 4,387 |
| 10 | Ballybofey | Donegal | 4,176 |
|
|||||