Mid-East Region, Ireland

The Mid-East region of Ireland with each constituent county council highlighted.

The Mid-East Region is a NUTS Level III region of Ireland and is governed by the Mid-East Regional Authority. It consists of the area under the jurisdiction of the county councils of counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow which border the Dublin Region. The Mid-East region spans 6,063 km², 8.7% of the total area of the state (roughly 7% of the Island) and according to the 2006 census has a population of 475,360. Its NUTS code is IE022.

The Mid-East has experienced continuous population growth since 1961. This growth is primarily influenced by the regions close proximity to the Dublin Region. The region has large urban areas and contains almost 20 towns with a population of over 5000. But the region mostly has a rural landscape and the total area of viable agricultural land in the Mid-East is 69%. The manufacturing industry employs a significant amount of people in the region and it is the location of high tech industries in areas such as Leixlip and Bray.

The region contains notable tourist attractions such as Trim Castle, Kildare Cathedral, Brú na Bóinne and Glendalough. Prominent geographical features include the River Liffey, the Wicklow Mountains and the Curragh of Kildare which is a major centre of stud farming.

Major settlements

A list of the ten largest settlements in the mid-east. County capitals are included and are shown in bold.

Towns

Rank	Town	County	Population (2006 census)
1	Bray	Wicklow	31,901
2	Navan	Meath	24,851
3	Naas	Kildare	20,044
4	Newbridge	Kildare	18,520
5	Celbridge	Kildare	17,262
6	Leixlip	Kildare	14,676
7	Greystones	Wicklow	14,569
8	Arklow	Wicklow	11,759
9	Maynooth	Kildare	10,715
10	Wicklow	Wicklow	10,070

See also

• List of regions of the Republic of Ireland

References

• Irish Region Office - Regions of Ireland: MidEast Region