County Tipperary is the sixth largest of the 32 counties in area and 11th largest by population. It is the third largest of Munster’s 6 counties in size and the third largest in population.

For all local government purposes the county is divided into North Tipperary (county town: Nenagh) and South Tipperary (county town: Clonmel).

Tipperary was one of the first parts of Ireland to be shired during the 13th century.

 The division of Tipperary into two  “ridings” dates back to the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the county having had separate assize courts for much longer. The use of riding for the divisions was a historical misnomer, since the word derives from the dividing of an area into three parts. The expression “riding” has been discontinued for official purposes since 2002 (Local Government Act, 2001 section 10 and schedule 5).