Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543

Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543

Act of Parliament
Parliament of Ireland
Long title	An Act for the division of Meath into two shires.
Citation	34 Hen. 8. c. 1 (I)
Territorial extent	Kingdom of Ireland
Dates
Commencement	25 November 1542
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted

An Act for the division of Meath into two shires(referred to in the modernIrish Statute Bookas theCounties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543) (34 Hen. 8. c. 1 (I)) was anactof theParliament of Irelandpassed in 1542 which resulted in the division of County Meath, shired in 1297, into the counties ofMeathandWestmeath.The Act commenced onSaint Catherine's Dayin 1542 and remains in effect.

Background

Historically, theKingdom of Meathhad been one of the fiveprovinces of Ireland,and at its peak comprised all of modern counties Meath and Westmeath, as well as most ofLongfordand parts ofCavan,Dublin,Kildare,LouthandOffaly.The seat of theHigh King of Irelandwas located within the Kingdom of Meath at theHill of Tara,while theKings of Meathhad no fixed seat until the reign of KingMáel Sechnaill mac Domnaillin 976 AD, when the fort of Dun-na-Scia nearLough Ennellbecame the permanent royal residence.

The kingdom collapsed following theNorman Invasion of Irelandin 1169 and was granted byHenry IIto theAnglo-NormanlordHugh de Lacyin 1172, becoming the most extensivelibertyin Ireland. TheLordship of Meathcovered a large area of almost 6,000 km²(c. 1.5 million acres), which became increasingly unmanageable as English power in Ireland receded throughout the 13th century.

Following several informal divisions and squabbles among de Lacy's descendants over control of the lordship, it was finally divided in 1297 and the much smaller, though still sizable, County of Meath was shired.However, English authority continued to retreat eastward towardsThe Pale- an area centered aroundDublinwhere English laws and customs were still obeyed. This situation left part of County Meath within the Pale, while other areas which were once loyal to the Crown were now outside the control of the authorities in Dublin. These areas were often referred to by Anglo-Norman officials as "frontiers" or "marches".

An additional anomaly related to the county was the lack of abaronialstructure in much of its western areas. Baronies andCantredswere Norman-era subdivisions of Ireland employed for administrative, justice, taxation, andpeeragepurposes. Given how extensive the former lordship granted to de Lacy was, many of its western areas were never formally designated, and knowledge of these areas by officials in Dublin was poor. By the 15th century, a beleaguered fort nearMullingar,often burnt by theO'Farrellsand located just 80 km (50 miles) from Dublin, was the westernmost outpost that the English controlled in Ireland.

Provisions

Modern boundaries ofMeath(Red) andWestmeath(Green).

The Act noted that although Meath was "great and a large in ciruit, the west part therof laid about and beset with diverse of King's rebels'" and that in the western part of the county, theHigh Sheriff of Meathwas not able to execute the king's laws. Furthermore, the Act stated that the sheriff most commonly hailed from those areas within the Pale (i.e. modern County Meath) rather than elsewhere in the county.

On the subject of the aim of partition, the Act concludes:

"the said shire shall be divided and made into two shires and one of them shall be named Methe and the other shall be called Countie of Westmethe, and there shall be two sheriffs and other offices convenient within the said shires, and that the kings subjects thereby should greatly increase in obedience unto the Kings Highness and his laws"

Under the partition, the six westernmost baronies of Meath became part of the new shire of Westmeath. The barony of Fore was divided in two, with thewestern halfbecoming part of Westmeath. Further west, four new baronies were established along historic Normanmarcherlineages, bringing the total number of baronies in the new shire to eleven.

The new baronies created as a result of the act were:

• Dalton'scountry became the barony ofRathconrath;
• Delamare'scountry became the barony ofRossaughe;
• Tyrrell'scountry became the barony ofFartullagh;and
• Dillon'scountry became the barony ofKilkenny West.

Mullingarwas named as the "head and shire town" of Westmeath and aDominicanpriory in the area was converted into agaol.Robert Dillon was appointed as the firstHigh Sheriff of Westmeathin 1543.

Impact

The effects of the act were immediately felt within the Pale, which Meath had grown to dominate. Of England's "four shires" (Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Louth), Meath was by far the largest and wealthiest, with the eastern portion characterized by well-populated market towns, nucleated villages and a strong commercial focus on labour-intensivecerealcultivation. Under the olderLordship of Ireland,many of the judges, barristers and government officials such asLord Chief Justice of Ireland,Chief Baron of the Irish ExchequerandChief Justice of the Common Pleas for Irelandwere born in the county.

Unlike in any other shire, the towns of eastern Meath were protected on all sides - by expansive defensive marches north ofKellsand west ofAthboy,and surrounded on all other sides by other English-controlled shires. The partition brought Meath more into line with the other shires, certainly in terms of scale, however it remained a significant core-territory, with one English official noting that Meath was "as well inhabited as any shire in England".

Although the Act was most likely a defensive measure to further fortify the boundary between theIrish kingdomsand the Pale, it laid the foundations for the westwardconquest of Irelandby theTudors,along with the expansion of theKingdom of Irelandwhich had been proclaimed the previous year by theCrown of Ireland Act 1542.The formal dispossession of Irish clans and organised English settlement would be first attempted 14 years later through the passing of theSettlement of Laois and Offaly Act 1556and their creation into new English shires. This process was repeated throughout Ireland in the late 16th century, culminating in the full conquest of the island by1607.

Current status

As of theLocal Government Act 2001,Meath and Westmeath are designated asadministrative countieswithin theRepublic of Ireland,and are governed byMeath County CouncilandWestmeath County Councilrespectively.

TheStatute Law Revision Act 2007,enacted by theOireachtas,repealed a large amount ofpre-1922legislation of Ireland, England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom while preserving a shorter list of statutes. The Act was the largest singleStatute Law Revision Actor repealing measure ever enacted internationally.Schedule 1 of the Statute Law Revision Act retained the Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act, re-affirming the status of Meath and Westmeath as two separate entities.

Although there is often (usually satirical)discussion within Ireland of Meath and Westmeath re-unifying, proposals to do so have never been seriously considered at eitherlocal authorityornational level.

In June 2020, a social media campaign entitled "Meath Reunification 2021" was launched, which included a submission to the Westmeath County Development Plan 2021-2027 calling on Westmeath County Council to consider reunification.Meath WestTDPeadar Tóibínlent his support to the campaign onTwitter.