Population and Settlement
- North Tipperary in Context
- Current & Projected Population
- Settlement Pattern
- Settlement Strategy
- Preferred Settlement Strategy
- Existing Plans
- Social Inclusion & Universal Access
3.1 North Tipperary in Context
The size of County Tipperary led to it being split into two 'Ridings' in 1838. While many of the inhabitants of Tipperary do not readily differentiate between North and South Tipperary, as it is culturally identified as one county, they are two separate counties for the purpose of local government. All references to 'County' in this Plan will, therefore, be to North Tipperary.
North Tipperary is an inland county in the mid-west/midlands of Ireland and covers an area of 202,430 ha or 500,000 acres (in extent). It is also situated in the Southern and Eastern NUTS 2 Region. There are three Town Councils, each with their own statutory development plan. A statutory plan was also adopted for the town of Roscrea.
The River Suir begins to the north of Templemore and flows through the County in a south to south-easterly direction. The western boundary of the county is dominated by Lough Derg. The western side of the County comprises of the Nenagh plain, which is fringed by the Slievenamon Mountains to the south, the Arra mountains to the southwest and the Devil's Bit to the east, and is formed by rivers such as the Nenagh, Ollatrim and Ballintotty Rivers.
The county is largely underlain by limestone with the higher terrain of the County composed of geological deposits dating from Silurian and Devonian periods. Over the centuries the valleys and hills formed into rich peatlands, which occupy approximately 28,333 hectares (70,000 acres) or 13% of the total area of the County.
The National Primary Roads N8 (Dublin to Cork) and N7 (Dublin to Limerick) traverse the County, as do the National Secondary Routes N62 (Roscrea to Thurles) and N52 (Birr to Nenagh). Two rail lines traverse the county; the Cork-Dublin line serving Thurles and Templemore, and the single-line railway from Limerick and connecting to the Cork-Dublin line serves Nenagh, Cloghjordan, Roscrea and Ballybrophy carrying passengers and freight.
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