County Meath 5.08

County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Mid-East Region. It is named after the historic Kingdom of Meath (from Midhe meaning "middle"). Meath County Council is the local authority for the county. According to the 2016 census, the population of the county is 194,942. The county town of Meath is Navan.Geography and political subdivisionsThe county is drained by the River Boyne.Meath is the 14th-largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area, and the ninth-largest in terms of population. It is the second-largest of Leinster’s 12 counties in size, and the third-largest in terms of population. The county town is Navan, where the county hall and government are located, although Trim, the former county town, has historical significance and remains a sitting place of the circuit court. County Meath also has the only two Gaeltacht areas in the province of Leinster, at Ráth Cairn and Baile Ghib.BaroniesThere are eighteen historic baronies in the county. They include the baronies of Morgallion and Ratoath. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units".