Historic county of Ireland
Fermanagh
Fhear Manach / County of Fermanagh
Province: Ulster
The Erne widening into two great loughs, with hills all around.
Fermanagh is organised almost completely around water. The River Erne crosses the county and expands into Upper and Lower Lough Erne, creating an elongated lake basin enclosed by higher ground.
Islands, wooded shores, pasture and intricate inlets give the county a landscape unlike anywhere else in Ulster. Roads and settlements repeatedly return to the Erne because the water system occupies the geographical centre. Fermanagh is not simply a county containing lakes: the lakes are its spine.
- Kingdom of Fermanagh (c.900-1200)
- Maguire chiefs and lakelands
- Upper and Lower Lough Erne
- Area: 715 sq miles / 1,852 sq km
- Population: 61,170
- County Top: Cuilcagh (2,182ft / 665m)
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
Northern Ireland Census 2021. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 88.0 people per sq mi (33.98 people per km²)
- Population
- 62,933
The county as a lake basin
Upper and Lower Lough Erne form two great expanses of water connected through a narrower central corridor.
Their innumerable islands and indented shores make the boundary between land and water unusually complex, while higher ground rises around the basin.
Limestone and upland
Beyond the lough shores, parts of Fermanagh contain extensive limestone country, with caves, underground drainage and broken upland adding another distinctive landscape.
Towards the south-west the land rises markedly, creating a strong outer rim around the central waters.
Maguire country
The Erne geography also helps explain the strength of Fermanagh’s older Gaelic territorial identity.
The Maguire lordship used islands, lakeside strongholds and waterways within a landscape where water provided communication as well as defence. The later county inherited a territory already powerfully organised around the Erne.
County questions
Questions about Fermanagh
Why is the Erne so important to Fermanagh?
Because the river and its two great loughs organise the county physically. Settlement, routes and older political centres repeatedly developed around that central water system.
Is Fermanagh in Ulster?
Yes. Fermanagh is one of the nine geographic counties of Ulster.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County Fermanagh
- Local name
- Fhear Manach
- Province
- Ulster
- Alternative name
- County of Fermanagh
- Foundation
- c. 1584–1585
Fermanagh and County Fermanagh are forms associated with the county. Its Erne-centred geography gives it one of Ireland’s clearest internal structures.