County Dossier
Fermanagh
A lakeland county of clans and strongholds.
Fermanagh is an inland county of Ulster, sparsely populated and rich in lakes, rivers and pasture. The River Erne runs the length of the county, forming Upper and Lower Lough Erne.
At a glance
Fermanagh at a glance
A lakeland county of clans and strongholds.
- 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
Fermanagh meets Donegal to the north-west, Tyrone to the north and east, Monaghan to the south-east, Cavan to the south, and Leitrim to the south-west. The county is shaped by the Erne system, the outer ring of hills and higher ground, and the enclosed basin that gives Fermanagh its distinctive lakeland form.
Fermanagh is easy to recognise through the Erne lakes and the surrounding ring of higher ground.
Map Reference
View Fermanagh on the map
Fermanagh is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Enniskillen, Lisnaskea, Belleek, Irvinestown, and Derrygonnelly show the county from its central lough narrows to its western, eastern, and south-western sides.
Connections
The county’s routes have long funnelled through Enniskillen between the two loughs and then spread along the Erne shores toward Belleek, Lisnaskea, and the southern uplands. Movement follows the same lakeland and shore pattern.
Names
- Fermanagh
- County Fermanagh
- County of Fermanagh
- Fhear Manach
Fear Manach is the Irish form of Fermanagh. County Fermanagh is the formal historical style, older records preserve forms such as Fermanaghe, and the county name reaches back to the Fir Manach and the Maguire-ruled lakeland lordship.
Fermanagh was made a county in 1585, but the older Erne world and the Maguire association still shape its identity. That lakeland geography keeps Fermanagh clear as a historic county.