In ancient times Leitrim formed the western half of the
Kingdom of Breifne. This region was long influenced by the O'Rourke family of
Dromahair, whose heraldic lion occupies the official county shield to this day. Close ties initially existed with the
O'Reilly clan in the eastern half of the kingdom, however, a split occurred in the 13th century and the kingdom was divided into
East Breifne, now
County Cavan, and
West Breifne, now County Leitrim. The
Normans invaded south Leitrim in the 13th century but were defeated at the
Battle of Áth an Chip in 1270. Much of the county was confiscated from its owners in 1620 and given to Villiers and
Hamilton. Their initial objective was to plant the county with English settlers. However, this proved unsuccessful. English Deputy
Sir John Perrot had ordered the legal establishment of "Leitrim County" a half-century prior, in 1565. Perrott also demarcated the current county borders around 1583. Long ago Ireland was covered in woodland, and five great forests are traditionally said to have stood in Leitrim, with a 19th-century county survey stating- "a hundred years ago almost the whole country was one continued, undivided forest, so that from Drumshanbo to Drumkeeran, a distance of nine or ten miles, one could travel the whole way from tree to tree by branches". Many of these great forests were denuded for the making of charcoal for iron works around
Sliabh an Iarainn. Working of the county's rich deposits of iron ore began in the 15th century and continued until the mid-18th century. Coal mining became prominent in the 19th century to the east of Lough Allen at Sliabh an Iarainn and also to the west in
Arigna, on the Roscommon border. The last coal mine closed in July 1990 and there is now a visitor centre. Sandstone was also quarried in the Glenfarne region. Writing in 1791, the geographer
Daniel Beaufort suggested the county housing population encompassed 10,026 homes with "upwards of 50,000 inhabitants", the primary agriculture being cattle production, and the growth of flax sustaining the linen industry. Leitrim was first hit by the recession caused by the mechanisation of
linen weaving in the 1830s and its 155,000 residents (as of the
1841 census) were ravaged by the
Great Famine and the population dropped to 112,000 by 1851. The population subsequently continued to decrease due to emigration. After many years, the wounds of such rapid population decline have finally started to heal. Agriculture improved over the last century. Leitrim now has the fastest growing population in Connacht. The
Book of Fenagh is the most famous medieval manuscript originating here. In the 19th century the poet
John McDonald (of Dromod) lived in the county, and
William Butler Yeats spent the turn of the twentieth century fascinated with
Lough Allen and much of Leitrim. Glencar Waterfall, from Manorhamilton, inspired Yeats and is mentioned in his poem
The Stolen Child. ==Subdivisions==