Blank Map of Ireland: Free Printable PDFs with Counties

Blank maps of Ireland’s 32 counties offer a hands-on way to build geographic knowledge — whether for quizzing yourself before a trip, helping a child with geography homework, or exploring the island’s administrative divisions. This guide rounds up the best free, printable resources, from straightforward county outlines to differentiated worksheets designed for the classroom.

Total Counties in Ireland: 32 · Provinces in Ireland: 4 · Counties in Republic of Ireland: 26 · Counties in Northern Ireland: 6 · Common Map Formats: PDF, Printable, Outline

The key facts table below summarizes the essential data for reference.

Blank map of ireland counties pdf?

Several reputable sources offer free PDF downloads of county maps. The Irish Genealogy Toolkit provides a full-page county map that shows all 32 historical Irish counties without distinguishing between the Republic and Northern Ireland (Irish Genealogy Toolkit). This A4-sized black and white outline works well for printing and classroom activities.

Free PDF downloads

Beyond the Irish Genealogy Toolkit, FreeVectorMaps.com offers free vector maps of Ireland in multiple formats including Adobe Illustrator, EPS, PDF, PNG, and JPG (FreeVectorMaps). Ireland-information.com also provides free maps including a complete outline and all 32 counties (Ireland Information). Maps-ireland-ie.com delivers blank maps with county borders ready for printing and download (Maps Ireland).

County outlines included

Twinkl offers printable blank maps with three differentiated versions for educational purposes (Twinkl). Twinkl’s first map template asks pupils to correctly label each county. The second worksheet features a blank Ireland provinces and counties map ready to be cut out. The third template includes a map of Ireland without county outlines for students to reconstruct — a progressive approach that builds geographic knowledge from guided to independent recall.

Educational use tips

For geography lessons, the Geashillns resource offers a “Labelling Counties of Ireland” PDF activity worksheet designed for educational use (Geashillns). WanderIreland provides a detailed PDF map of Ireland with geographic features and place names that complements labeling activities with real terrain context (WanderIreland).

The implication: teachers should match the difficulty level to their students’ existing knowledge. Start with labeled county maps, move to cut-out puzzles for spatial reinforcement, then challenge with outline-free recall exercises once familiarity develops.

Blank map of Ireland printable?

Printable blank maps of Ireland are available in multiple formats for home printing. Most educational resources are designed for standard A4 or letter-sized paper, making them accessible for parents and teachers without specialized printing equipment.

Print at home options

The Irish Genealogy Toolkit county map works as a direct home printout — download the PDF, open it in any viewer, and print at 100% scale for accurate proportions (Irish Genealogy Toolkit). FreeVectorMaps users can export vector files as PDFs or high-resolution PNGs before printing (FreeVectorMaps). Maps-ireland-ie.com offers maps optimized for printing with clean outline definitions that remain crisp at any standard print size (Maps Ireland).

Coloring page versions

Twinkl’s differentiated worksheets include black and white versions suitable for coloring activities (Twinkl). The county outline maps work as coloring pages when printed without labels, allowing children to reinforce geography through a creative activity. This dual-purpose approach makes the same resource useful for both geography lessons and quieter art activities.

Jigsaw province maps

Twinkl’s second worksheet features a blank Ireland provinces and counties map ready to be cut out as a jigsaw activity (Twinkl). Students can cut along province boundaries (Ulster, Leinster, Munster, Connacht) or individual county lines, then reassemble — a tactile approach that reinforces the spatial relationships between different regions. The four-province structure provides a natural scaffolding for jigsaw activities before students attempt the more complex 32-county layout.

The pattern: province-based jigsaws work best as a bridge between basic geography and full county mastery. Once students can assemble the four provinces confidently, the 32-county challenge becomes less intimidating.

Blank map of Ireland with counties?

Maps showing all 32 counties are the most commonly sought blank Ireland maps. The Irish Genealogy Toolkit county map makes no distinction between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, presenting all 32 as a unified set (Irish Genealogy Toolkit). This approach suits learners focused on geographic knowledge rather than political boundaries.

Full county labeling

The 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland include Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow (Irish Genealogy Toolkit). The six counties of Northern Ireland (UK) are Antrim, Armagh, LondonDerry, Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.

County Donegal, for example, has a population of 129,435 and an area of 4,841 square kilometers — one of the larger counties by area despite its position on the northwestern periphery (Wesley Johnston). County Monaghan covers 1,294 square kilometers with a population of 51,266.

Northern Ireland included

In Northern Ireland, counties survive merely as curiosities — not having any actual administrative purpose anymore (Wesley Johnston). By contrast, in the Republic of Ireland, historic county divisions are still used as the basis of local government. This practical difference means the county map carries more functional weight south of the border than north of it.

Provinces overview

The four provinces group the 32 counties into larger regions: Ulster (9 counties including 6 in Northern Ireland), Leinster (12 counties), Munster (6 counties), and Connacht (5 counties). These provincial groupings appear on many maps and provide a useful intermediate level of geographic organization between the island level and individual counties.

The implication: when selecting a blank map for educational use, consider whether provincial boundaries or individual county boundaries (or both) will best serve the learning objective. Twinkl’s three differentiated versions address this by offering maps with varying levels of pre-printed guidance.

Blank map of ireland with cities?

Maps showing cities and towns alongside county boundaries offer a more detailed geographic picture. WanderIreland provides a detailed PDF map of Ireland with geographic features and place names that goes beyond simple county outlines (WanderIreland). This type of resource suits learners who benefit from associating county locations with known cities.

Major cities marked

Standard blank county maps typically omit city markers to keep outlines clean. For combined county-city resources, Tourism Ireland’s official materials mark major urban areas alongside road networks and geographic features (Tourism Ireland). Ireland Information also provides resources that include place names alongside county boundaries (Ireland Information).

Towns and urban areas

For lesson plans that combine county geography with urban literacy, the most practical approach is to use a base county outline map and overlay city markers as a separate activity. This allows teachers to add cities progressively — start with Dublin, Cork, and Galway, then add Limerick, Waterford, and Belfast as students advance.

Combined county-city maps

FreeVectorMaps offers vector files that can be edited to add city markers before printing (FreeVectorMaps). Using software like free Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator, teachers can customize vector maps to include whichever cities or towns suit their curriculum. This flexibility comes at the cost of additional setup time compared to ready-made educational worksheets.

What this means: most free blank maps focus on county boundaries without cities, so educators needing city markers should plan for a two-step process — download a clean county outline, then add city locations as an annotation activity. FreeVectorMaps’ editable formats support this workflow for teachers comfortable with basic vector editing.

Counties of Ireland?

Ireland was divided up into counties by the English crown around 400 years ago. Since then, the counties have remained largely unchanged (Wesley Johnston). This historical consistency makes the county system a remarkably stable framework for geographic education.

List of 32 counties

All 32 counties fit into two political jurisdictions: the Republic of Ireland accounts for 26 counties, while Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) accounts for the remaining 6. The Republic’s county system remains administratively active — these historic divisions are still used as the basis of local government (Wesley Johnston).

By province breakdown

The four-province structure divides the 32 counties as follows: Ulster (9 counties), Leinster (12 counties), Munster (6 counties), and Connacht (5 counties). Ulster is the only province split by the Republic/Northern Ireland border, containing both 3 Republic counties (Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan) and 6 Northern Ireland counties. The other three provinces fall entirely within the Republic.

Mapping exercises

The most effective mapping exercises progress through three stages: identification (naming counties on a labeled map), recall (filling in blank county maps with guidance), and reconstruction (creating county maps from memory or province templates only). Twinkl’s three differentiated versions correspond directly to these stages, offering a ready-made progression for classroom use (Twinkl).

The catch: county Cavan’s population was recorded at 52,903 in 1931 — a historic data point that illustrates how population figures, unlike county boundaries, change significantly over time (Wesley Johnston). When using older demographic data with county maps, help students understand that county names remain stable while population figures evolve.

The county map of Ireland below shows all 32 historical Irish counties across the island. It makes no distinction between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

— Irish Genealogy Toolkit (Educational resource provider)

In Northern Ireland they survive merely as curiosities — not having any actual purpose any more. In the Republic of Ireland, however, these historic divisions are still used as the basis of local government.

— Wesley Johnston (Geographic reference authority)

Once you’ve downloaded our printable blank map of Ireland jigsaw, you’ll discover 3 differentiated blank maps of Ireland and accompanying labels for each county.

— Twinkl (Educational publisher)

Related reading: County Map of Ireland

These blank maps of Ireland’s counties pair perfectly with a guide to the counties of Ireland in Irish, aiding precise labeling in Gaelic for educational depth.

Frequently asked questions

The FAQ section below addresses the most common questions about Ireland’s county maps and their educational uses.

Educators and parents planning geography lessons should match the map format to their student’s current level: begin with labeled county maps, progress to cut-out province jigsaws, then advance to outline-free reconstruction once confidence develops. Ireland’s county system has remained stable for 400 years — the framework won’t change, but the resources available for learning it continue to improve.