Urban and rural districts were divisions of

administrative counties An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

in Ireland created in 1899. These local government areas elected urban district councils (UDCs) and rural district councils (RDCs) respectively which shared responsibilities with a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. They were established when all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. In

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, both urban and rural districts were abolished in 1973. In the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, which had left the United Kingdom in 1922 as the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

, rural districts were abolished in the Irish Free State in 1925, except in County Dublin, where they were abolished in 1930. Urban district councils continued until 2002, when they were replaced by town councils. These were abolished in turn in 2014, resulting in a single tier only of

local government in the Republic of Ireland The functions of local government in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-one local authorities, termed County, City, or City and County Councils. The principal decision-making body in each of the thirty-one local authorities ...

Creation

Urban districts and rural districts were created in 1898 by the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots diale ...

based on the urban

sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

s created by the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878, and the suburban townships adjacent to Dublin city. Urban districts had powers greater than towns with

town commissioners Town commissioners were elected local government bodies that existed in urban areas in Ireland from the 19th century until 2002. Larger towns with commissioners were converted to urban districts by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, wit ...

but less than the

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

s preserved by the

Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 The Municipal Corporations Act (Ireland) 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 108), ''An Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland'', was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 10 August 1840. It was one of the Municipal Corporat ...

or created subsequently. This followed a similar creation in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

Northern Ireland

The rural and urban districts in Northern Ireland were abolished in 1973 under the

Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 The Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 (c. 9 (N.I.)) was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, passed in 1971 to replace the previous system of local authorities established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1 ...

, and replaced with a system of unitary districts.

Republic of Ireland

The

established in 1922 (which became Ireland in 1937) continued the structure of local government which had been in place under United Kingdom law. Rural districts outside of County Dublin were abolished in 1925, and in County Dublin in 1930. The areas of former rural districts continue to be used to define electoral geography such as

Dáil constituencies There are 43 multi-member electoral districts, known as Dáil constituencies, to elect 174 Teachta Dála, TDs to Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, Republic of Ireland, Ireland's parliament, on the system of propor ...

. Changes to urban districts: * In 1900, Clontarf, Drumcondra, Clonliffe and Glasnevin, and New Kilmainham, previously within the county of Dublin, were abolished and incorporated into the city of Dublin * In 1930, the

borough of Dún Laoghaire The Borough of Dún Laoghaire was a borough on the southern coast of County Dublin, Ireland from 1930 to 1994. Its local authority was the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire. The borough was formed under the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 from ...

was created as part of the reforms enacted in

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

by the

Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 The Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 is an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) which altered the administration of County Dublin and Dublin City. Provisions Amongst other matters, it provided for: * the abolition of the urban districts ...

. The new borough was formed by amalgamating the four urban districts of

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is a village in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown county southeast of Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became a port in the Middle Ages. According to chronicler John Clyn (c.1286–c.1349), it was one of the port ...

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

, and

Killiney and Ballybrack Killiney and Ballybrack is a former second-tier local government area within County Dublin. It was created as a township in 1866. In 1899, it became an urban district. It was abolished in 1900, with its area becoming part of the borough of Dún ...

* In 1930, Pembroke and

Rathmines and Rathgar Rathmines and Rathgar is a former second-tier local government area within County Dublin. It was created as the Township of Rathmines in 1847. In 1862, its area was expanded and it became the Township of Rathmines and Rathgar. In 1899, it became ...

, previously within the county of Dublin, were abolished and incorporated into the city of Dublin in 1930 * In 1937, the urban district of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

was elevated to the status of a borough * In 1942,

Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...

, which had become an urban district within the county of Dublin in 1918, was abolished and incorporated into the city of Dublin *

Passage West Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork (city), Cork city. Passage West was designated a conservation area in the 2003 Co ...

ceased to exist in 1942 * Granard ceased to exist in 1944 * Belturbet ceased to exist in 1950 The above changes left a total of 49 urban districts in being, which continued unchanged into the 1990s. Numerous changes to boundaries with adjoining local authorities were also made over the years. Urban districts were renamed as "towns" under the

Local Government Act 2001 The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and amendment of pr ...

. These were in turn abolished in 2014 under the Local Government Reform Act 2014.

References

{{Local government in the Republic of Ireland Local government in the Republic of Ireland Local government in the United Kingdom