the southeastern province of Ireland, comprising the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Offaly, Longford, Louth, Meath, Laoighis, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow. In its present form it incorporates the ancient kingdom of Meath (Midhe) as well as that of Leinster, which was bounded by the peninsula of Howth and the River Liffey (Liffey, River) on the north and by the Slieve Bloom Mountains on the west. In the early Middle Ages, kings of Leinster fought constantly against the Uí Néill, the line of high kings whose capital was at Tara in Meath. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Leinster was virtually independent, under the earls of Kildare. Area 7,645 square miles (19,801 square km). Pop. (2002) 2,105,579; (2006) 2,295,123.