One of the four Provinces of Ireland Since the early 17th-century there have been four provinces: Leinster, Connacht, Munster, and Ulster The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, meaning "fifth part", indicates that there were once five; in the medieval period there were more The number of provinces and their delimitation fluctuated until 1610 when they were permanently set by the English administration of James I The provinces of Ireland no longer serve administrative or political purposes, but function as historical and cultural entities