County Dublin (Irish: Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath or Contae Átha Cliath) is a county in Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dublin (excluding the city) was a single local government area; in that year, the county council was divided into three new administrative counties: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. The three administrative counties together with Dublin City proper form a NUTS III statistical region of Ireland (coded IE061). County Dublin remains a single administrative unit for the purposes of the courts (including the Dublin County Sheriff, but excluding the bailiwick of the Dublin City Sheriff) and Dublin County combined with Dublin City forms the Judicial County of Dublin, including Dublin Circuit Court, the Dublin County Registrar and the Dublin Metropolitan District Court. Dublin also sees law enforcement (the Garda Dublin metropolitan division) and fire services (Dublin Fire Brigade) administered county-wide.
Dublin is Ireland's most populous county, with a population of 1,458,154 as of 2022 – approximately 28% of the Republic of Ireland's total population. Dublin city is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, and the largest city on the island of Ireland. Roughly 9 out of every 10 people in County Dublin lives within Dublin city and its suburbs. Several sizeable towns that are considered separate from the city, such as Rush, Donabate and Balbriggan, are located in the far north of the county. Swords, while separated from the city by a green belt around Dublin Airport, is considered a suburban commuter town and an emerging small city.
