Civil parishes are units of territory in the island of
Ireland that have their origins in old Gaelic territorial divisions. They were adopted by the Anglo-Norman
Lordship of Ireland and then by the
Elizabethan Kingdom of Ireland, and were formalised as land divisions at the time of the
Plantations of Ireland. They no longer correspond to the boundaries of
Roman Catholic or
Church of Ireland parishes, which are generally larger. Their use as administrative units was gradually replaced by Poor Law Divisions in the 19th century, although they were not formally abolished. Today they are still sometimes used for legal purposes.