Special Sub-Topic: Crack The Irish Car Registration Code Click Here To Play: Crack The Irish Car Registration Code

In the Republic of Ireland, vehicles must carry a registration plate that bears certain information including a code for each county or city. Under the system that was introduced in 1987, what was the county identifier for Donegal?

DL. The Republic always had county identifiers, but as various combinations of letters and numerals ran out, a new system was introduced in 1987. A typical Co Donegal registration would be 09 DL 4444 (for the year, the county identifier and a record of the individual vehicle).

A new scheme for vehicles registered in the Republic of Ireland was introduced in 1987. What was the county identifier for Kilkenny?

KK. The authorities had to be careful in providing county identifiers. KY is the 1987 scheme registration for Kerry. Northern Ireland had a system based on a three-letter code, one of which for Fermanagh was -IL (AIL, BIL, CIL and so on). However, KIL was never issued.

Which of these is the identifier for Dublin in the post-1987 Republic of Ireland car registration series?

D. As well as being the largest population centre, Dublin city and county have the most car registrations each year. While four digits might be sufficient for a smaller county, Dublin needs more. A typical Dublin registration might be 06 D 135666

If you were driving in the Republic of Ireland and saw a car bearing the registration plate 05 CW 1234, in which county do you think it would have been registered?

Carlow. Cavan's registration is CN and C is the identifier for Cork. Conemara is a region rather than a county and does not have its own identifier.

Many people flying from the USA to Ireland land at Shannon airport. If you were to hire a car there, which of these is the most likely local county identifier to see on the registration plate?

CE. This is a test of your knowledge of Ireland's geography. Shannon is in Co Clare and the county identifier is CE.

In 1987, the Republic Of Ireland introduced a new system of vehicle registrations with each county or city having its own identifier. The county identifier for North Tipperary is TY.

False. Tipperary is divided into two for registration purposes. North Tipperary is TN, and South Tipperary is, naturally, TS.

Using the registration system introduced in 1987 you can tell a lot about the geography of the Republic of Ireland. The State has 26 counties, the alphabet has 26 letters. Only one of these vowels is used as a first part of the code to identify a county. Which one?

O. No county in the Republic of Ireland starts with the letters A, E, or I (in English translation, that is.) There is Co Offaly, though, and the registration identifier is OY.

The most commonly used first letter in the Republic of Ireland's post-1987 car registration system is L. Which of these four is the odd one out?

LE. Six counties and cities use the letter L. L is Limerick City; LD is Longford; LS is Laois; LM is Leitrim; LK is Co Limerick and LH is Louth.

The post-1987 vehicle registration system in the Republic of Ireland uses county identifiers. True or false: the county identifier for Monaghan is MO.

False. MN is the code for Monaghan, MO is the identifier for Mayo and MH is the identifier for Meath.

Wicklow is a beautiful county in the Republic of Ireland and is popular for visitors and people who commute to Dublin. Which of these is the post-1987 vehicle registration code for the county?

WW. There is no WI or WL. W is the code for Waterford City. (Co Waterford is WD).