Comedian Katherine's praise for her 'shunned' county

LEITRIM is always the butt-end of jokes and I've met Irish people who don't even know it exists.

- BY LARISSA NOLAN

With just 35,000 residents, it's the one with the smallest population and it's sort of secretly sandwiched between six counties, Sligo, Donegal, Cavan, Fermanagh, Roscommon and Longford.

But I reckon the Leitrimese are having the last laugh, because they know it's the best little county in Ireland.

I spent some years in Manorhamilton, the main town in what those who live there distinguish as North Leitrim.

I worked behind the bar of Heraghty's pub in the shadow of Benbulben and it was one of the best times of my life.

The craic was great, the people were friendly and openminded and couldn't do enough for you. Rules went out the window in this place that has a healthy disrespect for authority.

It's wild and wonderful, independent and self-sufficient and it has its own culture, with distinct names like McGirl and McPartland and McEnaney.