The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland.

Tipperary is bounded (clockwise) by counties Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Clare and Galway.

The centre is known as 'the Golden Vale', a rich pastoral stretch of land in the Suir basin which extends into counties Limerick and Cork.

The River Shannon flows along the northwest border with counties Limerick, Galway and Clare.

The River Suir rises at the Devil's Bit and flows into the sea east of Waterford.

There are 12 historic baronies in County Tipperary: Clanwilliam, Eliogarty, Iffa and Offa East, Iffa and Offa West, Ikerrin, Kilnamanagh Lower, Kilnamanagh Upper, Middle Third, Ormond Lower, Ormond Upper, Owney and Arra and Slievardagh.

The civil parishes had some use in local taxation and were included on the nineteenth century maps of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland.

[6] For poor law purposes, district electoral divisions replaced the civil parishes in the mid-nineteenth century.

[15] The grant excluded church lands such as the archiepiscopal see of Cashel, which formed the separate county of Cross Tipperary.

A small part of the county in the former rural district of Nenagh is in the constituency of Limerick City.

[24] The area around Clonmel is the economic hub of the county, due to manufacturing facilities owned by Bulmers (brewers) and Merck & Co. (pharmaceuticals) east of the town.

[25] Tourism plays a significant role in County Tipperary – Lough Derg, Thurles, Rock of Cashel, Ormonde Castle, Ahenny High Crosses, Cahir Castle, Bru Boru Heritage Centre and Tipperary Crystal are some of the primary tourist destinations in the county.

Tipperary also has a number of railway stations situated on the Dublin–Cork line such as Templemore, Thurles and Limerick Junction.

The railway lines connect places in Tipperary with Cork, Dublin Heuston, Waterford, Limerick, Mallow, and Galway.