Clwyd (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈklʊɨd]) is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the county. To the north lies the Irish Sea, Cheshire is to the east and Shropshire to the south-east, both in England. The Welsh counties of Powys and Gwynedd lie to the south and west respectively. Clwyd additionally shares a maritime border with the metropolitan county of Merseyside along the River Dee. Between 1974 and 1996, it was a county with a county council, one of the eight counties into which Wales was divided, and was subdivided into six districts. In 1996, the county of Clwyd was abolished, and the new unitary authorities of Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, and Flintshire were created; under this reorga