The dynamics and politics of metropolitanization in Ireland have received limited attention, attributed in part to Ireland’s historic culturally embedded urban–rural divide. The publication of the National Planning Framework (2018) demonstrates an effort by the Irish government to centre spatial thinking on Ireland’s five major cities. However, despite evidence of enhanced civic engagement, the Irish case demonstrates the challenges of creating a metropolitan state-space in a country with a traditionally strong rural identity. Drawing on Nelles’ concept of civic capital and the importance of mobilizing a metropolitan identity, in this paper we draw attention to four factors that constrain the formation of the metropolitan civic identity necessary for spatial planning efforts to succeed: the lack of an urban identity, discordant temporalities, the absence of key enablers and misaligned governance structures. Our study adopts an exploratory research design using critical discourse analysis of key documents, participant observation, semi-structured interviews and survey methodology to further the understanding of metropolitanization processes, provide insights into alternative forms of metropolitan governance and discuss the limits of civic capital. We conclude that it is critical to understand the nature of the state in order to understand the accumulation (or not) of metropolitan civic capital.