Facts About Northern Ireland

Facts about England - Tiffany Macbeth

Tiffany loves to travel and learn about the countries of the World.

During her travels she discovered lots of interesting facts about Northern Ireland.

Did you know –

Northern Ireland is a province that forms part of the United Kingdom and Great Britain. It has a border with the Republic of Ireland The map below shows the main cities of Northern Ireland.

 

Northern Ireland Map

What is the flag of Northern Ireland?

The official flag of Northern Ireland is the Union Flag (below, top right). The same flag as that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. However, many people in Northern Ireland prefer to use the Ulster Banner.

Union Flag

Ulster Banner

 

What is the capital city of Northern Ireland?

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland with a population of around 2 million people.

Belfast

This is a picture of the City Hall in Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland.

Belfast is built on the River Lagan and is a port. The Titanic was built in Belfast and the dockyard has been preserved.

Other famous landmarks in Belfast include:

Big Fish Sculpture,  City Hall, Crown Liquor Saloon, Crumlin Road Gaol, Falls Road, Shankhill Road, Stormont parliament building.

What is the longest river in Northern Ireland?

River Lagan Belfast

This is a picture of Northern Ireland’s longest river, the river Lagan. The picture is taken from the site of the Titanic docks looking out to sea.

The River Lagan is 70km (43 miles) long.

Lakes in Northern Ireland are called loughs. The largest in Northern Ireland is Lough Neagh. It is a freshwater lake measuring 30km (18.64 miles) by 15 km (9.25 miles)

What is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland?

Slieve Donard

This is a picture of Slieve Donard Northern Ireland’s highest mountain. It can be found in the Mourne mountains in County Down. It is 850 metres high (2,789ft).

 

What is Northern Ireland famous for?

Northern Ireland Facts - Titanic

The infamous ship, The Titanic, was built in Belfast and the site of the dockyard has been preserved.

The buildings to the left of this picture are the original offices and drawing rooms of the shipbuilder company Harland and Wolff. The long poles either side of the picture are all that is left of the gantry where Titanic and her sister ship Olympic were constructed in 1911-12. The modern building is the new Titanic Museum that was opened in 2012 to mark the centenary of the disaster.

Wall mural Belfast

Northern Ireland is also famous for The Troubles. This was a series of violent clashes between Unionists – those mostly Protestants who want to remain a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Republicans – those mostly Catholics who want to leave the United Kingdom and be united with the Republic of Ireland.

Fighting continued from the time Northern Ireland was partitioned (separated) in 1920 to 1998 when a peace was reached called The Good Friday Agreement. In the late 1960s the fighting was so bad that the British army was called in to help keep the peace.

In both Belfast and Londonderry wall murals tell the story of the rivalry and fighting.

What other Things Associated with Northern Ireland?

Giant's Causeway

Giants’ Causeway – a series of basalt columns caused by an ancient volcano that can be seen on the north east coast in County Antrim

Orange Order Parade

Orange Order Parade – Held yearly on 12th July members of the Protestant Orange Order hold a parade to celebrate William III’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690

 

Can you name some famous Welsh People?

Here are Tiffany’s top 20 famous people from Northern Ireland:

Alex (Hurricane) Higgins, Bernadette Devlin, Bobby Sands, C S Lewis, Denis Taylor, Gary Moore, George Best, Gerry Adams, Ian Paisley, James Galway, James Nesbitt, Liam Neeson, Mary Peters,  Nadine Coyle, Oscar Wilde, Pat Jennings, Rory McIlroy, Seamus Heaney, Thomas Andrews, Van Morrison

Oscar Wilde

 

As you can see Tiffany has discovered a lot of facts about Northern Ireland. She summed up her visit with the following keywords:

Belfast, Big Fish, Carrickfergus Castle, Catholic, Dockyard, Giant’s Causeway, Good Friday Agreement, Lagan, Londonderry, Lough Neagh, Marble Arch Caves, Mourne Mountains, Murals, Orange Order, Peace, Port, Protestant, Ships, Slieve Donard, Stormont, The Troubles, Titanic