Counties of Northern Ireland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Northern Ireland is one of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. It comprises one fifth the island of Ireland, and consists of six of the counties of Ireland. According to certain sources the six pointed star of the former Government of Northern Ireland flag is there to represent the six counties that make up Northern Ireland. A common way to remember the six counties, is by the acronym F A T L A D.

1 Counties
2 Government
3 Former counties
4 See also

[edit] Counties

Although all the counties in Northern Ireland are in Ulster, the two are not the same. Ulster also includes three counties in the Republic of Ireland: Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan which are not part of the United Kingdom.

County	Irish	County town
County Antrim	Contae Aontroma	Antrim
County Armagh	Contae Ard Mhacha	Armagh
County Down	Contae An Dúin	Downpatrick
County Fermanagh	Contae Fhear Manach	Enniskillen
County Londonderry	Contae Dhoire	Derry
County Tyrone	Contae Tír Eoghain	Omagh

[edit] County Antrim

Main article: County Antrim

County Antrim is located on the north east of Northern Ireland. It is one of two counties that does not border the Republic. Its county town is Antrim. It has an estimated population of 566,000 people, and a great attraction of the county is the Glens of Antrim. Half of the Greater Belfast area is in this county.

[edit] County Armagh

Main article: County Armagh

County Armagh is located on the south of Northern Ireland. It is the smallest of the six counties, and is known by some as the Orchard County because the land is so fertile for apple-growing. Its county town is Armagh, and the county has an estimated population of 141,000. South Armagh was the most militarised region in Western Europe due to the history of the Troubles.

[edit] County Down

Main article: County Down

County Down is located on the south east of Northern Ireland. The county town is Downpatrick, and the largest town is Bangor, although half of the Greater Belfast area is located in Down. County Down houses a mountain range, the Mourne Mountains, which are in talks about becoming Northern Ireland's first National Park. They are regarded as one of the greatest place for walkers in the land of Ireland. County Down has an estimated population of 454,000 people.

[edit] County Fermanagh

Main article: County Fermanagh

County Fermanagh is located on the south west of Northern Ireland. It is one of the three counties that border the Republic. Its county town is Enniskillen. The county has an estimated population of 55,000 people, and a large tourist attraction is the Marble Arch Caves.

[edit] County Londonderry

Main article County Londonderry

County Londonderry is located on the north west of Northern Ireland. It is also known by many as County Derry. The county has Northern Ireland's second largest city, also called Londonderry or the City of Derry. The estimated population is 213,000 people.

[edit] County Tyrone

Main article: County Tyrone

County Tyrone is located on the west of Northern Ireland. During The Troubles it saw the worst attack on its county town, Omagh. It is the largest county in Northern Ireland with an estimated population of 166,516 people.

[edit] Government

Main article: Districts of Northern Ireland

Unlike the Republic of Ireland the counties are no longer used for local government purposes. A major re-organisation of local government in 1973 replaced the six administrative counties and two county boroughs (Belfast and Derry) by 26 "single-tier" districts for local government purposes, and these cross the traditional county boundaries. The six administrative counties and two county-boroughs remain in use for some purposes, including Lords Lieutenant and number plates. The counties formed the former postal counties for Northern Ireland.

As of 2006, major local government reform is expected to reduce the number of districts from 26 to less than 10.

[edit] Former counties

Former counties in Northern Ireland include: County Coleraine which was formed from the merging of the former County Londonderry, Nether Tyrone and Upper Tyrone. In 1777, the ancient Norman town of Carrickfergus lost its status of county town, there was formerly a county of itself of Carrickfergus which extend further than the modern borough of Carrickfergus,

[edit] See also

Traditional Civic Divisions of Northern Ireland
Cities: Armagh \| Belfast \| Lisburn \| Derry \| Newry		Counties: Antrim \| Armagh \| Down \| Fermanagh \| Londonderry \| Tyrone

v • d • e

Topics on Northern Ireland

History:	Ulster Cycle • Annals of Ulster • Nine Years War • Flight of the Earls • Plantation of Ulster • Irish Rebellion of 1641 • Battle of Benburb • Battle of Scarrifholis • Williamite War • Siege of Derry • Battle of the Boyne • 1798 Rebellion • Home Rule Crisis • Ulster Covenant • Belfast Blitz • The Troubles • Peace Process • History of Belfast • History of Derry
Politics:	Act of Union 1800 • Government of Ireland Act 1920 • NI Parliament 1920-1972 (acts) • Secretary of State for Northern Ireland • Belfast Agreement 1998 • Northern Ireland Act 1998 • NI Assembly 1998- (acts) • NI Constituencies • NI Districts • Unionism • Nationalism • Flags Issue • Ethnic Minorities
Geography:	Counties • Places • Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty • Mourne Mountains • Giant's Causeway • National Trust Properties
Economy:	Bank of Ireland • Northern Bank • Ulster Bank • First Trust Bank
Demographics:	Demographics & Politics • Catholic • Presbyterian • Church of Ireland • Methodist
Culture:	Education • Integrated Education • Irish Language • Ulster Scots • Ulster Museum • Famous and Notable People
Sport:	Football (Soccer) • Football (Gaelic) • Rugby • Hurling • Camogie • Handball
Symbols:	National Flag • Coat of Arms • Cúchulainn • Flax • Red Hand of Ulster