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Northern Ireland is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It comprises one fifth of the island of Ireland, and consists of six former counties of Ireland. Those six counties, along with three other counties (now part of the Republic of Ireland), form the traditional Province of Ulster. 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.
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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 | Irish |
|---|---|---|---|
| County Antrim | Aontroim (Contae Aontroma) |
Antrim | Aontroim |
| County Armagh | Ard Mhacha (Contae Ard Mhacha) |
Armagh | Ard Mhacha |
| County Down | Dún (Contae an Dúin) |
Downpatrick | Dún Pádraig |
| County Fermanagh | Fear Manach (Contae Fhear Manach) |
Enniskillen | Inis Ceithleann |
| County Londonderry | Doire (Contae Dhoire) |
Coleraine | Cúil Raithin |
| County Tyrone | Tír Eoghain (Contae Thír Eoghain) |
Omagh | An Ómaigh |
County Antrim
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Main article: County Antrim
County Antrim is located in the northeast of Northern Ireland. It is the only of the six 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.
County Armagh
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Main article: County Armagh
County Armagh is located directly south of Lough Neagh. It is the smallest of the six counties, and is known by some as the Orchard County due to its many orchards. Its county town is Armagh, and the county has an estimated population of 141,000. South Armagh was at one point the most militarised region in Western Europe due to "the Troubles".
County Down
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Main article: County Down
County Down is located in 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. The Mourne Mountains are within its bounds. County Down has an estimated population of 454,000 people.
County Fermanagh
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Main article: County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh is located in the south west of Northern Ireland. It is one of the four counties that border the Republic. Its county town is Enniskillen. The county has an estimated population of 55,000 people, and a large tourist attractions are Lough Erne and the Marble Arch Caves.
County Londonderry
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Main article: County Londonderry
County Londonderry (also known as County Derry) is located in the north west of Northern Ireland. It has an estimated population of 213,000 residents.[citation needed] The county is home to Derry, Northern Ireland's second largest city.
County Tyrone
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Main article: County Tyrone
County Tyrone is located in the west of Northern Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. It is the largest county in Northern Ireland by area, with an estimated population of 166,516 people.
Government
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 Londonderry) by twenty-six "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 car number plates. The counties formed the former postal counties for Northern Ireland.
In 2011, major local government reform is expected to reduce the number of districts from twenty-six to eleven.
Lieutenancy areas
A Lord Lieutenant is appointed for each of the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone and for the cities of Belfast and Londonderry.
Former counties
Former counties which formed the six modern counties of Northern Ireland:
- Coleraine formed the basis of modern County Londonderry.
- Tyrone was formerly divided into Nether Tyrone and Upper Tyrone.
- Carrickfergus was formerly a county of itself, it extended further than the modern borough of Carrickfergus. It was merged into County Antrim in 1777.
See also
- Counties of the United Kingdom
- Counties of Ireland
- List of Irish counties by population
- List of Irish counties by area
- Provinces of Ireland
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