Counties of Northern Ireland
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 acronyms FATLAD or FATDAD.
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 |
County Antrim
County Antrim is located on the north east corner 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.
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.
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.
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh is located on 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 attraction is the Marble Arch Caves.
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.
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.
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.
As of 2006, major local government reform is expected to reduce the number of districts from twenty-six to less than ten.
Lord Lieutenancy
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.
- Nether Tyrone and Upper Tyrone were once separate.
- Carrickfergus was formerly a county of itself, it extend further than the modern borough of Carrickfergus. It was merged into County Antrim in 1777.