Ulster is a province in the north of the island of Ireland. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland ; the remaining three are in the Republic of Ireland. It is the second largest and second most populous of Ireland's four provinces, with Belfast being its biggest city. Unlike the other provinces, Ulster has a high percentage of Protestants, making up almost half of its population. English is the main language and Ulster English the main dialect. A minority also speak Irish, and there are Gaeltacht in southern County Londonderry, the Gaeltacht Quarter of Belfast and in Donegal, where 25% of the total Gaeltacht population of Ireland is located. Lough Neagh, in the east, is the largest lake in the British Isles, while Lough Erne in the west is one of its largest lake networks. The main mountain ranges are the Mournes, Sperrins, Croaghgorms and Derryveagh Mountains.
Newcastle is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 7,672 at the 2011 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains. Newcastle is known for its sandy beach, forests, mountains, and the Royal County Down Golf Club. The town lies within the Newry, Mourne and Down District.
Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots, also known as Ulster Scotch, Scots-Irish and Ullans, is the Scots language as spoken in parts of Ulster in Ireland. It is generally considered a dialect or group of dialects of Scots, although groups such as the Ulster-Scots Language Society and Ulster-Scots Academy consider it a language in its own right, and the Ulster-Scots Agency and former Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure have used the terminology Ulster-Scots language.
Bangor is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. It functions as a commuter town for the Greater Belfast area, which it is linked to by the A2 road and the Belfast–Bangor railway line. Bangor is situated 13.6 miles (22 km) east from the heart of Belfast, not far from George Best Belfast City Airport. The population was 61,011 at the 2011 Census.
The News Letter is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published Monday to Saturday. It is the oldest English language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737.
Kircubbin is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the shores of Strangford Lough, between Newtownards and Portaferry, in the Ards and North Down Borough. The village harbour contains leisure craft, yachts, and a sailing club. The village had a population of 1,153 people in the 2011 Census.
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation (plantation) of Ulster – a province of Ireland – by people from Great Britain during the reign of King James VI & I. Most of the colonists came from Scotland, the majority having a different culture to the natives. Small private plantations by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while the official plantation began in 1609. Most of the land colonised was forfeited from the native Gaelic chiefs, several of whom had fled Ireland for mainland Europe in 1607 following the Nine Years' War against English rule. The official plantation comprised an estimated half a million acres (2,000 km²) of arable land in counties Armagh, Cavan, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Tyrconnell and Derry/Londonderry. Land in counties Antrim, Down and Monaghan was privately colonised with the king's support.
Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish Sea.
Ian Adamson OBE was a Lord Mayor of Belfast. He was a member of the Ulster Unionist Party and was also a paediatrician.
Alderman Robin Leslie Cree, MBE is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. He was an Ulster Unionist Party MLA for North Down from 2003 to 2016.
Robert James McMordie, KC was an Irish barrister, politician, and Lord Mayor of Belfast.
James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye was a Scot who became owner of large tracts of land in County Down, Ireland, and founded a successful Protestant Scots settlement there several years before the Plantation of Ulster. Hamilton was able to acquire the lands as a result of his connections with King James I of England, for whom he had been an agent in negotiations for James to succeed Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Robin's Readings is a six-part radio series adapted from 'Robin's Readings' - a collection of humorous stories written in the 19th century by County Down author, Wesley Guard Lyttle. The stories recount the adventures and mishaps of Paddy McQuillan, a cheerful but unfortunate County Down farmer - and they are written in the authentic Ulster-Scots language which was spoken throughout the Ards Peninsula.
That part of the United Kingdom called Northern Ireland was created in 1922, with the partition of the island of Ireland. The majority of the population of Northern Ireland wanted to remain within the United Kingdom. Most of these were the Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. Like most Christian churches in Ireland, it is organised on an all-island basis, in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The church has approximately 225,000 members.
Edward John Newell (1771–1798), was an Irish sailor, glazier, artist, and portrait painter. He was a member of, and later informer for, the Society of United Irishmen before he left the group some years later. He wrote an autobiography, and he was allegedly assassinated in 1798 near Belfast by the Society of United Irishmen due to his betrayal of the group.
