Northern Ireland - Belfast City (2)

Belfast City
This vibrant modern city has many historic landmarks and buildings including Belfast City Hall, Queen's University and Belfast Castle.

Sent by Radostina from Belfast City, Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland - Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast (2)

Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Sent by Claudia, a WiP partner from Ireland.

Northern Ireland - Belfast City (1)

BELFAST
Clockwise from top left : The Grand Opera House; The ALbert Memorial Clock; The Ring of Thanksgiving at the Waterfront; The Waterfront Hall; The Odyssey Arena.

Sent by Tsang from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

This is from Wikipedia : Belfast (from Irish: Béal Feirste, meaning "mouth of the sandbars") is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland, as well as the second largest city on the island of Ireland. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. The city forms part of the largest urban area in Northern Ireland, and the main settlement in the province of Ulster. The city of Belfast has a population of 267,500 and lies at the heart of the Belfast urban area, which has a population of 483,418. The Larger Urban Zone, as defined by the European Union, has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.

Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "Linenopolis"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff, which built the ill-fated RMS Titanic, propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century.

Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the largest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by Ulster unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster in particular would fight to resist it.

Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education and business, a legal centre, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of disruption, conflict, and destruction called the Troubles, but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square.

Belfast is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 km) west of the city. Belfast is also a major seaport, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard. Belfast is a constituent city of the Dublin-Belfast corridor, which has a population of 3 million, or half the total population of the island of Ireland.

Northern Ireland - Donaghadee, Co. Down

Aerial view of Donaghadee, Co. Down.

Sent by Tsang from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

This is from Wikipedia : Donaghadee (from Irish: Domhnach Daoi, meaning "Daoi’s church") is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about 18 miles (29 km) east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It had a population of 6,470 people in the 2001 Census. The town boasts a number of pubs, including Grace Neill's (opened in 1611 as the 'King's Arms'), which claims to be the oldest on the island of Ireland, a record officially held by Sean's Bar in the Republic of Ireland.

In the 17th century Ulster ports began to rise in prominence. 1625 William Pitt was appointed as Customer of the ports of Newcastle, Dundrum, Killough, Portaferry, Donaghadee, Bangor and Holywood. In 1637 the Surveyor General of Customs issued a report compiled from accounts of customs due from each port and their "subsidiary creeks". Of the Ulster ports on the list, Carrickfergus was first, followed by Bangor, Donaghadee, and Strangford.

Irish Rebellion of 1798 - On the morning of Pike Sunday, 10 June 1798 a force of United Irishmen, mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee, Greyabbey and Ballywalter attempted to occupy the town of Newtownards. They met with musket fire from the market house and were defeated.

Donaghadee was used in the 1759-1826 period by couples going to Portpatrick, Wigtown, Scotland to marry, as there was a daily packet boat. During this period, Portpatrick was known as the Gretna Green for Ireland.

The lifeboat station at Donaghadee harbour, founded in 1910, is one of the most important on the Irish coast. RNLB Sir Samuel Kelly is a famous lifeboat once based in Donaghadee and now on show and preserved at the harbour for her gallant efforts over 50 years ago. On 31 January 1953 the lifeboat rescued 32 survivors in the Irish Sea from the stricken Larne–Stranraer car ferry, MV Princess Victoria.

27 January 1994 - Robin Maxwell (27), a Protestant civilian and common criminal, was shot and killed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) during an attempted robbery at a petrol filling station, New Road, Donaghadee, County Down.

United Kingdom - Northern Ireland - Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast (1)

GIANT'S CAUSEWAY, CO. ANTRIM : Often referred to as the eight wonder of the world. This remarkable arrangement of stones calls for an explanation. The peculiar columnar formation was caused by slow and irregular cooling of lava which produced hexagonal cracks. Although the stones are mainly six sided there are some of 3, 5, 7 and 8 sides. The result was to produce fantastic designs that are given names like : The Wishing Chair, My Lady's Fan, The Giant's Organ, Coffin, and Loom.

Sent by Tsang from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

This is from UNESCO : The site lies on the north coast of the County of Antrim, Northern Ireland, and includes the Causeway Coast extending for about 6 km between Causeway Head and Benbane Head. The Causeway Coast has an unparalleled display of geological formations representing volcanic activity during the early Tertiary period some 50-60 million years ago. The most characteristic and unique feature of the site is the exposure of a large number of regular polygonal columns of basalt in perfect horizontal sections forming a pavement.

Tertiary lavas of the Antrim Plateau, covering some 3,800 km2, represent the largest remaining lava plateau in Europe. The coastline is composed of a series of bays and headlands consisting of resistant lavas.

The average height of the cliffs is 100 m, and has a stepped appearance due to the succession of five or six lava flows through geological time. This geological succession during the Tertiary period consists of the Lower Basalts, where about six of the 11 lava flows are 67 m thick and are exposed between Plaiskin Head and Benbane Head; the Interbasaltic Bed which are exposed along extensive sections of the cliffs east of Giant's Causeway; and the Middle Basalts, which are thick flows ranging from 30 m to over 150 m. The Giant's Causeway displays the columnar basalt structures and includes the Specific sites of interest include the Giant's Causeway itself (a sea-level promontory of almost entirely regular polygonal columns averaging 45 cm in diameter and numbering 40,000 columns), the Giant's Organ (60, 12 m high regular columns and the three-tier structured Middle Basalt), Chimney Tops and Hamilton's Seat (a viewpoint). The coastline is also cut through by olivine and theoleiite dykes.

In addition to its geological features the site has a range of habitats covering seashore, cliff, scree, grassland, scrub, heathland and marsh.

The Giant's Causeway itself (a sea-level promontory of almost entirely regular polygonal columns averaging 45 cm in diameter and numbering approximately 40,000 columns); the Giant's Organ (about 60 regular columns, 12 m high; Chimney Tops (a number of columns separated from the cliffs by erosion); and Hamilton's Seat (a view point). The coastline is also cut through by olivine and tholeiite dykes, a good example of which can be seen at Roveran Valley Head. Exposure of these columns, in perfect horizontal sections at such a scale creating a pavement, is considered a unique combination of features.

The wreck site of the Armada gallesass Gerona in Port-na-Spaniagh, below the isolated columns known as the 'Chimneys', is of considerable cultural importance. The sublittoral area is a protected nautical archaeological site, and the treasures and other Armada artefacts recovered by Robert Stenuit and his team between 1967 and 1969 are conserved in the Ulster Museum, Belfast. This collection is a major part of all known recovered Armada artifacts.

The Giant's Causeway featured in the 18th-century geological controversies on the origins of basalts. There is an interesting cultural heritage associated with place names, and other local history such as the kelp (seaweed) and fisheries exploitation carried out by local communities, documented mainly in the 18th to mid-20th centuries.