Northern Ireland

The province of Northern Ireland (sometimes called "Ulster") consists of six counties: Antrim, Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Londonderry. Belfast is the capital city. The province is surrounded by sea to the north and east, by the Republican counties of Donegal to the west and Cavan and Monaghan to the south.

-	Armagh was important long before Christianity as the home of Ulster kings for six centuries. The north of the county is a rich fruit-producing area.
-	Fermanagh is almost as much lake as land, with huge Lough Erne running through its centre. Enniskillen is the county town.
-	County Down is one of the best farming counties in Ireland. It is closely associated with St Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, after whom the county town of Downpatrick is named. In the south of the county are the Mourne Mountains.
-	The Antrim coast is a remarkable stretch of country. Its geological composition goes back 300 million years!
-	The county of Londonderry has fine beaches in the north and the Sperrin Mountains in the south. The county town, Londonderry, is one of the two most important cities in Northern Ireland.
-	Rathlin Island is inhabited by only thirty families. For centuries the Scots and Irish fought over the island but eventually the Irish were allowed to stay because of the absence of snakes on the island. (It is said that St Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland!)

Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 101