Northern Ireland

These counties are no longer units of government in Northern Ireland, but continue to have strong local identities and to cohere as travel destinations. They're regularly abbreviated as "Co." for instance "Co. Down" is County Down.

• 🌍 Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, with the major transport hubs and the best visitor facilities. West Belfast was torn by over 30 years of paramilitary and British Military conflict, which its sights reflect. The university area is cosmopolitan and houses a good regional museum. The docks have been revitalised by the Titanic Quarter, which houses a good museum about the Titanic. Dramatic views can be had from Divis and Black Mountain.
• 🌍 Lisburn was the seat of Ireland's linen industry, depicted in its museum.
• 🌍 Bangor is a large coastal town, was a seaside resort. Good base for the Ards Peninsula, home to the island's largest marina and good shopping.
• 🌍 Armagh is the ecclesiastic capital of Ireland, for both the (Anglican) Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church. Nearby Navan Fort is one of the most important ancient sites in Ireland. Home to many myths and legends.
• 🌍 Coleraine on the River Bann in County Londonderry, 5 km from the sea, it has an impressive history dating back to Ireland’s earliest known settlers. Coleraine today is a major gateway to the popular Causeway Coast area. Coleraine is a good shopping town and also has a major performance theatre at the University of Ulster in the town.
• 🌍 Derry, or Londonderry (Doire Cholmcille, "the Maiden City"), gateway to Donegal. Vibrant cultural life, intact city walls and the city where the Troubles started.
• 🌍 Enniskillen is the picturesque main town of County Fermanagh, perfect for exploring the lakes around Lough Erne.
• 🌍 Newry is a town that is a popular destination for shopping. Nearby is Slieve Gullion, the beautiful Mourne mountains and the attractive villages of Rostrevor and Warrenpoint. They somehow mislaid their entire castle in the back-end of a bakery.
• 🌍 Omagh home to the very good Ulster American Folk Park, an outdoor museum of the story of emigration from Ulster to America in the 18th and 19th centuries.

• 🌍 Causeway Coast in County Antrim has remarkable scenery, with the cascade of basalt columns at Giant's Causeway, the windswept bridge of Carrick-a-Rede, the Antrim glens, Dark Hedges, and wacky Gobbins. Bushmills is a venerable whiskey distillery, and there are crumbling castles, long sandy beaches and championship golf courses.
• 🌍 Rathlin Island is Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island, reached by a short ferry ride.
• 🌍 Mourne Mountains are criss-crossed by tracks past woodland up to the peaks: Slieve Donard at 852 m / 2796 ft is the highest in Northern Ireland.
• 🌍 Lough Neagh at 51 square miles (392 km²) is the largest lake in Ireland and Britain, bordered by five of the six counties of Northern Ireland. It's popular for fishing and bird-watching.

English is the official language, spoken and understood everywhere, though the rapid Ulster accent may be a struggle to follow. There are many dialect words the same as Scots, such as "aye" for yes and "wee" for small. "Crack" meaning news, gossip and merriment was likewise Scots but has taken on its Irish spelling "craic". The tell-tale word is "youse" for plural you, a feature that is common throughout the island: this is otherwise only heard in Glasgow, parts of Northern England and other communities with historic links to the island of Ireland.

Irish or Gaeilge in both its standard and Ulster dialects (Canuint Uladh) is enjoying a revival, but is still much rarer than in the Republic. It's a Q-Celtic language akin to Scottish and Manx Gaelic, only distantly related to English, and in 2011 6% spoke it but only 0.2% used it as their everyday tongue. For a century it was shunned in the north: an Irish-speaker was either a poor Catholic potato-digger who'd failed to take the hint and push off to Liverpool, or the sort of quarrelsome (equals terrorist-suspect) nationalist who insists that Londonderry is called Derry. Irish is still only taught in Catholic schools and there are few avenues for adult learning, but it's increasingly used on signage and for official purposes, broadcast on BBC, and belatedly valued as part of Northern Ireland's culture.

Ulster Scots is an oddity - 1% spoke it according to the 2011 Census. Like Scottish Lallans it's on the cusp between being a dialect of English, a separate language, and an academic metro invention. The UK government has made unctuous pronouncements about its cultural relevance, which may be the kiss of death for its street cred, and it shares the problem of many "traditional" languages that have 27 different words for sheep-worming but need to borrow or invent words for cars, TVs and the internet. When written (which historically it wasn't) it looks like the signage at Schiphol Airport re-imagined by Hugh MacDiarmid. It seems likely to die out with the present generation.

Foreign languages are spoken by that nice couple from Hanover you sat by in the restaurant, and that student from Paris you met at the museum: they all seemed fluent in the foreign language of English. In Northern Ireland as in Great Britain, the older generation never learned (or saw the point of learning) other languages. However, the younger generations are slowly starting to see the necessity of knowing foreign languages. French has historically been quite popular among secondary students, but Spanish and German have seen a rise in popularity as well.

• Giant's Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a dramatic cascade of basalt columns as the Antrim plateau reaches the sea.
• Carrick-a-Rede Bridge near Ballycastle was woven by fisherfolk to gain access to an islet with good salmon fishing. It's nowadays steel hawser not rope, but just as draughty across the chasm.
• Ulster American Folk Park is an open-air museum near Omagh in County Tyrone, depicting the story of emigration from Ulster to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries. There is an Old World section, the voyage itself, then emigrant life in the New World.
• Londonderry is a fascinating walled city and redoubt.
• Castles and mansions: Hillsborough and Newtownards have fine examples.
• Marble Arch Caves are part of the Global Geopark in the limestone terrain of Belcoo in County Fermanagh.
• Political murals are common in the "interface areas" where Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods adjoin, so west Belfast and Derry have plenty. They're painted on gable walls of buildings and proclaim local allegiances. They come and go with political events - in 2014 one notable series in Strabane expressed solidarity with Palestine - so ask around if there are any examples worth tracking down.

• Rugby union unites all the communities and is played on an all-Ireland basis, with players from Northern Ireland and the Republic turning out for the Irish national team. (Home internationals such as the Six Nations are staged in Dublin.) Ulster Rugby are the local professional team likewise drawn from Northern Ireland and from the three RoI counties of Ulster. They play in the United Rugby Championship (formerly known as Pro-14), the predominantly Celtic league, with their home ground at Ravenhill (sponsored as Kingspan Stadium) in Belfast.
• Football - soccer - is less developed, and the quality of the domestic league is low as nearly all the top Northern Irish footballers play for English clubs. Northern Ireland has its own national team, which has seen limited success - like other middle-order nations, it hopes to benefit from the enlarged format of tournaments such the UEFA Euro finals. The top club competition is the NIFL or Danske Bank Premiership of 12 teams. Linfield FC often win it - they and the national team play at Windsor Park in Belfast. Derry City is the only Northern Ireland club to play in the Republic's League of Ireland, where the playing season is April-Oct.
• Gaelic athletic games. Gaelic Football is played in Irish communities, from parish teams to county teams. County teams that win the Ulster championship get to play in the All Ireland championship. The ancient game of hurling and the female equivalent camogie are also play.
• Golf: lots and lots of courses. The championship course is Royal Portrush, hosting the Open in 2019 and next doing so in 2025.
• Motorbike racing was a big thing in Northern Ireland in the heyday of Joey Dunlop (1952-2000), but a series of tragedies has driven audiences and sponsorship away. The NorthWest 200 and Armoy Road Races are still held near Ballymoney in summer but the Dundrod and Clady races have folded.

• Learn Irish: the language is making a comeback. An Chultúrlann in west Belfast holds regular classes for all levels of ability and has Irish books and other learning materials.
• Orange Order Parades are a piece of living history, quintessential Northern Ireland. They wear their full-fig regalia and Carsonite bowler hats and strut down the street to the shrill of fife and tuck of drum. They are of course contentious: they symbolise Protestant and unionist dominance in the north, the lyrics of their tunes are anything but inclusive, and they have drawn (and gone looking for) trouble. However they're now regulated by the Parades Commission, which vets their route and won't let them march through neighbourhoods where they'd cause offence. The marching bands nowadays equivocate about their Protestant / Unionist roots, and bandy the word "community" a lot. The summer marching season culminates on the 12th of July, a public holiday commemorating the 1690 Battle of the Boyne which cemented Protestant hegemony in Ireland for the next 200 years - and for 300 in Northern Ireland. (When the 12th is a Sunday, the marches and holiday are on Monday 13th - this next occurs in 2026.) All the main towns have parades, and Belfast's is huge. Morning parades are peaceful because everyone's sober and knows their mothers are watching. Afternoon parades are like football crowds after a day in the pub, there may be alcohol-fuelled disorder; just use your common sense to swerve clear. For the full schedule of parades see the Commission website: they regulate all such events not just the Orange Order, even antique tractor rallies.

• Money: the only official currency of Northern Ireland is the pound sterling (£). Bank of England notes are legal tender and universally accepted (beware that the "Adam Smith" English £20 ceased to be valid in 2022). The Northern Irish banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank, and Ulster Bank) print their own notes, in common use here but often not accept Great Britain and internationally, so go to a bank and exchange them for Bank of England notes before leaving; any bank in the UK is required to exchange them for free. The euro (€) is accepted in border areas, with a poor exchange rate — save your euro for the Republic of Ireland and change your euro into pounds. Debit cards and credit cards from Visa and Mastercard are accepted.
• Cross-border shopping is occasionally a feature when the £ / € rate or tax difference (e.g. on fuel) becomes marked. In the early 21st century differences have been small, tending to draw shoppers in from the Republic rather than have Ulsterfolk sally out to Dundalk or Letterkenny. If you plan a cross-border trip, check ahead in case a bargain has emerged.

A popular dish is an assortment of fried food, called the "Ulster Fry". It consists of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, sausages, potato bread and soda bread. Some versions include mushrooms or baked beans. Fries are generally prepared as the name suggests, everything is fried in a pan. Traditionally lard was used, but due to health concerns, it has been replaced with oils such as rapeseed and olive. Historically, it was popular with the working class.

Northern Ireland is known for its distinctive breads including soda bread, potato farls and Veda bread.

Some shops on the north coast close to Ballycastle sell a local delicacy called dulse. This is a certain type of seaweed, usually collected, washed and sun-dried from the middle of summer through to the middle of autumn. Additionally, in August, the lamas fair is held in Ballycastle, and a traditional sweet, called "yellow man" is sold in huge quantities. As you can tell from the name, it's yellow in colour, it's also very sweet, and can get quite sticky. If you can, try to sample some yellow man, just make sure you have use of a toothbrush shortly after eating it... it'll rot your teeth!

The cuisine in Northern Ireland is similar to that in the United Kingdom and Ireland as a whole, with dishes such as fish and chips a popular fast food choice. Local dishes such as various types of stew and potato-based foods are also very popular. 'Champ' is a local speciality consisting of creamed potatoes mixed with scallions and colcannon is similar with cabbage.

As in the rest of the UK, most towns will have at least one Italian, Indian or Chinese restaurant. With the advent of the peace process, the improvements in economic conditions for many people in Northern Ireland, there has been a great increase in the number of good restaurants, especially in the larger towns such as Belfast and Derry. Indeed it would be difficult for a visitor to either of those cities not to find a fine-dining establishment to suit their tastes, and wallet.

There is a strong emphasis on local produce. Locally produced meats, cheeses and drinks can be found in any supermarket. For the real Northern Irish experience, sample Tayto brand cheese and onion flavoured crisps: these are nothing short of being a local icon and are available everywhere.

The legal drinking age in Northern Ireland is 18. Those of 16-17 may be served beer and wine with meals if accompanied by a sober adult. Pubs are normally open Su-Th until 23:00 and F Sa to 01:00, but in 2020 and 2021 they've had curtailed hours.

• Bushmills Whiskey is made in that Antrim north coast town. The distillery tours are very much on the tourist circuit as it's close to Giant's Causeway.
• Guinness: it's a Marmite thing, you either like the burnt flavour or you don't, and there's no shame in not liking it. It's just as popular in Northern Ireland as in the Republic, and the Guinness family were famously Protestant. But Guinness established such commercial dominance that other breweries struggled, and it was easier to find continental beers in Northern Ireland than anything brewed locally. Micro- and craft breweries are now appearing - they're described for individual towns so try their products, but few offer tours. One that does is Hilden in Lisburn.
• Belfast Distillery is nowadays just a retail park, recalled in several street names. There are plans to convert cells within the former Crumlin Road jail into a whiskey distillery, but in 2021 the only spirits you might encounter are the unquiet dead on the jail's "paranormal tours".
• Belfast Artisan Distillery makes gin several miles north at Newtownabbey, no tours.
• Echlinville Distillery in Kircubbin south of Newtownards produce whiskey, which first came to market in 2016; no tours.
• Niche Drinks in Derry produce a blended whiskey, but their main line is cream liqueurs, Irish coffee and the like; no tours.

Northern Ireland changed greatly with the advent of the 1998 peace agreement, though its troubles have not entirely ceased. There remains a high frequency of terrorist incidents in Northern Ireland, with the UK Home Office defining the current threat level as 'severe'. Tourists, however, are not the target of such terrorist incidents and therefore are highly unlikely to be affected. Civil unrest is more likely during the contentious 'marching season' in summer. The U.S. State Department advises visitors to Northern Ireland to remain 'alert' during their visit and to keep themselves abreast of political developments.

Most visits to Northern Ireland, however, are trouble-free, and visitors are unlikely to visit areas at risk of violence. Northern Ireland has a significantly lower crime rate than the rest of the UK. Pickpockets and violent crime are rare so you can generally walk around the main streets of Belfast or any other city or town without fear during the day.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary or RUC) is the police force in Northern Ireland. Unlike the Garda Síochána in the Republic, the PSNI are routinely armed with handguns and/or long arms. The police still use heavily-armoured Land Rover vehicles; do not be concerned by this, as it doesn't mean that trouble is about to break out. There is a visible police presence in Belfast and Derry, and the police are approachable and helpful. Almost all police stations in Northern Ireland are reinforced with fencing or high, blast-proof walls. It is important to remember that there is still a necessity for this type of protection and that it is a visible reminder of the province's past.

As with most places, avoid being alone at night in urban areas. In addition, avoid wearing clothes that could identify you, correctly or not, as being from one community or the other, for example Celtic or Rangers football kits. If in doubt, do not express political viewpoints - it would be even better to act as if you either don't know about the conflict or don't care. Avoid political gatherings where possible. Many pubs have a largely cultural and political atmosphere (such as on the Falls Road, the mostly Nationalist main road in West Belfast, and the Newtownards Roads in predominantly Unionist East Belfast).

On the days around 12 July, the Orange Parades can lead to road closures and some shops may close for the day or for a few hours. The parades have been known to get a bit rowdy in certain areas but have vastly improved. Additionally, the last Saturday in August is known as "Black Saturday" which is the end of the marching season. Trouble can break out without warning, though locals or Police officers will be more than happy to advise visitors on where to avoid. The Twelfth Festival in Belfast is being re-branded as a tourist-friendly family experience and efforts are being made to enforce no-alcohol rules aimed at reducing trouble.

There are no COVID-related restrictions in place in Northern Ireland; however, the government recommends the wearing of a mask in indoor public places, such as shops, cafes, pubs and venues, and in health and social care settings like hospitals and care homes.

For the most up-to-date information:

• Northern Ireland Government coronavirus portal
• Health and Social Care (HSC) Board
• Public Health Agency

To dial Northern Ireland from outside the UK or Republic (or from a "foreign" phone whilst there), dial +44 28.

From Great Britain dial the area code 028, with no country code. From within Northern Ireland, just dial the number with no country or area code.

From the Republic, dial the area code 048, with no country code; +44 28 also works but is charged at international rates. There isn't a reciprocal arrangement, so to call the Republic from Belfast it's +353 then the area code (such as 1 for Dublin) same as if you called from Belgrade.

International phone cards are widely available in large towns and cities within Northern Ireland, and phone boxes accept payment in GBP£ and Euro. You can also buy a cheap pay as you go phone from any of the phone networks.

Northern Ireland has the same mobile networks as Great Britain: EE, O2, Three and Vodafone. The towns and main highways have coverage from all of them, often with 4G, but the signal is patchy out in the country lanes. O2 has somewhat wider coverage than the others; see individual pages for details. As of Oct 2021, there's 5G in Belfast but not beyond. Wifi is widely available in public places.

Using a Northern Ireland or other British phone in the Republic may incur EU roaming charges, and vice versa for Irish phones used in the north. Areas within five miles of the border (such as Derry) pick up both countries' networks, so take care your mobile doesn't switch. The Irish carriers are eir Mobile, Three Mobile and Vodafone Mobile, so check which version of Vodafone you're on.

The province's troubled past has created a uniquely complex situation within Northern Ireland's society. Integration, or even interaction, between the two main religious groups varies hugely depending on where you are: for example, in affluent South Belfast or Bangor, those from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds live side by side, as they have for generations, whereas in West Belfast, the two communities are separated by a wall. As above, visitors are advised to avoid making political statements or taking one side over the other.

Foreign nationals claiming they are ‘Irish’ just because of an ancestor will likely be met with amusement, although this may become annoyance or anger should they then express their views related to The Troubles.

Unlike in parts of Europe, there is no social taboo associated with appearing drunk in bars or public places. Though it is advisable to avoid political conversations in general, this is particularly true when alcohol is involved. People from all backgrounds congregate in Belfast city centre to enjoy its nightlife; avoiding political discussions is an unwritten rule. Do not ask for an Irish Car Bomb or a Black and Tan in a bar - more acceptable names are an Irish Slammer or a half-and-half.

Also, Northern Irish people have a habit of gently refusing gifts or gestures you may offer them. Do not be offended, because they really mean that they like the gesture. Also, you are expected to do the same, so as not to appear slightly greedy. It is a confusing system but is not likely to get you in trouble.

Tours of Belfast often include a visit to the Peace Lines, the steel barriers that separate housing estates along sectarian lines. These are particularly visible in West Belfast. It is common for private or taxi tours to stop here and some tourists take the opportunity to write messages on the wall. It is important to remember that there is a real reason why these barriers have not been removed, and that they provide security for those living on either side of them. Messages questioning the need for these security measures, or those encouraging the residents to 'embrace peace' etc., are not appreciated by members of the community who live with the barriers on a day-to-day basis, and such behaviour is generally regarded as arrogant and patronising.

The terms which refer to the two communities in Northern Ireland have changed and 'Nationalist' or 'Unionist' are considered more neutral descriptions of people's positions. If in doubt it is best to use the term "Northern Ireland" until you are prompted to do otherwise. To refer to Ireland as a geographical whole, a reference to "the island of Ireland" or "all-Ireland" is widely understood, for example in sporting events.

Visitors might be more aware that the second city of Northern Ireland has two English-language names, "Londonderry" (official) and "Derry" (used by the local government district and on road signs in the Republic). Nationalists, and everyone in the Republic, will invariably use the name "Derry", whereas Unionists strongly prefer "Londonderry". It is wise not to question this, and if you are asked "Did you mean Derry" or "Did you mean Londonderry?" you should politely say yes.

It may all seem confusing, but Northern Irish people won't expect you to know or care about every detail of the situation and, as mentioned above, will openly welcome you to their country. Young people tend to be more open-minded about it all and are much less politically motivated than their parents or grandparents.

• The Republic of Ireland is quickly reached in any direction but north; Dublin is within a day trip but deserves much longer.
• Scotland is visible across the North Channel. Glasgow especially has strong links to Ulster.
• The Isle of Man is the clod of earth that Finn McCool hurled in the general direction of his foe Bennandonner. You may have to travel via Dublin to reach it.