Background Information on Northern Ireland Society - Geography

Geography

• The island of Ireland is situated in the Atlantic ocean, west of Britain, and to the extreme north-west of Europe. It lies between latitude 51.5 and 55.5 degrees North, and longitude 5.5 and 10.5 degrees West.

• Ireland shares the same time zone as London that is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

• Northern Ireland is situated in the north-eastern corner of Ireland, and is made up of six counties: Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.
  Outline map of Northern Ireland; counties

• Belfast, situated in county Antrim, is the capital city of Northern Ireland.

• There are five cities in the region: Armagh, Belfast, Derry, Lisburn, and Newry. (Lisburn and Newry were granted city status in 2002.)

• Northern Ireland has a population of 1,641,700. Belfast is by far the largest city, but there are also major population centres in Ballymena, Coleraine, Craigavon, Derry, Dungannon, Lisburn, Newry, and Omagh.
  Outline map of Northern Ireland; main cities, towns, and villages

• There is a significant imbalance in the industrial development between the east and west of the River Bann. The East of the Bann tends to be largely industrialised, whilst the West remains more agriculturally based.
  
  

Climate:

The climate of Ireland is influenced by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and on the whole, it tends to be quite temperate. Its relatively small size and the prevailing south-west winds also give a fairly uniform temperature over the whole country. Winters tend to be generally mild, and summers generally cool.

• Coldest months of the year: usually January and February. Average temperature: 4^oc-7^oc.
  
  
• Warmest months of the year: July and August. Average temperature: 14^oc-16^oc.
  
  
• Sunniest months of the year: May and June. Average sunshine per day: 5-7 hours.
  
  
• Average rainfall for Ireland as a whole is between 800 and 1200 mm (or 31" to 41") per year.
  
  
  

Landscape:

• The main rivers of Northern Ireland are the river Foyle and the Upper and Lower Bann. The river Foyle forms part of the northwestern boundary and flows into Lough Foyle at Derry. The Upper Bann rises in the Mourne Mountains and empties into Lough Neagh while the Lower Bann flows out of Lough Neagh to the North Channel. There are however many other rivers such as the Lagan, Erne, Blackwater, and Bush.

• There are three main mountainous areas of considerable height in Northern Ireland. These are the Sperrin Mountains in the northwest, the Antrim Plateau which is along the northeastern coast, and the Mourne Mountains in the southeast. The highest point in the country is Slieve Donard (2796 ft), a peak in the Mourne Mountains, near Newcastle in county Down.
  
  

Main landmarks include:

• The Giant's Causeway, which is a rock formation consisting of thousands of closely placed, polygonal pillars of black basalt. It is located on the North Antrim coast, and is one of Northern Ireland's main tourist attractions.

• Lough Neagh, which is approximately 150 square miles, and the largest lake (in terms of surface area) in Britain and Ireland. It is situated roughly in the middle of Northern Ireland.

Counties of Ireland - Population, Major Towns/Cities, Land Area, and Rank by Area, (1996 Estimated Figures)

Top 10 Land Owners in Northern Ireland (2002)

Counties of Ireland - Population, Major Towns/Cities, Land Area, and Rank by Area, (1996 Estimated Figures)

County	Population	Major City / Town	Land Area square miles	Rank by Area
Antrim, NI	562216	Belfast	1093	9th
Armagh, NI	141585	Armagh	484	28th
Carlow	41616	Carlow	346	31st
Cavan	52944	Cavan	730	19th
Clare	94006	Ennis	1262	7th
Cork	473277	Cork	2878	1st
Derry, NI	213035	Derry	798	15th
Donegal	129944	Letterkenny	1876	4th
Down, NI	454411	Bangor	945	12th
Dublin	1529102	Dublin	352	30th
Fermanagh, NI	54033	Enniskillen	647	25th
Galway	188976	Galway	2350	2nd
Kerry	126130	Tralee	1815	5th
Kildare	134992	Naas	654	24th
Killkenny	75336	Kilkenny	796	16th
Laois	52945	Portlaoise	664	23rd
Leitrim	25057	Carrick-on-shannon	614	26th
Limerick	192140	Limerick	1030	10th
Longford	30166	Longford	403	29th
Louth	92166	Dundalk	318	32nd
Mayo	111524	Ballina	2159	3rd
Meath	109732	Navan	905	14th
Monaghan	51266	Monaghan	500	27th
Offaly	59080	Tullamore	771	18th
Roscommon	51975	Roscommon	984	11th
Sligo	55821	Sligo	709	22nd
Tipperary	133535	Clonmel	1647	6th
Tyrone, NI	152827	Omagh	1211	8th
Waterford	96295	Waterford	713	20th
Westmeath	92166	Athlone	710	21st
Wexford	104371	Wexford	909	13th
Wicklow	102683	Bray	782	17th

Source: Ireland Almanac and Yearbook of Facts, 2000

Top 10 Land Owners in Northern Ireland (2002)

Rank	Owner	Acres
1	The Forestry Service	185,250 acres (5% of NI)
2	Northern Ireland Water Service	33,000 acres
3	National Trust	27,800 acres
4	Ministry of Defence	7,000 acres
5	Duke of Abercorn	5,500 acres
6	Royal Society for the Protection of Birds	5,335 acres
7	Blackston Houston	4,000 acres
8	Earl of Caledon	2,400 acres
9	Blackwood family	2,000 acres
10	Earl of Erne	2,000 acres

Source: BBC Newsline; 8 April 2002