Belfast (from the Irish: Béal Feirste meaning 'Mouth of the River Farset') is a city in the United Kingdom and the capital of Northern Ireland. It is the largest city in Northern Ireland and the province of Ulster, and the second-largest city on the island of Ireland (after Dublin). In the 2001 census the population within the city limits (the Belfast Urban Area) was 277,391,[1] while 579,276 people lived in the wider Belfast Metropolitan Area.[2]
Belfast is situated on Northern Ireland's eastern coast and straddles the border between County Antrim and County Down. The city is flanked to the north by a series of hills, including Cavehill, which are thought to be inspiration for Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. He imagined they resembled the shape of a sleeping giant safeguarding the city.[3] Belfast city developed near the mouth of the River Lagan and at the south-western end of the long natural inlet of Belfast Lough, making it an ideal location for the shipbuilding industry that would make it famous. When the Titanic was built in Belfast in 1912, Harland and Wolff had the largest shipyard in the world.[4]
Etymology and MottoBelfast, the English version of the city's name, derives from the Irish Béal Feirste, or 'mouth of the Farset' (feirste is the genitive of the word fearsaid, 'a spindle'), the river on which the city was built. The river Farset has been superseded by the River Lagan as the more important river; the Farset now languishes under the High Street in obscurity. Bridge Street indicates where there was originally a bridge across the Farset.
The City of Belfast has the Latin motto 'Pro tanto quid retribuamus'. This can be translated as 'What shall we give in return for so much' (literally 'Having received so much, what return shall we make') and is taken from Psalm 116 Verse 12 in the Latin Vulgate Bible. The city's coat of arms shows central shield, bearing a ship and a bell, flanked by a chained wolf (or wolfhound) on the left and a seahorse on the right. A smaller seahorse sits at the top. This crest dates back to 1613, when King James the First first granted Belfast town status. The seal was used by Belfast merchants throughout the seventeenth century on their signs and trade-coins.[8] The seal is displayed in a large stained glass window in the City Hall, where an explanation suggests that the sea horse and the ship refer to Belfast maritime importance. The wolf may be a tribute to the city's founder, Sir Arthur Chichester, and refer to his own coat of arms.[9]
Geography and Climate GeographyBelfast is situated at . A consequence of this latitude is that it both endures short winter day and enjoys long summer evenings. In the middle of the darkest period in December, local sunset is at 3.50 p.m. while sunrise is as late as 8.45 a.m. However, this is counterbalanced by the period from May to July. In mid-to-late June, sunset occurs after 10 p.m. and the daylight survives until 11 p.m. on fine nights, while sunrise is as early as 4 a.m. (sometimes earlier).
To the north of Belfast are the Glens of Antrim in County Antrim, and to the south, the Castlereagh Hills in County Down. Overlooking the city are Divis Mountain, Black Mountain and Cavehill while to the east lies Belfast Lough.
The official NISRA estimate of the area of Belfast Local Government District is 109.6km². However the 2001 Census figures, which include areas of inland water and estuaries, estimate the area at 114.9km².[10]
ClimateLike much of the country, Belfast has a temperate climate with significant rainfall. Average daily maximums are 18 °C (64 °F) in July, 6 °C (43 °F) in January. There is significant rainfall on over two hundred days in an average year, and an annual rainfall total of approximately 846 milimetres (33.3 in), still barely half that received in Western Ireland and Scotland, though is still substantially more than Dublin or the south-east coast of Ireland. While sleet and snow fall occasionally in Winter, as an urban, coastal area, snow lies in Belfast on an average of only 2—3 days per year. Belfast is not noted for its temperature extremes.
The highest temperature recorded in Belfast was 30.8 °C (87.44 °F) on 12 July 1983. The lowest temperature was -13 °C (8.6 °F).
Areas and DistrictsAs with many cities, much of what is now called Greater Belfast existed as separate towns and villages before the city's expansion. Including the City Centre the city can be divided into five obvious areas: North Belfast, East Belfast, South Belfast, and West Belfast. Each of these is a parliamentary constituency.
Belfast City Centre is divided by two postcodes, BT1 for the area lying north of the City Hall, and BT2 for the area south of the City Hall. The industrial estate and docklands share BT3. The rest of the Greater Belfast area postcodes are set out in a clockwise system, with BT4 being to the under-right of BT3, and BT5 being right of BT4, with BT6 being to the under-left of BT5, etc. Although BT stands for Belfast, it is used across the whole of Northern Ireland.
Since 2001, boosted by increasing numbers of tourists, the city has also developed a number of cultural 'quarters'. These are:
Belfast has over forty public parks. The Forest of Belfast, which was set up in 1992, is a partnership between government and local groups to manage and conserve these local parks and open spaces. They have also commissioned more than 30 public sculptures since 1993.[12] The City Council has also set aside £8 million to continue this work.[13]
Built in the 1830s and designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, The Palm House in Belfast's Botanic Gardens is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear and cast iron glasshouse.[14]. The garden's Tropical Ravine with a humid jungle glen was built in 1889.[15] Other attractions include rose gardens and various events staged in the Gardens ranging from a pop concerts (U2 played here in 1997) to live opera broadcasts in the summer. The Tennents ViTal festival takes place in the gardens each summer.
Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park attracts thousands of visitors each year to its International Rose Garden.[16] Lying to the south of the city centre, it has an area of 128 acres of meadows, woodland and gardens. Rose Week in July each year boasts over 20,000 blooms.[17] Other attractions include a Princess Diana Memorial Garden, the Japanese Garden, a walled garden, and the Golden Crown Fountain commissioned in 2002 as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.[16]
DemographicsAt the end of the nineteenth century, Belfast's inner city experienced an enormous growth in population due to urbanisation and the new industry jobs in Belfast. This growth slowed and peaked with the 1971 census showing almost 600,000 people in Belfast's Urban Area.[18] Since that time the inner city numbers have dropped as the Greater Belfast suburb population has grown. As with many cities, Belfast's inner city is currently characterised by the elderly, students and single young people, while families tend to live on the periphery. Socio-economic areas radiate out from the Central Business District, with a pronounced wedge of affluence extending out the Malone Road to the south.[18] An area of greater deprivation extends to the west of the city. In fact the areas around the Falls and Shankill Roads are the most deprived wards in Northern Ireland.[19] In February 2006, Belfast's unemployment rate stood at 4.2%, lower than the rest of Northern Ireland[20] and lower than the national UK average of 5.4%.[21] In 2001 Belfast had the lowest owner occupation rate in Northern Ireland at 54%.[22]
In the 2001 UK Census The NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) counted 276,459 people living in Belfast Urban Area.[23] This census also showed:
Despite a period of relative peace, most areas & districts of Belfast still reflect the divided nature of Northern Ireland as a whole. Many areas are still highly segregated along ethnic and religious lines, especially in working class neighbourhoods.[24] These divisions, either ‘Protestant’ or ‘Catholic’, are invariably marked by flags, graffiti and murals. This segregation has been present since the birth of the city but has been maintained and increased as a direct result of violence. The highest levels of segregation are in West Belfast with many areas greater than 90% Catholic. Opposite but comparatively high levels are seen in the predominantly Protestant east of the city.[25] Through the history of Belfast, segregation has only increased with each new outbreak of violence in a 'rachet effect', showing little decrease during times of peace.[26] When violence flares, it tends to be in interface areas.
There have been ethnic minority communities living in Belfast since the 1930s. The largest immigrant groups are Chinese and Irish travellers. However numbers have recently been boosted by a large influx of Eastern European immigrants. Census figures (2001) showed that Belfast has a total ethnic minority population of 4,584 or 1.3% of the population. Over half of these live in South Belfast with numbers reaching 2.63% of the population.[27] There are an estimated 5000 Muslims[28] and 3000 Hindus[29] living in Northern Ireland. The majority of these live and work in the Greater Belfast area.
CultureHilary McGrady, Chief Executive of Imagine Belfast, claimed that 'Belfast has begun a social, economic and cultural transformation that has the potential to reverberate across Europe.'[30] Belfast is evenly split between its Catholic and Protestant populations and these two distinct vibrant cultural communities have both made their own contributions to the city's culture. Throughout the troubles, Belfast continued to to express itself through art and music. Today, it has a growing international cultural reputation as both communities move into the future and prove the relevance of art in education and healthcare environments as well as using it to heal the divisions of the past and promote social growth for the future.[31]
For over two hundred years, Belfast has been a cultural and academic centre giving it the nickname the Athens of Ireland.[32] In fact in 1841, J. Stirling Coyne wrote about Belfast 'so celebrated has this town become for its patronage and love of learning, that it has acquired the proud title of the modern Athens'.[33]
In 2003, Belfast had a unsuccessful bid for the 2008 European Capital of Culture. The ambitious bid was run by an independent company called Imagine Belfast and boasted that it would 'make Belfast the meeting place of Europe's legends where the meaning of history and belief find a home and a sanctuary from caricature, parody and oblivion.'[34] Belfast's bid was based on three main themes: 'Through the eyes of a Child', 'Made in Belfast', and 'To live without walls'. These themes of unity and peace and creating a better city for our children became the core of the Imagine Belfast bid. Ultimately the bid may have been wrecked by the city's history and volatile politics.[35]
Imagine Belfast spent £1.2 million of public money and £100,000 of private funding in developing their bid.[36] However, Belfast City Council insist this money was not wasted. The legacy of the failed bid was a new Culture and Arts Plan 2003-2006 to take forward the spirit of the Imagine Belfast bid. The Chief Executive of Belfast City Council described the bid as 'a catalytic event leading to a step change in the development of arts and culture in the city'.[37] Indeed, the statistics show this to be true. In 2004-05, culture and arts events in Belfast were attended by 1.8 million people (400,000 more than the previous year). The same year, 80,000 people participated in culture and arts activities, twice as many as in 2003-04.[38]
As Belfast becomes more prosperous and its citizens have more disposable income, culture and the arts are becoming economically important to the city. Belfast City Council has promoted culture with the goals of encouraging creativity, bringing communities together to facilitate reconciliation, and creating new jobs. In 2004-05 culture and arts initiatives created the equivalent of 413 full time jobs (37% more than the previous year).[39]
A combination of relative peace, international investment and an active promotion of arts and culture is attracting more tourists to Belfast than ever before. 5.9 million people visted Belfast in 2004-05 (up 10% from the previous year) and spent £262.5 million.[40]
AttractionsThe City Hall, dating from 1906, Queen's University of Belfast (1849), and other Victorian and Edwardian buildings display a large number of sculptures. Among the grandest buildings are two former banks: Ulster Bank (1860), in Waring Street and Northern Bank (1769), in nearby Donegall Street. Also notable is the Linenhall Library (1788), in Donegall Square North. Architect Charles Lanyon is responsible for many of the city's Victorian buildings. Some of Belfast's oldest buildings still remain in the Cathedral Quarter area, which is currently undergoing redevelopment as the city's main cultural and tourist area.
The world's largest dry dock is located in the city,[41] and the giant cranes (Samson and Goliath) of the Harland and Wolff shipyard, builders of the Titanic, can be seen from afar. Other long-gone industries included Irish linen and rope-making.
Sections of the city contain numerous sectarian murals, reflecting the political and religious allegiances of the communities living there. Areas such as the Shankill Road contain murals that are almost entirely Protestant, depicting republican violence, loyalty to the British Crown, the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association. Conversely, murals in areas such as the Falls Road, which is almost entirely Roman Catholic, feature political themes such as a united Ireland and the Provisional IRA, as well as traditional folklore and the Irish language. The Gaelic folk hero Cúchulainn has appeared on both republican and loyalist murals, representing the heroic Celtic past for the former and legendary battles between Ulster and the other provinces for the latter. In recent years some paramilitary murals have been replaced, in both loyalist and republican areas, with less controversial images. These include murals to the writer C. S. Lewis and the late Belfast footballer George Best.[42]
The four star Europa Hotel, located in the City Centre, was bombed twenty-seven times during the troubles and is among one of the most bombed hotels in Europe[43]
The ornately decorated Crown Liquor Saloon in Great Victoria Street is notable as being the only bar owned by the National Trust. It was made internationally famous as the setting for the classic film, Odd Man Out, starring James Mason.[44]
The Royal Courts of Justice in Chichester Street is home to Northern Ireland's Supreme Court.
Belfast also contains the tallest building (as distinct from structure) on the island of Ireland. Windsor House stands at 80 metres (262 ft) and has twenty-three floors. Once completed, the Obel Tower will surpass Windsor House, although a taller building than this has been given planning permission in Dublin. In January 2007 plans were submitted to build the Aurora Tower on Great Victoria Street, which will be 37 storeys high. At 109m (358 ft) high it will house 290 luxury apartments and be 28m (92 ft) higher than the Obel Tower.[45]
The Albert Clock stands at the end of High Street, and was built in memory of Queen Victoria's Prince Consort, Prince Albert. The Ormeau Baths Gallery on Ormeau Avenue is one of Ireland's premier contemporary art spaces. Belfast Zoo is located in the north of the City, on the slopes of Cavehill. Founded in 1833 by Bishop Crolly, St. Malachy's College is one of Ireland's oldest Roman Catholic grammar schools.
St George's Market, built between 1890 and 1896, is Belfast's last surviving Victorian covered market. It was restored at a cost of £4.5 million in 1997, and hosts regular Friday and Saturday markets. Near the Market is Saint Malachy's Church, Belfast. Built between 1841 and 1844, it is built in the Tudor Revival style and is unique in Ireland. It is also one of only two buildings remaining in Belfast which was constructed with hand-made bricks.
Belfast City Cemetery contains the graves of many notable Belfast residents including Viscount Pirrie and Sir Edward Harland.
SportWatching and playing sport is an important part of Northern Irish culture. Almost 6 out of 10 of the adult population (59%) participate in one or more sports.[46] Belfast has several notable sports teams playing sports as diverse as football and rugby, traditional Irish Gaelic games, and North American sports such as American football and ice hockey. In addition, the Belfast Marathon is run annually on May Day, attracting almost 14,000 participants in 2006.[47]
Belfast was the hometown of the renowned footballer George Best who died in November 2005. On the day he was buried in the city, 100,000 people lined the route from his home on the Cregagh Road to Roselawn cemetry. Since his death the City Airport has been named after him and a trust has been set up to fund a memorial to him in the city centre.[48] Professional snooker player Alex 'Hurricaine' Higgins was also born in Belfast.
The 2005-06 Irish League football champions Linfield are based at Windsor Park in the south of the city, as is the Northern Ireland national football team. Other Premier League football teams include Glentoran based in east Belfast, Cliftonville and Crusaders in north Belfast and Donegal Celtic in west Belfast. Casement Park, with a capacity of 32,000 making it the second largest Gaelic Athletic Association ground in Ulster, is located in west Belfast and is home to the Antrim gaelic football and hurling teams.
2005–06 Celtic League champions and former European Rugby Union champions Ulster play at Ravenhill in East Belfast.
Belfast is represented in the Elite Ice Hockey League by the Belfast Giants. The Belfast Giants were recently crowned the 2005/2006 Elite League Champions, in a season which saw ex-NHL star Theo Fleury play for the team.[49] Home matches are played at the Odyssey Arena.
The Belfast Bulls and Belfast Trojans American football teams represent Belfast in the IAFL, competing for the Shamrock Bowl.
Current economySince the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (1998) a lot of markets in Northern Ireland have become substantially more profitable with the sudden investment of infrastructure. The largest and most noticeable is the property market, to which has seen a rise in house prices all over the province. Many companies and investors have contributed to the growth of the NI economy and it hasn't been more noticeable than in Belfast city.
At the current, there are already two major developments in progress, one which will see the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter (currently in phase two), and the erection of a skyscraper, the Obel Tower which is set to be the tallest tower on the island until the erection of the U2 Tower in Dublin.
The whole of Northern Ireland has enjoyed this sudden boom in economy and it has seen house prices rise by almost a third in the second quarter of 2006.[50] At the beginning of 2005 Northern Ireland was the cheapest region of the UK to buy a house in with prices at 72 per cent of the national average but has since risen to 89 per cent. Higher than in North Yorkshire, Humberside, Scotland and Wales.[51]
Local politicsIn 1997, Unionists lost control of Belfast City Council for the first time in its history, with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland gaining the balance of power between Nationalists and Unionists. This position was confirmed in the council elections of 2001 and 2005. Since then it has had three Nationalist mayors, two from the SDLP and one from Sinn Féin.
In the 2005 local government elections, the voters of Belfast elected fifty-one councillors to Belfast City Council from the following political parties: 15 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 14 Sinn Féin, 8 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 7 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 4 Alliance Party, 2 Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), and 1 Independent (Frank McCoubrey).
Belfast has four UK parliamentary and Assembly constituencies - North Belfast, West Belfast, South Belfast and East Belfast. All four extend somewhat beyond the city boundaries into parts of Castlereagh, Lisburn and Newtownabbey districts. In 2003, they elected 7 Sinn Féin, 6 DUP, 5 UUP, 4 SDLP, 1 PUP, and 1 Alliance MLAs (members of the Northern Ireland Assembly). In the 2005 general election, they elected 2 DUP MPs, 1 SDLP MP, and 1 Sinn Féin MP.
In 2006, the local government boundary commission published proposals to extend Belfast into the neighbouring districts of Castlereagh and Lisburn, as well as adding a small part of North Down. The proposed extension mostly comprises the communities of Poleglass, Twinbrook, Dunmurry, Lagmore, Belvoir, Cregagh, Braniel, Gilnahirl and Tullycarnet. However some have suggested extending the council further into Castlereagh and Newtownabbey councils and these proposals have recently been discussed at a local enquiry.[52]
Belfast is twinned with:
Belfast is the home of the News Letter, the oldest English language newspaper in the world still in publication.[53][54] Other main newspapers include the Irish News and Belfast Telegraph. There is also an Irish language daily newspaper called Lá (or 'day'). The current affairs magazine Fortnight (published, ironically, on a monthly basis) offers commentary from a left of centre but non-party-political stance.
The city is also the headquarters of BBC Northern Ireland, the ITV station UTV and the commercial radio stations Belfast CityBeat and U105. There are two independent cinemas in Belfast, the Queen's Film Theatre and the Strand Cinema, which host screenings during the Belfast Film Festival and the Belfast Festival at Queen's.
TransportBelfast is, by European standards, a relatively car-dependent city, with an extensive road network including the ten lane M2 motorway.
Most public transport in Northern Ireland is operated by the subsidiaries of Translink. Bus services in the city proper and the nearer suburbs are operated by Translink Metro, with services focusing on linking residential districts with the City Centre on twelve quality bus corridors running along main radial roads, resulting in poor connections between different suburban areas. More distant suburbs are served by Ulsterbus.
Black taxis are common in the city, operating on a share basis in some areas. However these are outnumbered by private hire minicabs.
Northern Ireland Railways provides suburban services along three lines running through Belfast’s northern suburbs to Carrickfergus and Larne, eastwards towards Bangor and south-westwards towards Lisburn and Portadown. This service is known as the Belfast Suburban Rail system.
Important rail stations in Belfast are:
The most significant road scheme in Belfast for some years began early in 2006, with the conversion of two junctions along the Westlink dual carriageway from at grade to grade separated standard. The Westlink, a dual carriageway skirting the western edge of the City Centre, connects all three Belfast motorways and has suffered from chronic congestion for some years. Work is likely to finish in 2009 although some commentators have argued that this may simply create a new bottleneck at the at-grade York Street intersection until that too is converted to a fully free-flowing grade separated junction, currently scheduled to take place between 2011 and 2016.[55]
The Lagan and Lough Cycle Way, part of the National Cycle Network, runs through the city centre along the Laganside promenade and linking north to Jordanstown through the docks and along the lough shore and south-west to Lisburn along the Lagan towpath.
The city has two airports: The George Best Belfast City Airport adjacent to Belfast Lough and Belfast International Airport which is near Lough Neagh. The International Airport offers domestic, European and transatlantic flights. The City Airport is much closer to the city centre, however it is considerably smaller and serves domestic flights and limited European destinations.
As well as the airports, Belfast also has a large port, of which is used by both export of goods and passanger ferry services. Stena Line run regular services to Stranraer in Scotland using their HSS (High Speed Service) vessell (with a crossing time of around 90 minutes) and/or their conventional vessel with a crossing time of around 3hrs 45 minutes. Norfolkline (formally Norse Merchant Ferries) run a passanger/cargo ferry to a from Liverpool, with a crossing time of 8 hours and a seasonal sailing to Douglas, Isle of Man is operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet company (formally SeaCat).
In January 2007, it was revealed that a feasibility study is being carried out, to construct a light rail system in the city, initially along two routes, eventually along four. It has been compared to Luas, the tram system in Dublin. [1][2]
References
