Many visitors to the North of Ireland
are drawn to Northern Ireland, the six counties that opted to remain a part of the
United Kingdom when the Republic of Ireland was established by treaty with the
United Kingdom in 1921. In the remainder of the 20th century, strife
between groups in Northern Ireland who saw a different future for the
country (i.e. those who wanted union with England and those wanting union with
the Republic) resulted in the area being shunned by tourists. Although the
causes and blame for this tension seems to span a variety of organizations,
groups, religions and causes, it appears that the "Troubles" were diminished and
perhaps ended with the "Belfast" or Good Friday Agreement" in 1998, as
implemented in the 2006 St. Andrew's Agreement. Today there are still
signs of controversy, but those who are visit Northern Ireland's tourist
attractions will likely not see anything more troubling than suggestive
graffiti.
Tourism is not as highly developed in Northern Ireland as it is in the Republic,
although there a number of scenic areas and interesting attractions. We
present a modest selection of these sights below.
By far, the leading attraction in Northern Ireland is the Giant's Causeway, a
UNESCO world Heritage site. Comprised of over 40,000 basalt columns rising
from the sea at the edge of the Antrim Plateau, this unique landscape was caused
by volcanic activity some 50 to 60 million years ago. It is believed that
the mineral composition of a basalt injection and the method of cooling
interacted to produce multi-sided (often hexagonal) basalt columns.
Eventually this mysterious wonderland was exposed by wave action which revealed
the surprising extent of the Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the sea at the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some
40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The dramatic sight
has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland. Geological
studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to
the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was
caused by volcanic activity during the Tertiary, some 50-60 million years ago.
This is an area of spectacular scenery including bays, cliffs and the ever-present basalt columns. See this official site for information
on
visiting although you might also enjoy some of the photographs and
details at this
website.
By the way, this Giant's causeway was also named based on the legend of Finn
MacCool who reputedly built it to reach one of his foes, a Scottish giant
named Benandonner. When he approached Benandonner's island, he realized
that the giant was much bigger than "himself" and he beat a retreat home for a
snooze. While he was asleep Benandonner approached and seeing trouble
brewing, Finn's wife Oonagh threw some blankets and a bonnet the recumbent Finn. When Benandonner
arrived she told him that Finn was not home and whatever he did
"...not to wake the baby!" Seeing the size of the "baby" MacCool, Benandonner
decided that Finn must be very large indeed. His courage failing, Benandonner retreated and destroyed
most of the causeway to avoid the possibility of any future confrontation with
those enormous Irish giants!
Dating from the 17th century, Dunluce Castle is one of those
breathtaking sites that sears its image on the imagination. Located on the
Antrim coast, it was once the stronghold of the McDonnel's who ruled much of
eastern Ulster. There are remains of a much earlier fort, as this
defensible location seems just the right place for a fortification. The
hazards of living in the castle were often hard to overlook, as late
in the 16th century, while the castle was occupied the 2nd Earl of Antrim, part of the kitchen
fell into the ocean.
Visitors must pass a narrow footbridge to enter the
property. For more information on the history of the site and details on
visiting, try the
official website.
You will also find an assortment of dolmens in Northern Ireland similar to those
found in the Republic. Pictured to the right is the granite Legananny Dolmen in
County Down, south of Dromara. Legananny is reputed to be one of the most
photographed dolmens in all of Ireland, due to its size and balanced
proportions.
Located
near the village of Leitrim, this dolmen is thought be at least 5,000 years old
and was probably the grave a clan chieftain. Originally covered by earth to the
capstone, portal tombs such as these were once thought by locals to be druid
altars or, perhaps, tombs of giants.
While in the area of the Legananny Dolmen, if you are a collector of
"record" sites while you travel, you might be interested in visiting
Castlewellan Forest Park near Castlewellan and the Mourne Mountains.
The Park contains the Peace Maze, which according the Guinness Book of World
Records is the largest hedge maze in the world. The Park's arboretum
is quite pleasant and we recommend a visit.
Many tourists are attracted to Belfast because of its notoriety. Known for its
role as the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast is primarily an
industrial town. Although it is the second largest town in Ireland,
it has little of the charm or interesting history of Dublin.
If you do visit, you might be interested in seeing the Custom House, City Hall, Belfast Cathedral and Belfast Castle,
which are among the most popular of the city's landmarks. These
attractions is are not particularly noteworthy, nor
do they have any great historic significance. For example, although there have been
historic castles at the Dublin Castle site (in the 12th and 16th centuries), the modern
Belfast Castle was constructed in the 19th century. The building and
grounds were later deeded to the city of Belfast and a renovation was initiated. The castle reopened in
1988 after a ten-year refurbishment and the gardens are worth a look if you have
some time. See this
site for more information and to determine your interest in visiting.
The Environment & Heritage Service of Northern Ireland protects many of the
important heritage site is Northern Ireland and provides interesting commentary
about them as well as details on visiting. For information on
other sites in Northern Ireland, visit
EHS here.
Visit the town of Bushmills if you are interested in touring the Bushmills Irish
Whiskey distillery. The Bushmills tour is the best distillery tour in
Ireland, so be sure to see it if you are interested in Irish Whiskey. Production
takes place from Monday through Friday lunch and it is best to plan a visit
while the activity is in operation. In addition, the plant is closed for
Easter and during July for holidays. Children under 8 cannot join the
tour, although they are welcome at the site. Details can be found (with
some degree of difficulty) at the Bushmills'
website. You can find information on visiting a lot quicker at the website of the
Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
If you need to find
information about another travel destination, try Googling our site or the Web
* At the top of this page we show the map of the
Republic of Ireland. The lack of a flag for Northern Ireland is not a mistake or
a slight. Northern Ireland has not had its own flag since 1973.
During official functions the Union flag of the United Kingdom is used.
County
Leitrim bills itself as "the land of lakes and legend" and is a good place
for country walks. Due to its many
lakes, Leitrim is also a popular area for fishing. 
Spread
over a large area, there are numerous tombs remaining,
although only half of the surveyed sites have been unearthed (either totally or partially).
The ages of these monuments vary and a controversy rages about the dating
methods used. Some sources suggest that the tombs are five to six
thousand years old, while carbon dating that is more recent suggests that some of
the sites may be nearer to seven and half thousand years old. If the dating
holds true, then some of these tombs are older than the pyramids, although
certainly much simpler in design. 
