Belfast Lough

Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish Sea.

Belfast Lough is a long, wide and deep expanse of water, virtually free of strong tides. The inner part of the lough comprises a series of mudflats and lagoons. The outer lough is restricted to mainly rocky shores with some small sandy bays. The outer boundary of the lough is a line joining Orlock Point and Blackhead.

The main coastal towns are Bangor on the southern shore (County Down) and Carrickfergus on the northern shore (County Antrim). Other coastal settlements include Holywood, Helen's Bay, Greenisland and Whitehead.

Name

Belfast Lough is known in Irish as Loch Lao, which was Anglicised as 'Lough Lee'. Earlier spellings include Loch Laoigh and Loch Laigh. This name means "sea inlet of the calf". The River Lagan, which flows into it, was also historically known as the Lao. It is believed that the lough and river were named after a "bovine goddess". In the 2nd century, the Greek geographer Ptolemy referred to it as the Logia.

Belfast

Coordinates: 54°35′49″N 5°55′48″W / 54.597°N 5.930°W / 54.597; -5.930

Belfast (/ˈbɛl.fɑːst/ or /ˈbɛl.fæst/; from Irish: Béal Feirste, meaning "mouth of the sandbanks") is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. Most of Belfast, including the city centre, is in County Antrim, but parts of East and South Belfast are in County Down. It is on the flood plain of the River Lagan. The city's motto is Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus (roughly Latin for "what shall we give in return for so much").

By population before the 2015 council reform, Belfast was the 17th largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest on the island of Ireland. It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. At the time of the 2011 census, the city of Belfast had a population of 286,000. With the 2015 council reform it is 333,871 and lies at the heart of the Belfast Urban area, which has a population of 483,418 and the Belfast Metropolitan Area, which had a population of 579,276 at the 2001 census. The larger urban zone, as defined by the European Union, had an estimated total population of 673,000 on 1 January 2012. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.

Belfast (album)

Belfast is an album by folk metal artists Mägo de Oz, which was released in 2004.

Track listing

DVD

Members

Belfast (Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies)

Belfast is the largest city and capital of Northern Ireland. It is partly located in County Antrim and partly in County Down.

Belfast was represented in the Northern Ireland House of Commons 1921-1973. This article deals with the Belfast borough constituencies. For the County Antrim and County Down county constituencies, see Antrim (Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies) and Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies). See also the List of Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies 1921-1973.

Boundaries

1921-1929: The City of Belfast was divided into four constituencies, each returning four MPs, using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation. There were four single member UK Parliament constituencies with the same names, which existed from 1885-1918 and since 1922. See Belfast East, Belfast North, Belfast South and Belfast West.

The Northern Ireland Parliament seats comprised the following wards of the then County Borough of Belfast (as they existed in 1921).