northern ireland fact cards - teaching ideas · northern ireland does not have a national anthem,...

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He is believed to have brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century AD. His saint's day is the 17th of March.

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Northern Ireland is made up of six counties which remained in the United Kingdom when the Republic of Ireland was formed in 1921.

The Giant's Causeway in Antrim is a rock formation made up of 40,000 black basalt columns. Basalt is an igneous rock formed from volcanic lava.


Legend has it that the giant Finn McCool built the Giant's Causeway to get across the sea to Scotland and fight the Scottish giant Benandonner, who was threatening Ireland.

The shamrock has been a symbol of Ireland for centuries. The story is that Saint Patrick used the three leaved plant to explain Christianity to the Celts.


The highest peak in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard, which stands 849m (2786 ft) above sea level.

The An Bhanna (River Bann in English) is the longest river in Northern Ireland. It has a total length of 129km (80 miles) and is in two parts, Upper and Lower.


Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles and borders five of Northern Ireland's six counties. It is 29km (18 miles) long and 11km (7 miles) wide.

About 1.8 million people live in Northern Ireland, according of official estimates in 2016.


There are five cities in Northern Ireland; Belfast, Derry-Londonderry, Lisburn, Armagh and Newry.

Northern Ireland covers an area of about 14,129 sq km (5.455 sq miles).


The Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Eight workers were killed during the build.

Belfast Castle is actually the third castle built in the city. The first was a motte and bailey built in the 1170s and the second one burnt down!


Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. There has been a human settlement there since the Bronze Age.

The main language used in Northern Ireland is English. There are also two regional languages, Irish and Ulster-Scots.


The author CS Lewis, who wrote the Narnia books, was born in East Belfast on the 29th of November 1898.

The Northern Ireland Assembly meets at Stormont in Belfast and makes laws for Northern Ireland.


Antrim, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Down, Armagh and Londonderry are the six counties that make up Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland does not have a National Anthem, but the song Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) is generally considered the unofficial anthem and is used at many sporting events.


The pneumatic tyre was invented in Belfast by John Dunlop. The Dunlop company still makes tyres today.

northern ireland fact cards - teaching ideas · northern ireland does not have a national anthem,...

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