Facts on Ireland and the Irish

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland.

The Irish name for Ulster is Ulaidh or Cuige Uladh

It covers an area of approximately 9,452 sq miles.

There are nine counties in Ulster; Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan, and Tyrone.

Six of the counties; Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone are part of the United Kingdom and form Northern Ireland.

Derry is referred to as “Derry” or “Londonderry”, depending on which tradition you come from.

Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are in the Republic of Ireland.

Northern Ireland is often referred to as “The North”, “The Six Counties”, and “Ulster”, depending on which tradition you come from.

The highest point in Ulster is Slieve Donard at 2,782 feet.

Slieve Donard is in Co. Down.

The largest lake in Ireland, Lough Neagh, is in Ulster.

Five of the six counties in Northen Ireland have a shoreline on Lough Neagh; Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, and Tyrone.

Fermanagh has no shoreline on Lough Neagh.

The most northerly point in Ireland, Malin Head, is in Co. Donegal.

The longest river in Ireland, the River Shannon, rises in the Shannon Pot in Co. Cavan.

Donegal is the largest county in Ulster.

Belfast is the second largest city in Ireland.

Ulster came under English rule after the Nine Years War.

Rather than live under English rule, the ruling Irish families and their followers fled.

This became known as The Flight of the Earls.