My Northern Ireland

Dunluce Castle, Antrim

Inspired by Ashley

For nineteen years I've lived in Northern Ireland and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. As well as being born and bred here, so too were both my parents and all four of my grandparents.

One of the common misconceptions that many people have about Northern Ireland is that it is simply the north of Ireland. This is untrue. It's as different to Ireland as Scotland is to England. It's a country in its own right and ruled under the British Monarchy. Unlike the Republic of Ireland which is a republic ruled by an Irish President. Though I'm sure that was obvious...

The Giant's Causeway, Antrim

There are two main faiths in Northern Ireland known as Catholicism and Protestantism. It's not a pretty topic but putting it simply, the conflicting religions resulted in political strife where people of both faiths engaged in pointless violence so terrible it was known globally as "The Troubles".

Thankfully those days are behind us.

Now I might as well take this opportunity to dispel some common stereotypes you may have about us Northern Irish folk. We are pale, mainly because we get very little sun here, but not all of us have red hair. We also drink alcohol and eat potatoes but how much of each consumed depends purely on who you are as a person. Not all of us are drunks basically. Like me, who actually can't stand the taste of alcohol in the slightest but potatoes would be the staple food in my diet.

City Hall, Belfast

Love, Hazel