Belfast

About Belfast

Belfast ( , BEL-fast, , -⁠fahst; from Irish: Béal Feirste [bʲeːlˠ ˈfʲɛɾˠ(ə)ʃtʲə]) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel. It is the largest city in Northern Ireland and the second-largest city in Ireland (after Dublin), with an estimated population of 352,390 in 2024. While chartered as an English settlement in 1613, the town's early growth was driven by an influx of Scottish Presbyterians.