1.
NI Railways
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NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways, is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. It has a common Board of Management with the two companies in the group, Ulsterbus and Metro. NIR jointly runs the Enterprise train service between Belfast and Dublin with Iarnród Éireann. There is no link to the system in Great Britain, although proposals have been made, though allowances would have to be made for the different rail gauge in use in Britain. NIR was formed in 1968 when it took over from the Ulster Transport Authority, much of the network closed during the 1950s and 1960s, declining from 900 miles to 206.61 miles at present. NIRs last steam locomotives were withdrawn in 1970, in 1970, NIR re-launched the once-popular Enterprise between Dublin and Belfast with three new NIR Class 101 diesel locomotives built by Hunslet in England and Mark 2B carriages built by BREL. Despite frequent interruptions due to bomb scares, the service has remained a more or less constant feature of the NIR network, as older trains became obsolete in the 1970s, the Class 80 slam-door diesel-electric multiple unit was introduced. BREL built these units between 1974 and 1977 to British Rails Mk 2B design with some trailer cars rebuilt from hauled stock, the power cars are powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine, nicknamed Thumpers due to their characteristic sound, and have two English Electric 538 traction motors. These entered service on the lines around Belfast, becoming a stalwart on the whole network. They remained in service until 2012, latterly primarily on the Larne-Belfast line, in the early 1980s, NIR purchased one of the prototype LEV Railbuses built to test the railbus concept. This was intended for the Coleraine-Portrush branch, but was due to the capacity constraints of a single car. A plan was mooted to use it on the Lisburn-Antrim line to prevent it from being closed and this proposal failed, again because of the limited capacity. NIR has three EMD class 111 locomotives, 111–113, for freight and passenger use, built in 1980 and 1984, during the eighties it was apparent that additional trains would be needed. BREL built nine 450 Class sets on former Mk 1 underframes between 1985 and 1987, the power cars had an English Electric 4SRKT engine recovered from former 70 Class units and had two English Electric 538 traction motors. The sets were three-car diesel-electric multiple units, based on a more modern British design and they were withdrawn from service in 2012 and replaced by new 4000 class diesel multiple units. In 1994, NIR bought two EMD208 Class locomotives identical to Iarnród Éireanns 201 Class and these haul the cross-border Enterprise dedicated trains of modern carriages. In 2004/2005, NIR received 23 Class 3000 diesel multiple units from CAF of Spain in an £80m order, the final unit,3023, arrived in Belfast Harbour on 18 July 2005. All units had entered service by 24 September 2005 and they operate principally between Bangor, Portadown and Londonderry and Belfast
2.
Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland is a constituent unit of the United Kingdom in the north-east of Ireland. It is variously described as a country, province, region, or part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the total population. Northern Ireland was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by an act of the British parliament, Northern Ireland has historically been the most industrialised region of Ireland. After declining as a result of the political and social turmoil of the Troubles, its economy has grown significantly since the late 1990s. Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17. 2% in 1986, dropping to 6. 1% for June–August 2014,58. 2% of those unemployed had been unemployed for over a year. Prominent artists and sports persons from Northern Ireland include Van Morrison, Rory McIlroy, Joey Dunlop, Wayne McCullough, some people from Northern Ireland prefer to identify as Irish while others prefer to identify as British. Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are complex, in many sports, the island of Ireland fields a single team, a notable exception being association football. Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games, and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games. The region that is now Northern Ireland was the bedrock of the Irish war of resistance against English programmes of colonialism in the late 16th century, the English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland had been declared by the English king Henry VIII in 1542, but Irish resistance made English control fragmentary. Victories by English forces in war and further Protestant victories in the Williamite War in Ireland toward the close of the 17th century solidified Anglican rule in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, the victories of the Siege of Derry and their intention was to materially disadvantage the Catholic community and, to a lesser extent, the Presbyterian community. In the context of open institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in communities in the region and act on sectarian tensions in violent attacks. Following this, in an attempt to quell sectarianism and force the removal of discriminatory laws, the new state, formed in 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was governed from a single government and parliament based in London. Between 1717 and 1775 some 250,000 people from Ulster emigrated to the British North American colonies and it is estimated that there are more than 27 million Scotch-Irish Americans now living in the US. By the close of the century, autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom, in 1912, after decades of obstruction from the House of Lords, Home Rule became a near-certainty. A clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords over a controversial budget produced the Parliament Act 1911, which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. The House of Lords veto had been the unionists main guarantee that Home Rule would not be enacted, in 1914, they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers, a paramilitary organisation opposed to the implementation of Home Rule
3.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
4.
Ulsterbus
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Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink, which also includes Northern Ireland Railways, Metro Belfast, Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus services in Northern Ireland. It operates twenty-two bus stations and 1,100 buses, Ulsterbus is charged with transporting over 65,000 children per day to school. Every July and August, around 250 vehicles are usually de-taxed and this is because not as many are needed for service due to schools finishing for summer holidays. Ulsterbus is now in the process of modernising its fleet for better accessibility for disabled people, on 26 June 2006, Translink announced that the Leyland Leopard, synonymous with Ulsterbus, will be phased out of service. These are being replaced by the Optare Solo bus, amongst others, Goldline is the name given to the inter-city bus services operated by Ulsterbus. Until the 1990s it Goldline was called Ulsterbus Express and operated many of the same inter-city services as today, Goldline services are operated from Belfast to major destinations in Northern Ireland, plus the Goldline Express Services X1/X2 to Dublin. This service is worked jointly with Bus Éireann service X1, for many years, Derrys internal bus network was operated as Ulsterbuss Derry City Services. It was reorganised in September 2006 into Ulsterbus Foyle, in the same way that Translink Metro was used to modernise routes in Belfast the Ulsterbus Foyle network now offers 13 set routes across the city into the popular suburban areas of the city. Ulsterbus offer a private and contract hire service, with any type of bus in the current fleet available for hire. On a local basis, depots will allocate buses accordingly, duties include Eurolines duties 920,921, &923. The 921 is currently operated by three dedicated Irizar Centurys purchased in 2010, however, these are being replaced in August 2013, the vast majority of these are based in Glengall St, operating out of Great Victoria Street depot. Ulsterbus operate day tours to other parts of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, mainly shopping and to some tourist attractions. They also have a private hire service which is in use by fans of the Scottish Premier League sides Rangers F. C. Translink Ulsterbus NI Bus Irish Transport Trust Ulsterbus Photos Ulsterbus Tours
5.
Charles Lanyon
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Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex in 1813. His father was John Jenkinson Lanyon, a purser in the Royal Navy, following his education, he became an apprentice civil engineer with Jacob Owen in Portsmouth. When Owen was made senior Engineer and Architect of the Irish Board of Works and moved to Dublin, in 1835 he married Owens daughter, Elizabeth Helen. They had ten children, including Sir William Owen Lanyon, an army officer, Charles Lanyon was County Surveyor in Kildare briefly, before moving on to Antrim in 1836. He remained County Surveyor of Antrim until 1860 when he resigned from the post to concentrate on private work, Lanyon was elected Mayor of Belfast in 1862, and Conservative MP for the city between 1865 and 1868. In 1868 he was knighted and served on the Select Committee on Scientific Instruction. He lost his seat in Westminster, but became a councillor in Belfast Town Council from 1861 to 1871, from 1862 to 1886 he was Belfast Harbour Commissioner. He served as Deputy Lieutenant for County Antrim and was appointed High Sheriff of Antrim in 1876 and he was also a Justice of the Peace for many years. His other business interests included being director of the Blackstaff Flax Spinning Company and he was made director of the Northern Counties Railway in 1870, but resigned in 1887 because of ill-health. Lanyon lived at The Abbey a grand house in Whiteabbey, which became a sanitorium during World War I and is now part of Whiteabbey Hospital. He died there on 31 May 1889 and is buried in Newtownbreda graveyard and his will is recorded in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland,8 August 1889, LANYON, Sir Charles, Effects £53,785 1s 3d. The will of Sir Charles Lanyon, late of the Abbey, Whiteabbey, the north Antrim coast was difficult to reach for many years. The Irish Commissioners of Public Works promoted the construction of the Antrim Coast Road between 1832 and 1842 by civil engineer William Bald, Lanyon was the County Surveyor for part of this time and would have had a considerable supervisory role. The route runs from Larne up through Ballygalley, Glenarm, Carnlough and it involved removal of thousands of tonnes of rock using explosives, and building sea walls. Part of this included the Glendun Viaduct. This building one of Charles Lanyons earlier buildings was completed in 1838 and it cost £1,125, plus £40 for the bench and fitting up. It is made mostly of basalt blocks with brick dressings, the main doorway is surrounded by a thick stone frame
6.
Rotunda (architecture)
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A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a room within a building. The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda, a Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome. The rotunda has historical and architectural value because it was widespread in medieval Central Europe, a great number of parochial churches were built in this form in the 9th to 11th centuries BCE in Central Europe. This type of circular shaped parochial building can be found in great number in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Austria, Bavaria, Dalmatia, Germany, and it was thought of as a structure descending from the Roman Pantheon. However, it can be found mainly not on former Roman territories, generally its size was 6–9 meters inner diameter and the apsis was directed toward the east. Sometimes 3 or 4 apsides were glued to the central circle, several types of rotundas are found in the Carpathian Basin, within the former boundaries of Medieval Hungary. The role and form developed from gradual enlargements of ancient small village churches, many of them still stand today, e. g. in Nagytótlak, Kallósd and Kissikátor in Hungary or in Bíňa and Šivetice in Slovakia. In many places the ancient foundations have been excavated and conserved, the village church of Sárospatak is complete with a simple circular nave and an eastern apse. The church of Alagimajor at Dunakeszi was enlarged toward the apse in the 14th century, in many cases the rotunda was used as the apse of the villages new and larger church. Such semi-circle apses are preserved all over the Carpathian Basin, rotundas of six apses, a most interesting form, are found at Karcsa, Kiszombor in Hungary, at Horjany in Ukraine and several places in Armenia. There is a connection between Central European and Caucasian rotundas of the 9th to 11th centuries BCE. Several Armenian built rotunda churches have sixfold arched central apsis, i. e. at Aragatz, Bagaran, Bagnayr, Botshor, at the same time eightfold arched central buildings are also frequently occurring in Armenia, Ani, Irind, Varzhahan. It was a suggestion that there was not only western European, temple of Heaven construction completed on 1420 during Yongle Emperor who also constructed Forbidden City of China. Fujian Tulou is a traditional rural dwellings of the Hakka in Fujian region of China and they are built between the 12th and the 20th centuries. The Baptistery at the Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Italy, the Church of the Rotonda in Thessaloniki, built as the Tomb of Galerius in 306 AD. The St George Rotunda in Sofia, Bulgaria, a 4th-century Early Christian church, St. George Cathedral Church at Zvartnots, Armenia. St. Martins Rotunda in Vyšehrad Castle, Prague, Czech Republic, the Rotunda of St Marija Assunta in Mosta, Malta
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