
Castle is one of the
ten district electoral areas in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) 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 (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, Northern Ireland. Located in the north of the city, the district elects six members to
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...
and contains the wards of Bellevue, Cavehill, Chichester Park, Duncairn, Fortwilliam and Innisfayle. Castle, along with
Oldpark district and parts of the
Court
A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
district and
Newtownabbey Borough Council
Newtownabbey Borough Council was a Local Authority in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, on the north shore of Belfast Lough just immediately north of Belfast. The Council merged with Antrim Borough Council in April 2015 under local governmen ...
, forms the Belfast North constituency for the
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
and
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
. The district is bounded to the east by the Victoria Channel, to the north by Newtownabbey Borough Council and
Belfast Lough
Belfast Lough () is a large sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish ...
, to the south by North Street and to the west by the Cavehill Road.
The district takes its name from the current
Belfast Castle
Belfast Castle (Irish language, Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cavehill, Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland ...
, which is located on
Cave Hill in the north of the district, while the southern section of the district is part of the
city centre
A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
and forms one of Belfast's main cultural areas, known as the
Cathedral Quarter. The east of the area also contains the
Port of Belfast
Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and c ...
. Castle is served by the
M2 and
M5 motorways and the
Yorkgate railway station.
Castle is one of the most mixed areas in the city, with just over half of the district's population being Protestant at the 2001 Census. There are a number of
peace lines
The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly Irish republican or nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly British loyalist or unionist Protestant neigh ...
in the district, for example along the
Whitewell Road
The Whitewell Road is an interface area in north Belfast and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, and historically the site of occasional clashes between nationalists and loyalists. The Whitewell Road and the surrounding area is a residential co ...
.
History
Castle was created for the 1985 local elections. All six wards came from the former
Area H, with only the Cliftonville ward and northern section of the Waterworks ward omitted from the new district. One of the district's six wards, Castleview, was renamed Innisfayle in 2014.
Amenities
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Albert Memorial Clock
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Belfast Castle
Belfast Castle (Irish language, Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cavehill, Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland ...
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Belfast Exposed photographic gallery
*
Belfast Harbour
Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and c ...
*
Belfast Hebrew Congregation
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Belfast Zoo
Belfast Zoological Gardens (also known as ''Belfast Zoo'') is a zoo in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is in a relatively secluded location on the northeastern slope of Cavehill, overlooking Belfast's Antrim Road. Opened in 1934, it is the secon ...
*
Cavehill
Cave Hill or Cavehill is a rocky hill overlooking the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland,with a height of . It is marked by basalt cliffs and caves, and its distinguishing feature is 'Napoleon's Nose', a tall cliff resembling the profile of the ...
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Dividers Sculpture
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Giant's Park
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McHugh's Bar
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Merchant Hotel
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The Northern Whig Bar
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NvTv (Northern Visions Television)
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Obel Tower
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St Anne’s Cathedral (
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
)
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The Big Fish, sculpture
Sport
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Seaview,
Crusaders F.C. home ground
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Skegoneill Avenue,
Brantwood F.C. home ground
Education
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Castle High School
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Dominican College
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Hazelwood College
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Seaview Primary School
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St Patrick's College
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University of Ulster, Belfast Campus
Wards
Councillors
2023 Election
2019: 2 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Green
2023: 2 x Sinn Féin, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP
2019–2023 Change: Sinn Féin gain from Green
2019 Election
2014: 2 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP, 1 x UUP
2019: 2 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Green
2014-2019 Change: Green gain from UUP
2014 Election
2011: 2 x DUP, 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x SDLP, 1 x UUP
2014: 2 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance
2014-2019 Change: Alliance gain from Sinn Féin
2011 Election
2005: 2 x DUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP
2011: 2 x DUP, 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x SDLP, 1 x UUP
2005-2011 Change: Sinn Féin gain from SDLP
2005 Election
2001: 2 x DUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP
2005: 2 x DUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP
2001-2005 Change: No change
2001 Election
1997: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Sinn Féin,
2001: 2 x DUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP
1997-2001 Change: DUP and SDLP gain from UUP and Alliance
1997 Election
1993: 2 x UUP, 2 SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Independent Unionist
1997: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Sinn Féin
1993-1997 Change: Alliance and Sinn Féin gain from UUP and SDLP, Independent Unionist joins UUP
1993 Election
1989: 2 x Independent Unionist, 1 x UUP, 1 SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance
1993: 2 x UUP, 2 SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Independent Unionist
1989-1993 Change: UUP and SDLP gain from Independent Unionist and Alliance
1989 Election
1985: 2 x UUP, 1 SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Unionist
1989: 2 x Independent Unionist, 1 x UUP, 1 SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance
1985-1989 Change: Independent Unionist gain from UUP
1985 Election
1985: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Unionist
See also
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Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...
*
Electoral wards of Belfast
The electoral wards of Belfast are Subdivisions of Belfast, subdivisions of the city, used primarily for statistics and elections. Belfast had 51 wards from May 1973, which were revised in May 1985 and again in May 1993. The number of wards was i ...
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Local government in Northern Ireland
Local government in Northern Ireland is divided among 11 single-tier districts known as 'Local Government Districts' (abbreviated LGDs) and formerly known as district council areas (DCAs). Councils in Northern Ireland do not carry out the same ...
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Members of Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...
References
{{Belfast City Council
Electoral wards of Belfast
1985 establishments in Northern Ireland