§ 4. The Economy of Northern Ireland 

1. What are the main industries of Northern Ireland? 

Traditionally the economy of Northern Ireland depended upon three activities – farming, shipbuilding and the manufacture of textiles. Each of these industries has faced serious problems which have produced striking changes in them.

 In 1950 nearly one quarter of the total labour force was employed in farming. In the 1980s that figure was nine per cent - a loss of more than ninety thousand jobs. Such a large reduction has contributed to major chang­es in the pattern of farming. Farms in Northern Ireland are generally very small and cannot keep even the farmer in full time work. So, many left the land, while the average size of farms has increased. A reduction in the number of farm workers has been compensated by the greater use of tractors and other machinery by the richer farmers.

The textile industry of Northern Ireland came to depend almost entire­ly on linen which was made from flax grown in the province. The industry started as a cottage industry, scattered throughout the region wherever flax and soft water were available. It was not until the nineteenth century that the first large mills were built and then the Belfast region began to emerge as the main centre of production. But production of flax and its preparation needed a great deal of costly manual labour, and the farmers gave up its cultivation. Now the flax is imported, chiefly from Belgium and the linen industry survives mainly as a craft industry producing specialized luxury goods, on a very small scale.

Man-made fibres have taken the place of the linen industry. Northern Ireland, in fact, has one of the largest concentrations of man-made fibre production in Western Europe, which is in the hands of big international firms. This industry was experiencing decline and the labour force was re­duced by a half in the 1980s. Textile manufacture is concentrated in Belfast and in several smaller towns nearby. An associated industry is the manu­facture of clothing and footwear. Londonderry, the second major town in Northern Ireland, specializes in the manufacture of shirts.

The engineering industry of Northern Ireland has been dominated by shipbuilding. During the nineteenth century it grew very rapidly. With the introduction of iron ships, the industry was forced to import from Britain most of its raw materials, including coal, iron and steel. The industry became centred on the shores of Belfast Lough. The twentieth century has seen the continuation of this process and, by 1950, there was one large shipbuilding concern in Northern Ireland - Harland and Wolff - which employed some 20,000 men and produced ten per cent of the total British output.

The aircraft industry is located in the Belfast area. The industry has difficulties in competing with the large aircraft corporations in Britain and abroad. Today it depends largely on government contracts for military air­craft. The industry is represented by the Short Brothers firm. Attempts have been made to attract new industries. Meat packing and food processing were expanded on the basis of increased meat production. Electronics, elec­trical engineering and the chemical industry also developed, mainly in the east near Belfast. The new industries are less developed in the more remote areas of the south and west. 

2. What are the main industrial areas and their specialization? 

Belfast (303,800), situated at the mouth of the river Lagan, on the shores of Belfast Lough,   is the main administrative, economic and cultural centre of Northern Ireland. Besides being a major centre of textile manufacture, shipbuilding, aircraft production, electrical engineering and food processing, it also handles most of the overseas trade of Northern Ireland.

Londonderry (63,000) has the second largest population. Besides its textile and clothing industries, flour milling and bacon curing are also devel­oping. ‘Derry’ is also a market centre. North of Belfast is the small port, seaside resort and market town of Larne, which has a regular ferry service to Scotland. Bangor, on the south side of Belfast Lough near its mouth, is the largest seaside resort in Northern Ireland, popular with Belfast people.

Northern Ireland's economy has brought its people a standard of living well above that of the Republic, but lower than Great Britain's. With the decline of shipbuilding there is now serious unemployment, and vast sums have been spent by UK governments in attempts to improve the situation. 

Questions:

1. What changes have taken place in the economy of Northern Ire­land? What are their reasons?
2. What problems is the economy of Northern Ireland facing nowa­days?
3. What measures are being undertaken to improve the economic situation? 

Additional Reading                                 Belfast - The Capital City  

For many people coming to Ulster, Belfast is their port of entrance. Some of them will perhaps pass through it quickly, valuing it only as the gateway to one of the most beautiful areas of mountain, lake, seashore and open countryside in Europe; but for those with time and interest, it is worth exploring for its own sake. It also gives a key to a deeper under­standing of the whole province. As the relative size of population shows, Bel­fast stands in the province of Ulster rather like a big house in a moderate-sized garden; and even if we prefer the garden to the house, it is well to become acquainted with the people who live in the house.

Belfast is beautifully situated. Lying in a broad natural amphitheatre, gracefully surrounded by hills, and looking down a deep inlet of the sea, Belfast has rich variety and offers many pleasant surprises. The centre of the city is built like Amsterdam on piles driven into mud, a tight-packed area of industrial and commercial buildings, but as the broad roads that radiate from the centre bring us out to the suburban districts on the hillsides or by the sea or southwards along the valley of the River Lagan, we find the city ringed with open and attractive residential suburbs.

Belfast is a modem city, a city of the 19^th century and of the industrial revolution. There are a few trim Georgian buildings and one or two houses dating from the 19^th century, but the mass of the city's buildings are late Victorian or belong to the present century. The City Hall in Donegall Square, with its lofty dome, is one of the chief landmarks. There are a number of public and ecclesiastical buildings worth seeing, including the huge Law courts and the Protestant (Church of Ireland) Cathedral.