Castle is one of the ten district electoral areas in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland. Located in the north of the city, the district elects six members to

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

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 any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

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 government ...

, forms the Belfast North constituency for the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...

and

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

. 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, intertidal 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 th ...

, 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: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent position ...

, 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 is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

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 Yorkgate railway station serves the north of the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The station opened in 1992, replacing the previous York Road railway station nearby. As at May 2021 there are plans to rebuild Yorkgate. History Following the d ...

. 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 republican and nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly loyalist and unionist Protestant neighbourhoods. T ...

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 comm ...

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

* Albert Memorial Clock *

Belfast Exposed Belfast Exposed is a photography gallery in Belfast, established in 1983. It was Northern Ireland's first dedicated photographic gallery and in 2018 Sean O'Hagan in ''The Guardian'' described it as "the key independent space for contemporary pho ...

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 The Belfast Jewish Community ( ga, Pobal Giúdach Bhéal Feirste, and previously known as Belfast Hebrew Congregation) is the Jewish community in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Its Rabbi is the Rev David Kale. The community follows the Ashkenazi Or ...

Belfast Zoo Belfast Zoological Gardens (also known as ''Bellevue 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. Belfast Zoo is one of the to ...

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 which resembles the profile ...

* Dividers Sculpture * Giant's Park *

McHugh's Bar McHugh's Bar is a pub on Queen's Square in Belfast City Centre, Northern Ireland. It is one of the city's best known pubs and the oldest building in Belfast. History McHugh's was originally built as a private dwelling on the old Town Dock ar ...

* Merchant Hotel * The Northern Whig Bar * NvTv (Northern Visions Television) *

Obel Tower The Obel Tower is a highrise building in Belfast, Northern Ireland, located on Donegall Quay on the River Lagan beside the Lagan Weir. Measuring in height, the tower is the tallest storeyed building in Ireland, dominating the Belfast skyline. ...

* St Anne’s Cathedral (

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

) * The Big Fish, sculpture Sport * Seaview,

Crusaders F.C. Crusaders Football Club is a professional Northern Irish football club, playing in the NIFL Premiership, highest level of the Irish League. The club, founded in 1898, is based in north Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview. Crusader ...

home ground *

Skegoneill Avenue Skegoneill Avenue is a Association football, football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home of Brantwood F.C., has a capacity of 5,100 and was built in 1952. It is located on the street of the same name, a residential road linking ...

Brantwood F.C. Brantwood Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Ireland, Northern Irish football (soccer), football club playing in the Ballymena & Provincial Football League. The club, founded in 1901, hails from Belfast and plays its home matches at Skego ...

home ground Education * Castle High School * Dominican College * Hazelwood College * Seaview Primary School * St Patrick's College * University of Ulster, Belfast Campus

Wards

Councillors

References

{{Belfast City Council Electoral wards of Belfast 1985 establishments in Northern Ireland

History

Amenities

Wards

Councillors

See also

References