8 Best Sights in Northern Ireland

The first Protestant cathedral built in the United Kingdom after the Reformation, this houses the oldest and largest bells in Ireland (dating from the 1620s). It's a treasure house of Derry Protestant emblems, memorials, and relics from the siege of 1688–89; most visitors come to see the keys that locked the four main gates of the city during the siege. The church was built in 1633 in simple Planter's Gothic style, with an intricate corbelled roof and austere spire. In the vestibule is the 270-pound mortar ball that was fired over the wall during the Siege of Derry, with an invitation to surrender sent by King James. Legend has it that when it was read, every man, woman, and child in the city rushed to the walls and shouted, "No surrender!"—a Protestant battle cry to this day. The attached Chapter House Museum has the oldest surviving copy of a map of Derry (from 1600) and the Bible owned by Governor George Walker during the siege. View the information panels and artifacts in display cases that include the original keys to the city and other relics. In recent years the tower and spire have been restored and the stonework and stained-glass windows repaired. A new LED lighting system reveals the beauty of the elegant Canadian pine ceiling. Knowledgeable tour guides are on hand.

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, or Down Cathedral as it's commonly known, is one of the disputed burial places of St. Patrick. In the churchyard, a somber flat stone slab inscribed "Patric" is supposedly the saint's tomb. It might be here, at Saul, or, some scholars argue, more likely at Armagh. The stone was quarried in 1990 at Slieve-na-Largie near Castlewellan and took 12 men 14 days to cut from the quarry. The church, which lay ruined from 1538 to 1790 (it reopened in 1818), preserves parts of some of the earlier churches and monasteries that have stood on this site, the oldest of which dates to the 6th century. Even by then, the cathedral site had long been an important fortified settlement: Down takes its name from the Celtic word dun, or fort. Information panels tell the history of the building through a timeline, showing the connection with St. Patrick, and give details on the war memorials. In the summer of 2018 a replica of St. Patrick's Cross was installed in the grounds of the cathedral, just yards from where he is said to be buried. The reproduction, sculpted from Mourne granite, is on the Hill of Down where the original cross once stood. There's also a shop selling souvenirs. Entry is free but if you would like a guided 30-minute tour (which must be booked in advance) it costs £2.

At the center of the eponymous Cathedral Quarter, St. Anne's is a turn-of-the-20th century edifice in the Irish neo-Romanesque style. Lord Carson (1854–1935), who was largely responsible for keeping the six counties inside the United Kingdom, is buried here by virtue of a special Act of Parliament. His is the only tomb. The 175-foot stainless-steel Spire of Hope atop the cathedral's roof adds to the city's skyline and shines brightly as a beacon of newfound optimism for the future. A multilingual audio guide allows visitors to immerse themselves in the history of the cathedral's walls though speech and music. A new trail, incorporating the history and highlights of the building, was launched for visitors in 2020. The German Luftwaffe bombed this section of Belfast during World War II; on the cathedral's Talbot Street side, at No. 21, the Northern Ireland War Memorial has an interactive exhibit about the war.

This small jewel of a church is wedged just inside the ramparts of the walls. In the ancient graveyard a large board map registers the location of 163 gravestones in alphabetical order. The site was known as "God’s Little Acre," indicating a much larger graveyard, but now sits in an area of a quarter of an acre. It has been a sacred spot since St. Columba founded his first abbey here in AD 546. The oldest gravestone—in the church porch—is that of Richard Carrec, an Elizabethan soldier, dating from circa 1609. Immerse yourself in the serenity of the graveyard under the shadow of the cherry trees, tune into the birdsong, a world away from the tour groups being corralled around the walls. Visitors can tour the church and adjoining graveyard from May to October and are welcome at worship on Sunday or at morning communion on Tuesday at 10:30 am.

Opened in 1844, this is one of the most impressive redbrick Tudor revival churches in Ireland. One of the interior highlights is the densely patterned fan-vaulted ceiling, a delightfully swirling masterpiece of plasterwork—whose inspiration was taken from the chapel of Henry VII at Westminster Abbey in London—that's been tastefully repainted in cream. The painting over the high altarpiece, Journey to Calvary, was carried out by portraitist Felix Piccioni, whose family were refugees from the Austrian region of Italy. In 1868, the largest bell in Belfast was added to the church, but after complaints that its deafening noise was interfering with the maturing of whiskey in the nearby Dunville distillery, it was wrapped in felt to soften its peal and vibration. Along the southeast wall of the church gazing out in contemplative mood with his brown eyes and torn chocolate-brown coat is the delicate statue of the Ragged Saint. St. Benedict Joseph Labre, the patron saint of the unemployed, welcomes visitors into the ethereal elegance of one of Belfast's most architecturally romantic buildings.

Near the city center, a squat battlement tower identifies the cathedral, in simple, early-19th-century low-Gothic style. On the site of much older churches, it contains relics of Armagh's long history. Brian Boru, the High King (King of All Ireland) is buried here. In 1014, he drove the Vikings out of Ireland but was killed after the battle was won. Some memorials and tombs here are by important 18th-century sculptors such as Roubiliac and Rysbrack. The cathedral's atmospheric crypt is also open to visitors by prior arrangement. Dating from the Middle Ages, this sanctuary was where law-abiding citizens safely stored their valuable goods. A few archbishops are buried here, too. And because of its position on a hilltop there are superb views of Armagh city and the surrounding countryside.

The pale limestone St. Patrick's, the seat of a Roman Catholic archdiocese, rises above a hill to dominate the north end of Armagh. The cathedral's rather gloomy interior is enlivened by a magnificent organ, the potential of which is fully realized at services. Construction of the twin-spire structure started in 1840 in the neo-Gothic style, but the Great Famine brought work to a halt until 1854, and it wasn't completed until 1873. An arcade of statues over the main doorway on the exterior is one of the cathedral's most interesting features. The altar is solid Irish granite, and the woodwork is Austrian oak.

The elegant neo-Gothic "twin spires" of St. Peter's Cathedral dominate the skyline of West Belfast. Finding this Roman Catholic cathedral is difficult, but worth the effort. Built in 1866, when the Catholic population was rapidly increasing, St. Peter's acted as a focal point for the community.