| Carrickfergus | |
|---|---|
 Carrickfergus Castle at sunset | |
  Carrickfergus Location within Northern Ireland | |
| Population | 28,141 (2021 census) |
| • Belfast | 11 miles (18 km) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARRICKFERGUS |
| Postcode district | BT38 |
| Dialling code | 028 93 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
Carrickfergus (from Irish Carraig Fhearghais [ˌkaːɾˠəɟ ˈaɾˠɣəʃ], meaning "Fergus' rock")[3] is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, 11 miles (18 km) from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census.[4] It is County Antrim's oldest town and one of the oldest towns in Ireland as a whole.[5] Carrickfergus Castle, built in the late 12th century at the behest of Anglo-Norman knight John de Courcy, was the capital of the Earldom of Ulster. After the earldom's collapse, it remained the only English outpost in Ulster for the next four centuries. Carrickfergus was the administrative centre for Carrickfergus Borough Council, before this was amalgamated into the Mid and East Antrim District Council in 2015, and forms part of the Belfast Metropolitan Area. It is also a townland of 65 acres, a civil parish and a barony.[6]
- ^ "North-South Ministerial Council 2002 annual report (Ulster-Scots)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2011.
- ^ Carrickfergus Archived 9 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine The Online Scots Dictionary, retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ "Carraig Fhearghais/Carrickfergus". Logainm.ie.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
2021 popwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "History of Carrickfergus". Archived from the original on 9 July 2011.
- ^ "Carrickfergus". IreAtlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 20 April 2015.