Bangor Abbey is not only a church but it is a structure that represents Bangor as a town. The Tower…read morethat was erected in the 17th Century keeps watch over Bangor. The grounds are steeped in history and the story of the Abbey is enough to fill a History text book. Viking pillages, Saints, Norman invasions, dissolution's and reformations. Bangor Abbey is no normal church. Inside the church every stone tells its own story. On a sunny day light is cast over the congregation from the beautiful stain glass windows. The grounds of the Abbey are no less interesting, Graves include that of a doctor on board the infamous Titanic. The cemetery can be visited freely between 9am and 5pm but I recommend having the stories recounted by an expert to gain the full sense of history. Excursions can be arranged by contacting the Parish, who are extremely helpful. Open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 2pm and 4pm. I would advise one to make the most of these brief opening hours.

Saint Anne's Cathedral is the centerpiece of Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. Construction began in…read more1899 and that initial design was complete and consecrated in 1904. It has undergone a number of extensions and expansions throughout the ages. One of those improvements is the 40 meter tall stainless steel "Spire of Hope" that was installed in 2007. (Derivative of the spire in Dublin, hmmm?) The cathedral is quite active with services held pretty much every day. And if you're not familiar with the story of the Black Santa, it's pretty awesome how they have completely leaned in to it. [Review 1868 of 2024 - 852 in United Kingdom - 22890 overall]

I loved the approach to St Anne / Belfast cathedral as the route we took went thru an area called…read moreWriter's Square and it was a nice reminder that Jonathan Swift had previously worked at the Belfast cathedral The outside is lovely, but unfortunately we couldn't go in as they charge £3 and we decide to miss seeing the grave of Calder as well as the maze near the pulpit (apparently following the white lines leads you to the altar while the black lines leave you go around in circles!) Note: #233 of Yelp 100 challenge for 2016

Also know as Donegall pass elim…read more It's quite a small church. Has a modern approach to presenting the Gospel. There are lots of programmes in here for all ages. If you turn of Donegall pass and down the side of the street there is a small car park within the church grounds.

I walk past this oddly placed church every day I'm working in the paper and I did actually call in…read morea while back simply to admire the architecture (some of Belfast's churches beggar belief) I'm not a religious man to say the least but the one positive thing it has brought into our lives is fantastically beautiful art and perfectly formed buildings. Inside this little church is pretty much typical of many around the city - the usual religious iconography, wooden bench seating and marble fittings. Admittedly not as impressive as the huge St Annes Cathedral on down the road a bit but still.

Visited here on the 50th Anniversary of Ian Paisley's pastorate. Highly fundamentalist, head…read morecoverings, KJV only (Paisley: "...the Authorized version, not one of those modern perversions...), but interesting from a historical perspective. Paisley died about 5 years ago so he is no longer around.

This might make for an interesting stop on a political tour of Belfast. This is Ian Paisley's…read morechurch. Yes. THAT Ian Paisley. They've got his name on the sign up front and another on the meeting hall behind the building. My personal favorite part of the Martyrs Memorial Church is the clock on the front with the reminder that "Time is Short". On Sundays they have two masses and a Wednesday night prayer session.

Linked to St Mark's Parish located beside it…read more Not much parking in the grounds. But the street is fine to park in. There are lots of clubs and events that run in here. Mums and tots on a Wednesday morning. Also Brownies. It's a big facility with a large hall downstairs and a smaller upstairs. They have a massive kitchen downstairs and a smaller one upstairs also. There is also smaller meeting rooms. It has a real Narnia feel of this place. You can feel it's steeped in creativity and history.

This once 'upon a time' place of worship was built in 1833 by a Dubliner named William Farrell. It…read morewas used for religious purposes until the early 1990's and later became unused as well as being burnt out by vandals in 1996. It was recently converted and the building is now used by 'The Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust' and Inst (Royal Belfast Academical Institution) who have restored the building as a Centre of IT Excellence for the school and for the public. In 2003 Prince Charles unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the restoration project. The project cost cost in the region of £2.1 million which is funded through the the Lottery, RBAI and the heritage service. The involved parties felt that between themselves they should embrace the historical building and use it as a vehicle to promote social and political confidence in Northern Ireland. Over the years it has seen a number of changes and alterations. Thankfully many of its fantastic features still remain. It was originally a Classical Revivalist church built in Greek Revival style with iconic architecture throughout the building. Christ Church is the last remaining remnant of Georgian Belfast.

Movilla hilltop Abbey is one of the most picturesque sites in North Down, on a clear day tou can…read moresee the whole of Strangford Loch, Scrabo Tower and the Mourne Mountains from the grounds of the Abbey. The history of Movilla Abbey is as deep and in depth as the views. It once one of Ulster's most important and elegant monasteries associated with St. Finian in the 6th century. It was then plundered by Vikings but the faith of the monks made them rebuild the monastery in 824AD. The one notable thing about the monastery in modern times is that it has the largest collection of 13th century Coffin lids in Northern Ireland on show. I would encourage you to visit Movilla as it is steeped in history and is a lookout over county Down. There is no admission fee and it can be accessed all year round.