A rich vein of talent and creativity
Quality and creative people set Northern Ireland apart. They have long been its greatest natural resource. Their talents are enabling Northern Ireland to flourish in an era in which knowledge and innovation are becoming all-important.
Over the decades our people have made distinguished contributions to the arts, the media, industry and sport worldwide. They continue to do so today. Indeed the range of talent and creativity to be found in Northern Ireland is truly remarkable when set against the size of the region, one of the smallest in Europe.
Writers, Poets and Painters
Writers and poets like C.S. Lewis, Seamus Heaney, Louis MacNeice, John Hewitt, Brian Moore, Jennifer Johnson, Bernard McLaverty, Jack Higgins, Brian Friel, Tom Paulin and Paul Muldoon have achieved acclaim far beyond our shores.
Samuel Beckett, a native of Dublin, was educated at Enniskillen in Co. Fermanagh and taught in Belfast. Another author and playwright born in Dublin and educated at Enniskillen was Oscar Wilde.
And Northern Ireland is also the birthplace of and inspiration for renowned painters such as Sir John Lavery, William Conor, Paul Henry, Basil Blackshaw and John Luke.
Stars of Screen and Television
Over the years, Northern Ireland has made a massive contribution to stage, screen and the media. Stars in the movie firmament include Stephen Boyd, from just outside Belfast, who shone with Charlton Heston in "Ben Hur", Liam Neeson, Kenneth Branagh. Roma Downey, Sam Neill, Stephen Rea, Colin Blakely and Adrian Dunbar.
Indeed one of the first winners of an Academy Award, Benjamin Glazer, had his family roots in Belfast. Stars of television and from Northern Ireland include James Nesbitt, Amanda Burton, Eamonn Holmes, Gloria Hunniford, Derek Thompson, Andrea Catherwood, Dermott Murnaghan and comedians Frank Carson, Patrick Kielty, Jimmy Cricket and Roy Walker. Among the best-known faces on national television from Northern Ireland today are foreign correspondents John Irvine and Bill Neely.
