{{infobox uk place |official name

Belfast |irish_name Béal Feirste |scots_name Bilfawst or Belfast |local_name |label_position bottom |static_image_name Wikibelfast1.jpg |imagesize 300px |static_image_caption Top: Belfast skyline, Middle: Ulster Museum, Victoria Square, Great Victoria Street, Albert Clock, Bottom Belfast City Hall, Harland & Wolff |static_image_2_name Belfast Coat of Arms (Partial).svg |latitude 54.597 |longitude -5.930 |label_position none |population |population_ref City of Belfast: 267,500 Urban area:483,418Metropolitan area:641,638 |irish_grid_reference J338740 |unitary_northern_ireland City of Belfast |country Northern Ireland |post_town BELFAST |postcode_area BT |postcode_district BT1–BT17, BT29 (part), BT36 (part), BT58 |dial_code 028 |constituency_westminster Belfast NorthBelfast SouthBelfast EastBelfast West |constituency_ni_assembly Belfast NorthBelfast SouthBelfast EastBelfast West |lieutenancy_northern_ireland County AntrimCounty Down |website www.belfastcity.gov.uk |area_total_sq_mi 44.4 }}

Belfast () is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. It is the 15th largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest on the island of Ireland, and the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. The city forms part of the largest urban area in Northern Ireland, and the main settlement in the province of Ulster. The city of Belfast has a population of 267,500 and lies at the heart of the Belfast urban area, which has a population of 483,418. The Larger Urban Zone, as defined by the European Union, has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.

Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "Linenopolis"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff, which built the ill-fated ''RMS Titanic'', propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century.

Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the largest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by Ulster unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster in particular would fight to resist it.

Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education and business, a legal centre, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of disruption, conflict, and destruction called the Troubles, but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square.

Belfast is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport west of the city. Belfast is also a major seaport, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard. Belfast is a constituent city of the Dublin-Belfast corridor, which has a population of three million, or half the total population of the island of Ireland.

Name

The name ''Belfast'' is derived from the Irish ''Béal Feirsde'', which was later spelled ''Béal Feirste''. The word ''béal'' means "mouth" or "rivermouth" while ''feirsde/feirste'' is the genitive singular of ''fearsaid'' and refers to a sandbar or tidal ford across a river's mouth. The name would thus translate literally as "(river)mouth of the sandbar" or "(river)mouth of the ford". This sandbar was formed at the confluence of two rivers at what is now Donegall Quay: the Lagan, which flows into Belfast Lough, and its tributary the Farset. This area was the hub around which the original settlement developed. The Irish name ''Béal Feirste'' is shared by a townland in County Mayo, whose name has been anglicised as ''Belfarsad''.

An alternative interpretation of the name is "mouth of [the river] of the sandbar", an allusion to the River Farset, which flows into the Lagan where the sandbar was located. This interpretation was favoured by Edmund Hogan and John O'Donovan. It seems clear, however, that the river itself was also named after the tidal crossing.

History

Although the county borough of Belfast was created when it was granted city status by Queen Victoria in 1888, the city continues to be viewed as straddling County Antrim and County Down.

Origins

The site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giant's Ring, a 5,000-year-old henge, is located near the city, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen in the surrounding hills. Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages. John de Courcy built a castle on what is now Castle Street in the city centre in the 12th century, but this was on a lesser scale and not as strategically important as Carrickfergus Castle to the north, which was built by de Courcy in 1177. The O'Neill clan had a presence in the area. In the 14th century, Clan Aedh Buidh, descendants of Hugh O'Neill built Grey Castle at Castlereagh, now in the east of the city. Conn O'Neill also owned land in the area, one remaining link being the Conn's Water river flowing through east Belfast.

Growth

Belfast became a substantial settlement in the 17th century after being established as a town by Sir Arthur Chichester, which was initially settled by Protestant English and Scottish migrants at the time of the Plantation of Ulster. (Belfast and County Antrim, however, did not form part of this particular Plantation scheme as they were privately colonised.) In 1791, the Society of United Irishmen was founded in Belfast, after Henry Joy McCracken and other prominent Presbyterians from the city invited Theobald Wolfe Tone and Thomas Russell to a meeting, after having read Tone's "Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland". Evidence of this period of Belfast's growth can still be seen in the oldest areas of the city, known as the Entries.

Belfast blossomed as a commercial and industrial centre in the 18th and 19th centuries and became Ireland's pre-eminent industrial city. Industries thrived, including linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering and shipbuilding, and at the end of the 19th century, Belfast briefly overtook Dublin the largest city in Ireland (though Dublin's massive slum population was difficult to ascertain compared to that of more upmarket Belfast). The Harland and Wolff shipyards became one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, employing up to 35,000 workers. In 1886 the city suffered intense riots over the issue of home rule, which had divided the city.

In 1920-22, Belfast became the capital of the new entity of Northern Ireland as the island of Ireland was partitioned. The accompanyinging conflict (the Irish War of Independence) cost up to 500 lives in Belfast, the bloodiest sectarian strife in the city until the "Troubles" of the late 1960s onwards.

Belfast was heavily bombed during World War II. In one raid, in 1941, German bombers killed around one thousand people and left tens of thousands homeless. Outside of London, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the Blitz.

The Troubles

Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Roman Catholic and Protestant populations. These opposing groups in this conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively, although they are also referred to as 'nationalist' and 'unionist'. The most recent example of this conflict was known as the Troubles – a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to the late 1990s. Belfast saw some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 1970s, with rival paramilitary groups formed on both sides. Bombing, assassination and street violence formed a backdrop to life throughout the Troubles. The Provisional IRA detonated 22 bombs within the confines of Belfast city centre in 1972, on what is known as "Bloody Friday", killing nine people. Loyalist paramilitaries including the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) claimed that the killings they carried out were in retaliation for the IRA campaign. Most of their victims were Roman Catholics with no links to the Provisional IRA. A particularly notorious group, based on the Shankill Road in the mid 1970s, became known as the Shankill Butchers. In all, over 1,500 people were killed in political violence in the city from 1969 until 2001. Part of the legacy of the Troubles is that both republican and loyalist paramilitary groups in Belfast have become involved in organised crime and racketeering.

Government

Belfast was granted borough status by James I in 1613 and official city status by Queen Victoria in 1888. Since 1973 it has been a local government district under local administration by Belfast City Council. Belfast is represented in both the British House of Commons and in the Northern Ireland Assembly. For elections to the European Parliament, Belfast is within the Northern Ireland constituency.

Local government

Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city. The city's elected officials are the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Deputy Lord Mayor and High Sheriff who are elected from among 51 councillors. The first Lord Mayor of Belfast was Daniel Dixon, who was elected in 1892. The current Lord Mayor is Niall Ó Donnghaile of Sinn Féin, while the Deputy Lord Mayor is Ruth Patterson of the Democratic Unionist Party, both of whom were elected in May 2011 to serve a one year term. The Lord Mayor's duties include presiding over meetings of the council, receiving distinguished visitors to the city, and representing and promoting the city on the national and international stage.

In 1997, Unionists lost overall control of Belfast City Council for the first time in its history, with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland gaining the balance of power between Nationalists and Unionists. This position was confirmed in the three subsequent council elections, with mayors from Nationalist Sinn Féin and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and the cross-community Alliance Party regularly elected since. The first nationalist Lord Mayor of Belfast was Alban Maginness of the SDLP, in 1997.

The last elections to Belfast City Council were held on 5 May 2011, with the City's voters electing fifty-one councillors across nine district electoral areas. The election saw Nationalist councillors outnumber Unionist councillors for the first time, with Sinn Féin becoming the largest party: 16(+2) Sinn Féin, 15(-) Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 8(-) SDLP, 6(+2) Alliance Party, 3(-4) Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 2 Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), and 1 Independent (a former deputy mayor who takes the UUP whip was a member of the defunct loyalist paramilitary linked-Ulster Democratic Party).

Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster

As Northern Ireland's capital city, Belfast is host to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, the site of the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. Belfast is divided into four Northern Ireland Assembly and UK parliamentary constituencies: North Belfast, West Belfast, South Belfast and East Belfast. All four extend beyond the city boundaries to include parts of Castlereagh, Lisburn and Newtownabbey districts. In the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections in 2007, Belfast elected 24 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), 6 from each constituency. The MLA breakdown consisted of 8 Sinn Féin, 6 DUP, 4 SDLP, 3 UUP, 2 Alliance Party, and 1 PUP. In the 2005 UK general election, Belfast elected one MP from each constituency to the House of Commons at Westminster, London. This comprised 1 DUP, 1 SDLP, 1 Alliance and 1 Sinn Féin.

Coat of arms and motto

The city of Belfast has the Latin motto "." This is taken from Psalm 116 Verse 12 in the Latin Vulgate Bible and is literally "For (''Pro'') so much (''tanto'') what (''quid'') we shall repay (''retribuamus'')" The verse has been translated in bibles differently – for example as "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?". It is also translated as "In return for so much, what shall we give back?" The Queen's University Students' Union Rag Week publication ''PTQ'' derives its name from the first three words of the motto.

The coat of arms of the city are blazoned as ''Party per fesse argent and azure, in chief a pile vair and on a canton gules a bell argent, in base a ship with sails set argent on waves of the sea proper''. This heraldic language describes a shield that is divided in two horizontally (''party per fesse''). The top (''chief'') of the shield is silver (''argent''), and has a point-down triangle (''a pile'') with a repeating blue-and-white pattern that represents fur (''vair''). There is also a red square in the top corner (''a canton gules'') on which there is a silver bell. It is likely that the bell is an example here of "canting" (or punning) heraldry, representing the first syllable of Belfast. In the lower part of the shield (''in base'') there is a silver sailing ship shown sailing on waves coloured in the actual colours of the sea (''proper''). The supporter on the "dexter" side (that is, the viewer's left) is a chained wolf, while on the "sinister" side the supporter is a sea-horse. The crest above the shield is also a sea-horse. These arms date back to 1613, when King James I granted Belfast town status. The seal was used by Belfast merchants throughout the 17th century on their signs and trade-coins. A large stained glass window in the City Hall displays the arms, where an explanation suggests that the seahorse and the ship refer to Belfast's significant maritime history. The wolf may be a tribute to the city's founder, Sir Arthur Chichester, and refer to his own coat of arms.

Geography

Belfast is situated on Ireland's eastern coast at . The city is flanked to the northwest by a series of hills, including Cavehill. Belfast is located at the western end of Belfast Lough and at the mouth of the River Lagan making it an ideal location for the shipbuilding industry that once made it famous. When the ''Titanic'' was built in Belfast in 1911/1912, Harland and Wolff had the largest shipyard in the world. Belfast is situated on Northern Ireland's eastern coast. A consequence of this northern latitude is that it both endures short winter days and enjoys long summer evenings. During the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, local sunset is before 16:00 while sunrise is around 08:45. This is balanced by the summer solstice in June, when the sun sets after 22:00 and rises before 05:00.

In 1994, a weir was built across the river by the Laganside Corporation to raise the average water level so that it would cover the unseemly mud flats which gave Belfast its name (). The area of Belfast Local Government District is .

The River Farset is also named after this silt deposit (from the Irish ''feirste'' meaning "sand spit"). Originally a more significant river than it is today, the Farset formed a dock on High Street until the mid 19th century. Bank Street in the city centre referred to the river bank and Bridge Street was named for the site of an early Farset bridge. However, superseded by the River Lagan as the more important river in the city, the Farset now languishes in obscurity, under High Street.

The city is flanked on the north and northwest by a series of hills, including Divis Mountain, Black Mountain and Cavehill thought to be the inspiration for Jonathan Swift's ''Gulliver's Travels''. When Swift was living at Lilliput Cottage near the bottom of the Limestone Road in Belfast, he imagined that the Cavehill resembled the shape of a sleeping giant safeguarding the city. The shape of the giant's nose, known locally as ''Napoleon's Nose'', is officially called McArt's Fort probably named after Art O'Neill, a 17th century chieftain who controlled the area at that time. The Castlereagh Hills overlook the city on the southeast.

Former poet and Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr William Philbin wrote this of Belfast: "Belfast is a city walled in by mountains, moated by seas, and undermined by deposits of history".

Climate

Belfast has a temperate climate. Average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. The highest temperature recorded in Belfast was 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) on 12 July 1983. The city gets significant precipitation (greater than 0.01 in/0.25 mm) on 213 days in an average year with an average annual rainfall of , less than the Lake District or the Scottish Highlands, but higher than Dublin or the south-east coast of Ireland. As an urban and coastal area, Belfast typically gets snow on fewer than 10 days per year. The city is also renowned for how warm it can get during the winter months at its high latitude. In February, temperatures have hit 17 °C, at the same latitude where it is ~-45 °C in Russia and Canada. It is not uncommon for temperatures in summer to reach as high as 27 °C (80 °F) on numerous days. The consistently humid climate that prevails over Ireland can make temperatures feel uncomfortable when they stray into the high 20s (80–85 °F), more so than similar temperatures in hotter climates in the rest of Europe. Note that the above data is applicable to Belfast International Airport (Aldergrove), the historical location of the Met Office's official monitoring station. Since Aldergrove is well inland and Belfast city is on the coast, average temperatures (low temperatures in particular) are significantly milder in Belfast City.

Areas and districts

Belfast expanded very rapidly from being a market town to becoming an industrial city during the course of the 19th century. Because of this, it is less an agglomeration of villages and towns which have expanded into each other, than other comparable cities, such as Manchester or Birmingham. The city expanded to the natural barrier of the hills that surround it, overwhelming other settlements. Consequently, the arterial roads along which this expansion took place (such as the Falls Road or the Newtownards Road) are more significant in defining the districts of the city than nucleated settlements. Belfast remains segregated by walls, commonly known as "peace lines", erected by the British Army after August 1969, and which still divide 14 districts in the inner city.

In 2008 a process was proposed for the removal of the 'peace walls'. In June 2007, a UK£16 million programme was announced which will transform and redevelop streets and public spaces in the city centre. Major arterial roads (quality bus corridor) into the city include the Antrim Road, Shore Road, Holywood Road, Newtownards Road, Castlereagh Road, Cregagh Road, Ormeau Road, Malone Road, Lisburn Road, Falls Road, Springfield Road, Shankill Road, and Crumlin Road.

Belfast city centre is divided by two postcodes, ''BT1'' for the area lying north of the City Hall, and ''BT2'' for the area to its south. The industrial estate and docklands share ''BT3''. The rest of the Greater Belfast postcodes are set out in a clockwise system. Although ''BT'' stands for ''Belfast'', it is used across the whole of Northern Ireland.

Since 2001, boosted by increasing numbers of tourists, the city council has developed a number of cultural quarters. The Cathedral Quarter takes its name from St Anne's Cathedral (Church of Ireland) and has taken on the mantle of the city's key cultural locality. It hosts a yearly visual and performing arts festival.

Custom House Square is one of the city's main outdoor venues for free concerts and street entertainment. The Gaeltacht Quarter is an area around the Falls Road in west Belfast which promotes and encourages the use of the Irish language. The Queen's Quarter in south Belfast is named after Queen's University. The area has a large student population and hosts the annual Belfast Festival at Queen's each autumn. It is home to Botanic Gardens and the Ulster Museum, which was reopened in 2009 after major redevelopment. The Golden Mile is the name given to the mile between Belfast City Hall and Queen's University. Taking in Dublin Road, Great Victoria Street, Shaftesbury Square and Bradbury Place, it contains some of the best bars and restaurants in the city. Since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the nearby Lisburn Road has developed into the city's most exclusive shopping strip. Finally, the Titanic Quarter covers of reclaimed land adjacent to Belfast Harbour, formerly known as ''Queen's Island''. Named after the Titanic, which was built here in 1912, work has begun which promises to transform some former shipyard land into "one of the largest waterfront developments in Europe". Plans also include apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and a major Titanic-themed museum.

Cityscape

Architecture

The architectural style of Belfast's buildings range from Edwardian, like the City Hall, to modern, like Waterfront Hall. Many of the city's Victorian landmarks, including the main ''Lanyon Building'' at Queen's University Belfast and the Linenhall Library, were designed by Sir Charles Lanyon.

The City Hall was finished in 1906 and was built to reflect Belfast's city status, granted by Queen Victoria in 1888. The Edwardian architectural influenced the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, India, and Durban City Hall in South Africa. The dome is 173 ft (53 m) high and figures above the door state "Hibernia encouraging and promoting the Commerce and Arts of the City". Among the city's grandest buildings are two former banks: Ulster Bank in Waring Street (built in 1860) and Northern Bank, in nearby Donegall Street (built in 1769). The Royal Courts of Justice in Chichester Street are home to Northern Ireland's Supreme Court. Many of Belfast's oldest buildings are found in the Cathedral Quarter area, which is currently undergoing redevelopment as the city's main cultural and tourist area. Windsor House, 262 ft (80 m) high, has 23 floors and is the second tallest building (as distinct from structure) in Ireland. Work has started on the taller Obel Tower, which already surpasses the height of Windsor House in its unfinished state. In 2007, plans were approved for the Aurora building. At 37 storeys and 358 ft (109 m) high, this will surpass both previous buildings.

The ornately decorated Crown Liquor Saloon, designed by Joseph Anderson in 1876, in Great Victoria Street is the only bar in the UK owned by the National Trust. It was made internationally famous as the setting for the classic film, ''Odd Man Out'', starring James Mason. The restaurant panels in the Crown Bar were originally made for Britannic, the sister ship of the Titanic, built in Belfast. The Harland and Wolff shipyard is now the location of the world's largest dry dock, where the giant cranes, Samson and Goliath stand out against Belfast's skyline. Including the Waterfront Hall and the Odyssey Arena, Belfast has several other venues for performing arts. The architecture of the Grand Opera House has a distinctly oriental theme and was completed in 1895. It was bombed several times during the Troubles but has now been restored to its former glory. The Lyric Theatre, (currently undergoing a rebuilding programme) the only full-time producing theatre in the country, is where film star Liam Neeson began his career. The Ulster Hall (1859–1862) was originally designed for grand dances but is now used primarily as a concert and sporting venue. Lloyd George, Parnell and Patrick Pearse all attended political rallies there.

Parks and gardens

Sitting at the mouth of the gentle River Lagan where it becomes a deep and sheltered lough, Belfast is surrounded by mountains that create a special micro-climate that is conducive and beneficial to horticulture. From the Victorian idyll that is Botanic Gardens in the heart of the city to the spectacular heights of Cave Hill Country Park, the great expanse of Lagan Valley Regional Park to the tranquil beauty of Colin Glen, Belfast contains an abundance of beautiful parkland and forest parks, all of which are in close proximity to Belfast city centre.

Parks and Gardens are an integral part of Belfast's heritage, and home to an abundance of local wildlife and popular places for a picnic, a stroll or a jog. Numerous events take place throughout including festivals such as Rose Week and special activities such as bird watching evenings and great beast hunts.

Belfast has over forty public parks. The Forest of Belfast is a partnership between government and local groups, set up in 1992 to manage and conserve the city's parks and open spaces. They have commissioned more than 30 public sculptures since 1993. In 2006, the City Council set aside UK£8 million to continue this work. The Belfast Naturalists' Field Club was founded in 1863 and is administered by National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland. With 700,000 visitors in 2005, one of the most popular parks is Botanic Gardens in the Queen's Quarter. Built in the 1830s and designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, Botanic Gardens Palm House is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear and cast iron glasshouse. Other attractions in the park include the Tropical Ravine, a humid jungle glen built in 1889, rose gardens and public events ranging from live opera broadcasts to pop concerts. U2 played here in 1997. Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, to the south of the city centre, attracts thousands of visitors each year to its International Rose Garden. Rose Week in July each year features over 20,000 blooms. It has an area of of meadows, woodland and gardens and features a Princess Diana Memorial Garden, a Japanese Garden, a walled garden, and the Golden Crown Fountain commissioned in 2002 as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Demography

In the 2001 census, the population within the city limits (the Belfast Urban Area) was 276,459, while 579,554 people lived in the wider Belfast Metropolitan Area. This made it the fifteenth-largest city in the United Kingdom, but the eleventh-largest conurbation. Belfast experienced a huge growth in population around the first half of the twentieth century. This rise slowed and peaked around the start of the Troubles with the 1971 census showing almost 600,000 people in the ''Belfast Urban Area''. Since then, the inner city numbers have dropped dramatically as people have moved to swell the Greater Belfast suburb population. The 2001 census population within the same Urban Area, had fallen to 277,391 people, with 579,554 people living in the wider Belfast Metropolitan Area. The population density in the same year was 2,415 people/km² (compared to 119 for the rest of Northern Ireland). As with many cities, Belfast's inner city is currently characterised by the elderly, students and single young people, while families tend to live on the periphery. Socio-economic areas radiate out from the Central Business District, with a pronounced wedge of affluence extending out the Malone Road and Upper Malone Road to the south. An area of greater deprivation extends to the west of the city. The areas around the Falls and Shankill Roads are the most deprived wards in Northern Ireland.

Despite a period of relative peace, most areas and districts of Belfast still reflect the divided nature of Northern Ireland as a whole. Many areas are still highly segregated along ethnic, political and religious lines, especially in working class neighbourhoods. These zones – 'Catholic' or 'Republican' on one side and 'Protestant', or 'Loyalist' on the other – are invariably marked by flags, graffiti and murals. Segregation has been present throughout the history of Belfast, but has been maintained and increased by each outbreak of violence in the city. This escalation in segregation, described as a "ratchet effect", has shown little sign of decreasing during times of peace. When violence flares, it tends to be in interface areas. The highest levels of segregation in the city are in west Belfast with many areas greater than 90% Catholic. Opposite but comparatively high levels are seen in the predominantly Protestant east Belfast. Areas where segregated working-class areas meet are known as interface areas.

Ethnic minority communities have been in Belfast since the 1930s. The largest groups are Chinese and Irish travellers (traditionally not classed as an ethnic minority in Ireland but a social group as they share the same genetic origin as native Irish). Since the expansion of the European Union, numbers have been boosted by an influx of Eastern European immigrants. Census figures (2001) showed that Belfast has a total ethnic minority population of 4,584 or 1.3% of the population. Over half of these live in south Belfast, where they comprise 2.63% of the population. The majority of the estimated 5,000 Muslims and 200 Hindu families living and working in Northern Ireland live in the Greater Belfast area.

Economy

The IRA Ceasefire in 1994 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 have given investors increased confidence to invest in Belfast. This has led to a period of sustained economic growth and large-scale redevelopment of the city centre. Developments include Victoria Square, the Cathedral Quarter, and the Laganside with the Odyssey complex and the landmark Waterfront Hall. Other major developments include the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter, and the erection of the Obel Tower, a skyscraper set to be the tallest tower on the island. Today, Belfast is Northern Ireland's educational and commercial hub. In February 2006, Belfast's unemployment rate stood at 4.2%, lower than both the Northern Ireland and the UK average of 5.5%. Over the past 10 years employment has grown by 16.4 per cent, compared with 9.2 per cent for the UK as a whole.

Northern Ireland's peace dividend has led to soaring property prices in the city. In 2007, Belfast saw house prices grow by 50%, the fastest rate of growth in the UK. In March 2007, the average house in Belfast cost £91,819, with the average in south Belfast being £141,000. In 2004, Belfast had the lowest owner occupation rate in Northern Ireland at 54%.

Peace has also boosted the numbers of tourists coming to Belfast. There were 6.4 million visitors in 2005, which was a growth of 8.5% from 2004. The visitors spent £285.2 million, supporting more than 15,600 jobs. Visitor numbers rose by 6% to reach 6.8 million in 2006, with tourists spending £324 million, an increase of 15% on 2005. The city's two airports have helped make the city one of the most visited weekend destinations in Europe.

Belfast has been the fastest-growing economy of the thirty largest British cities over the past decade, a new economy report by Howard Spencer has found. ''"That's because [of] the fundamentals of the UK economy and [because] people actually want to invest in the UK,"'' he commented on that report.

BBC Radio 4's World reported furthermore that despite higher levels of corporation tax in the UK than in the Republic. There are "huge amounts" of foreign investment coming into the country.

''The Times'' wrote about Belfast's growing economy: "According to the region's development agency, throughout the 1990s Northern Ireland had the fastest-growing regional economy in the UK, with GDP increasing 1 per cent per annum faster than the rest of the country. As with any modern economy, the service sector is vital to Northern Ireland's development and is enjoying excellent growth. In particular, the region has a booming tourist industry with record levels of visitors and tourist revenues and has also established itself as a significant location for call centres." Since the ending of the regions conflict tourism has boomed in Northern Ireland, greatly aided by low cost.

Der Spiegel, a German weekly magazine for politics and economy, titled Belfast as ''The New Celtic Tiger'' which is "open for business".

Industrial growth

When the population of Belfast town began to grow in the 17th century, its economy was built on commerce. It provided a market for the surrounding countryside and the natural inlet of Belfast Lough gave the city its own port. The port supplied an avenue for trade with Great Britain and later Europe and North America. In the mid-17th century, Belfast exported beef, butter, hides, tallow and corn and it imported coal, cloth, wine, brandy, paper, timber and tobacco. It was not until industry transformed the linen and shipbuilding trades that the economy and the population boomed. By the turn of the 19th century, Belfast had transformed into the largest linen producing centre in the world, earning the nickname "Linenopolis".

Belfast harbour was dredged in 1845 to provide deeper berths for larger ships. Donegall Quay was built out into the river as the harbour was developed further and trade flourished. The Harland and Wolff shipbuilding firm was created in 1861, and by the time the Titanic was built in Belfast in 1912 it had become the largest shipyard in the world. Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company based in Belfast. It was the first aircraft manufacturing company in the world. The company began its association with Belfast in 1936, with Short & Harland Ltd, a venture jointly owned by Shorts and Harland and Wolff. Now known as Shorts Bombardier it works as an international aircraft manufacturer located near the Port of Belfast. The rise of mass-produced and cotton clothing following World War I were some of the factors which led to the decline of Belfast's international linen trade. For several decades, Northern Ireland's fragile economy required significant public support from the British exchequer of up to UK£4 billion per year. Ongoing sectarian violence has made it difficult for Belfast to compete with Dublin's Celtic Tiger economy. This has meant that wage rates in Belfast and Northern Ireland until recently were significantly lower than those in the Republic of Ireland. The effect of the economic depression in the Irish Republic on wage levels is not yet fully apparent. The cost of living in Northern Ireland is significantly lower than in the Republic and this has created a retail boom in border towns and cities.

Infrastructure

Belfast saw the worst of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, with nearly half of the total deaths in the conflict occurring in the city. However, since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, there has been significant urban regeneration in the city centre including Victoria Square, Queen's Island and Laganside as well as the Odyssey complex and the landmark Waterfront Hall. The city is served by two airports: The George Best Belfast City Airport adjacent to Belfast Lough and Belfast International Airport which is near Lough Neagh. Queen's University of Belfast is the main university in the city. The University of Ulster also maintains a campus in the city, which concentrates on fine art, design and architecture.

Belfast is one of the constituent cities that makes up the Dublin-Belfast corridor region, which has a population of just under 3 million.

Utilities

Most of Belfast's water is supplied from the Silent Valley Reservoir in County Down, created to collect water from the Mourne Mountains. The rest of the city's water is sourced from Lough Neagh, via ''Dunore Water Treatment Works'' in County Antrim. The citizens of Belfast pay for their water in their rates bill. Plans to bring in additional water tariffs have been deferred by devolution in May 2007. Belfast has approximately of sewers, which are currently being replaced in a project costing over UK£100 million and due for completion in 2009.

Northern Ireland Electricity is responsible for transmitting electricity in Northern Ireland. Belfast's electricity comes from Kilroot Power Station, a 520 megawatt dual coal and oil fired plant, situated near Carrickfergus. Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd. has been granted the licence for the transportation of natural gas across the Irish Sea from Stranraer to supply Greater Belfast from a base station near Carrickfergus. Rates in Belfast (and the rest of Northern Ireland) were reformed in April 2007. The discrete capital value system means rates bills are determined by the capital value of each domestic property as assessed by the ''Valuation and Lands Agency''. The recent dramatic rise in house prices has made these reforms unpopular.

Health care

The Belfast Health & Social Care Trust is one of five trusts that were created on 1 April 2007 by the Department of Health. Belfast contains most of Northern Ireland's regional specialist centres. The Royal Victoria Hospital is an internationally-renowned centre of excellence in trauma care and provides specialist trauma care for all of Northern Ireland. It also provides the city's specialist neurosurgical, ophthalmology, ENT, and dentistry services. The Belfast City Hospital is the regional specialist centre for haematology and is home to a cancer centre that rivals the best in the world. The Mary G McGeown Regional Nephrology Unit at the City Hospital is the kidney transplant centre and provides regional renal services for Northern Ireland. Musgrave Park Hospital in south Belfast specialises in orthopaedics, rheumatology, sports medicine and rehabilitation. It is home to Northern Ireland's first Acquired Brain Injury Unit, costing GB£9 million and opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in May 2006. Other hospitals in Belfast include the Mater Hospital in north Belfast and the Children's Hospital.

Transport

Belfast is a relatively car-dependent city by European standards, with an extensive road network including the M2 and M22 motorway route. A recent survey of how people travel in Northern Ireland showed that people in Belfast made 77% of all journeys by car, 11% by public transport and 6% on foot. It also showed that Belfast has 0.70 cars per household compared to figures of 1.18 in the East and 1.14 in the West of Northern Ireland. A significant road improvement-scheme in Belfast began early in 2006, with the upgrading of two junctions along the Westlink dual-carriageway to grade-separated standard. The improvement scheme was completed five months ahead of schedule on February 2009, with the official opening taking place on 4 March 2009. Commentators have argued that this may simply create a bottleneck at York Street, the next at-grade intersection, until that too is upgraded. The York Street phase is currently at the review stage and if successfully completing the necessary statutory procedures, work on a grade separated junction to connect the Westlink to the M2/M3 motorways is scheduled to take place between 2013/14 to 2017/2018, creating a continuous link between the M1 and M2, the two main motorways in Northern Ireland.

Black taxis are common in the city, operating on a share basis in some areas. These, however, are outnumbered by private hire taxis. Bus and rail public transport in Northern Ireland is operated by subsidiaries of Translink. Bus services in the city proper and the nearer suburbs are operated by Translink Metro, with services focusing on linking residential districts with the city centre on 12 quality bus corridors running along main radial roads, resulting in poor connections between different suburban areas. More distant suburbs are served by Ulsterbus. Northern Ireland Railways provides suburban services along three lines running through Belfast's northern suburbs to Carrickfergus and Larne, eastwards towards Bangor and south-westwards towards Lisburn and Portadown. This service is known as the Belfast Suburban Rail system. Belfast also has a direct rail connection with Dublin called ''Enterprise'' which is operated jointly by NIR and Iarnród Éireann, the state railway company of the Republic of Ireland.

In April 2008, the Department for Regional Development reported on a plan for a light-rail system, similar to that in Dublin. The consultants said Belfast does not have the population to support a light rail system, suggesting that investment in bus-based rapid transit would be preferable.The study found that bus-based rapid transit produces positive economic results, but light rail does not. The report by Atkins & KPMG, however, said there would be the option of migrating to light rail in the future should the demand increase.

The city has two airports: the Belfast International Airport offers domestic, European and transatlantic flights and is located north-west of the city, near Lough Neagh, while the George Best Belfast City Airport, which is closer to the city centre, adjacent to Belfast Lough, offers UK domestic flights and a few European flights. In 2005, Belfast International Airport was the 11th busiest commercial airport in the UK, accounting for just over 2% of all UK terminal passengers while the George Best Belfast City Airport was the 16th busiest and had 1% of UK terminal passengers. The Belfast - Liverpool route is the busiest domestic flight route in the UK excluding London with 555,224 passengers in 2009. Over 2.2 million passengers also flew between Belfast and London in 2009.

Belfast has a large port which is used for exporting and importing goods, and for passenger ferry services. Stena Line run regular routes to Stranraer in Scotland using its HSS (High Speed Service) vessel – with a crossing time of around 90 minutes – and/or its conventional vessel – with a crossing time of around 3 hours 45 minutes. Norfolkline – formally Norse Merchant Ferries – offers a passenger/cargo ferry to and from Liverpool, with a crossing time of 8 hours and a seasonal sailing to Douglas, Isle of Man is operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Culture

Belfast's population is evenly split between its Protestant and Catholic residents. These two distinct cultural communities have both contributed significantly to the city's culture. Throughout the Troubles, Belfast artists continued to express themselves through poetry, art and music. In the period since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, Belfast has begun a social, economic and cultural transformation giving it a growing international cultural reputation. In 2003, Belfast had an unsuccessful bid for the 2008 European Capital of Culture. The bid was run by an independent company, ''Imagine Belfast'', who boasted that it would "make Belfast the meeting place of Europe's legends, where the meaning of history and belief find a home and a sanctuary from caricature, parody and oblivion." According to ''The Guardian'' the bid may have been undermined by the city's history and volatile politics.

In 2004–05, art and cultural events in Belfast were attended by 1.8 million people (400,000 more than the previous year). The same year, 80,000 people participated in culture and arts activities, twice as many as in 2003–04. A combination of relative peace, international investment and an active promotion of arts and culture is attracting more tourists to Belfast than ever before. In 2004–05, 5.9 million people visited Belfast, a 10% increase from the previous year, and spent UK£262.5 million.

The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is Northern Ireland's only full-time symphony orchestra and is well renowned in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1966, it has existed in its present form since 1981, when the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra was disbanded. The music school of Queen's University is responsible for arranging a notable series of lunchtime and evening concerts, often given by renowned musicians which are usually given in The Harty Room at the university (University Square).

There are many Traditional Irish bands playing throughout the city and quite a few music schools concentrate on teaching Traditional music. Well known city centre venues would include Kelly's Cellars, Maddens and the Hercules bar. Famous artists would include The McPeakes, Brian Kennedy and the band 9Lies.

Musicians and bands who have written songs about or dedicated to Belfast: U2, Van Morrison, Snow Patrol, Simple Minds, Elton John, Katie Melua, Boney M, Paul Muldoon, Stiff Little Fingers, Nanci Griffith, Glenn Patterson, Orbital, James Taylor, Spandau Ballet, The Police, Barnbrack, Gary Moore Neon Neon.

Further in Belfast the Oh Yeah Music Centre is located (Cathedral Quarter), a project founded to give young musicians and artists a place where they can share ideas and kick-start their music careers as chance to been supported and promoted by professional musicians of Northern Ireland's music-scene.

Like all areas of the island of Ireland outside of the Gaeltacht, the Irish language in Belfast is not that of an unbroken intergenerational transmission. Due to community activity in the 1960s, including the establishment of the Shaws Road Gaeltacht community, the expanse in the Irish language arts, and the advancements made in the availability of Irish medium education throughout the city, it can now be said that there is a 'mother-tongue' community of speakers. The language is heavily promoted in the city and Belfast has the highest concentration of Irish speakers in Northern Ireland. Projects to promote the language in the city are funded by various sources, notably Foras na Gaeilge, an all-Ireland body funded by both the Irish and British governments. There are a number Irish language Primary schools and one secondary school in Belfast. The provision of certain resources for these schools (for example, such as the provision of textbooks) is supported by the charitable organisation TACA.

Media

Belfast is the home of the ''Irish News'', ''Belfast Telegraph'', and ''The News Letter'', the oldest English-language newspaper in the world still in publication. The city also contains a number of free publications including Go Belfast, Fate magazine and the Vacuum that are distributed through bar, cafes and public venues.

The city is the headquarters of BBC Northern Ireland, the ITV station UTV and the commercial radio stations Belfast CityBeat & U105. Two community radio stations, Blast 106 and Irish language station Raidió Fáilte broadcast to the city from west Belfast, as well as Queen's Radio – a student-run radio station which broadcasts from Queen's University Students' Union. One of Northern Ireland's two community TV stations NvTv is based in the Cathedral Quarter of the city. There are two independent cinemas in Belfast, the Queen's Film Theatre and the Strand Cinema, which host screenings during the Belfast Film Festival and the Belfast Festival at Queen's. Also broadcasting only over the Internet is the Cultural Radio Station for Northern Ireland, supporting community relations, Homely Planet.

The city has become a popular film location, with The Paint Hall at Harland and Wolff becoming one of the UK Film Council's main studios. The facility comprises four stages of . Films shot at The Paint Hall include ''City of Ember''. Filming for HBO's ''Game of Thrones'' began in late 2009.

Belfast is scheduled to host the MTV European Music Awards in November 2011.

Sports

Watching and playing sports is an important part of Belfast culture. Almost six out of ten (59%) of the adult population in Northern Ireland regularly participate in one or more sports. Belfast has several notable sports teams playing a diverse variety of sports including association football, rugby, Cricket, Gaelic games, and ice hockey as well as many urban sports like skateboarding, bmx and parkour/freerunning. The Belfast Marathon is run annually on May Day, and attracted 20,000 participants in 2011. The Northern Ireland national football team, ranked 62nd in June 2011 in the FIFA World Rankings, and 6th in the FIFA rankings per capita in October 2008 plays its home matches in Windsor Park. The 2010–11 Irish League champions Linfield are also based at Windsor Park, in the south of the city. Other teams include 2008/09 champions Glentoran based in east Belfast, Cliftonville and Crusaders in north Belfast and Donegal Celtic in west Belfast. Belfast was the home town of the renowned player George Best who died in November 2005. On the day he was buried in the city, 100,000 people lined the route from his home on the Cregagh Road to Roselawn cemetery. Since his death the City Airport was named after him and a trust has been set up to fund a memorial to him in the city centre.

Gaelic football is the most popular spectator sport in Ireland, and Belfast is home to over twenty football and hurling clubs. Casement Park in west Belfast, home to the Antrim county teams, has a capacity of 32,000 which makes it the second largest Gaelic Athletic Association ground in Ulster. The 2006 Celtic League champions and 1999 European Rugby Union champions Ulster play at Ravenhill in south Belfast. Belfast has four teams in rugby's All-Ireland League: Belfast Harlequins in Division 1B; and Instonians, Queen's University and Malone in Division 2A.

Ice hockey is one of Northern Ireland's most popular sports mainly down to it being home to one of the biggest British clubs, the Belfast Giants. The Giants were founded in 2000 and play there games at the 9500 capacity Odyssey Arena, crowds normally range from 4,000-7,000. Many ex-NHL players have featured on the Giants roster, none more famous than world superstar Theo Fleury. The Giants play in the 10 team professional Elite Ice Hockey League which is the top league in Britain. The Belfast Giants are a huge brand in Northern Ireland and the U.S and because of the size of the brand the Belfast Giants will be taking on the Boston Bruins of the NHL on the 2nd of October, 2010 at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast.

Other significant sportspeople from Belfast include double world snooker champion Alex "Hurricane" Higgins and world champion boxers Wayne McCullough and Rinty Monaghan. Leander A.S.C is a well known swimming club in Belfast.

Education

Belfast has two universities. Queen's University Belfast was founded in 1845 and is a member of the Russell Group, an association of 20 leading research-intensive universities in the UK. It is one of the largest universities in the UK with 25,231 undergraduate and postgraduate students spread over 250 buildings, 120 of which are listed as being of architectural merit. The University of Ulster, created in its current form in 1984, is a multi-centre university with a campus in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. The Belfast campus has a specific focus on Art and Design and Architecture, and is currently undergoing major redevelopment. The Jordanstown campus, just seven miles (11 km) from Belfast city centre concentrates on engineering, health and social science. The Conflict Archive on the INternet (CAIN) Web Service receives funding from both universities and is a rich source of information and source material on the Troubles as well as society and politics in Northern Ireland.

Belfast Metropolitan College is a large further education college with several campuses around the city. Formerly known as Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education, it specialises in vocational education. The college has over 53,000 students enrolled on full-time and part-time courses, making it one of the largest further education colleges in the UK.

The Belfast Education and Library Board was established in 1973 as the local authority responsible for education, youth and library services within the city. There are 184 primary, secondary and grammar schools in the city.

The Ulster Museum is also located in Belfast.

Tourism

Belfast is currently experiencing a successful tourist boom, being one of the most visited cities in the UK, and the second most visited on the island of Ireland. In 2008, 7.1 million tourists visited the city. There are numerous popular tour bus companies and boat tours running throughout the year.

Frommer's, the American travel guidebook series, listed Belfast as the only United Kingdom destination in its ''Top 12 Destinations to Visit'' in 2009. The other listed destinations were Istanbul, Berlin, Cape Town, Saqqara, Washington DC, Cambodia, Waiheke Island, Cartagena, Waterton Lakes National Park, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, Alabama and the Lassen Volcanic National Park

To further enhance the tourist industry in Northern Ireland, the Belfast City Council is currently investing into the complete redevelopment of the Titanic Quarter, which is planned to consist of apartments, hotels, a riverside entertainment district, and a major Titanic-themed attraction. They also hope to invest in a new modern transport system (high-speed rail and others) for Belfast, with a cost of £250 million.

There is also a large tourist information centre located at Donegall Place.

Sister cities

Belfast is twinned with:

Nashville, USA Bonn, Germany Hefei, China Wonju, South Korea

References

Further reading

Beesley, S. and Wilde, J. 1997. ''Urban Flora of Belfast''. Institute of Irish Studies & The Queen's University of Belfast.

Deane, C.Douglas. 1983. ''The Ulster Countryside.'' Century Books. ISBN 0-903152-17-7

Gillespie, R. 2007. ''Early Belfast.'' Belfast Natural History & Philosophical Society in Association with Ulster Historical Foundation. ISBN 978-1-903688-72-4.

Nesbitt, Noel. 1982. ''The Changing Face of Belfast.'' Ulster Museum, Belfast. Publication no. 183.

Scott, Robert. 2004. ''Wild Belfast on safari in the city.'' Blackstaff Press. ISBN 0-85640-762-3.

Walker, B.M. and Dixon, H. 1984. ''Early Photographs from the Lawrence Collection in Belfast Town 1864–1880.'' The Friar's Bush Press, ISBN 978-0-946872-01-5

Walker, B.M. and Dixon, H. 1983. ''No Mean City: Belfast 1880–1914.'' ISBN 0-946872-00-7.

External links

Belfast – Northern Ireland Tourist Board

Belfast City Council

Category:British capitals Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Irish Sea Category:Metropolitan areas of Ireland Category:Port cities and towns in the United Kingdom Category:Populated coastal places in the United Kingdom Category:University towns in the United Kingdom

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name	Billy Connolly
birth name	William Connolly, Jr.
birth date	November 24, 1942
birth place	Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland , United Kingdom
medium	Stand-up, television, film, music
nationality	Scottish
active	1965–present
genre	Observational comedy, Musical comedy
subject	Everyday life, sex, religion, old age, Scottish culture
influences	Chic Murray
influenced	Eddie Izzard, Craig Ferguson, Ross Noble
spouse	Iris Pressagh (1969–1985) (divorced)Pamela Stephenson (1989–present)
website	BillyConnolly.com

}} William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE (born 24 November 1942) is a British comedian, musician, presenter and actor born in Scotland. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname ''The Big Yin'' (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder (specifically a boilermaker) in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer in the Humblebums and subsequently as a soloist. In the early 1970s he made the transition from folk-singer with a comedic persona to full-fledged comedian, a role in which he continues. He also became an actor, and has appeared in such films as ''Indecent Proposal'' (1993); ''Mrs. Brown'' (1997), for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; ''The Boondock Saints'' (1999); ''The Man Who Sued God'' (2001); ''Water'' (1985); ''The Last Samurai'' (2003); ''Timeline'' (2003); ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (2004); ''Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties'' (2006); and ''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'' (2008). Connolly reprised his role as Noah "Il Duce" MacManus in ''Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day''. Connolly appears as the King of Lilliput in the 2010 remake of ''Gulliver′s Travels''.

Early life

Connolly was born at 69 Dover Street ("on the linoleum, three floors up" "at six o'clock in the evening") in Anderston, Glasgow, to William Connolly and his wife Mary (McLean) Connolly, a hospital cafeteria worker. Connolly's grandfather was an Irish immigrant. In 1946, when he was barely four years old, Connolly's mother abandoned her children when his father was still away in the army. Connolly and his sister, Florence, were cared for by two aunts, Margaret and Mona Connolly, his father's sisters. His biography, written by wife Pamela Stephenson, documented years of physical and sexual abuse by his father, which began when he was ten and lasted until he was about fifteen.

"Twice in my life, two birds have flown in and made a huge difference," explained Connolly in 1996. When he was seven, the Connolly family went to Rothesay on holiday. He was sent to get some milk and bread rolls. On his way back with his hands full, a bird landed on his head. Connolly immediately thought God had called him and "nearly had a coronary". "It was a jackdaw, and I didn't know you could teach jackdaws to speak. But I was walking along, and this thing landed on my head and said hello. I nearly passed away. I learned subsequently that it was a tame bird, and we became friends and I got used to the idea: the bird would land on me and I was quite happy. My life had changed forever." Connolly said the second "bird" was Brett Whiteley, an Australian artist he met through Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits in the 1980s.

Between the ages of fourteen and twenty, Connolly was brought up in a tenement in the Anderston district of Glasgow. He later lived in Partick. Connolly still supports football club Partick Thistle. Connolly has wryly observed that many people think that the name of the club is "Patrick Thistle nil".

He attended St. Peter's Primary School in Glasgow and St. Gerard's Secondary School in Govan. At age 12, Connolly decided he wanted to become a comedian but did not think he fitted the mould, feeling he needed to become more "windswept and interesting". At 15, he left school with two engineering qualifications, one collected by mistake which belonged to a boy named Connell.

Connolly was a year too young to work in the shipyards. He became a delivery boy until he was sixteen, when he was deemed overqualified (due to his J1 and J2 certificates) to become an engineer. Instead, he worked as a boilermaker at Alexander Stephen and Sons Shipyard in Linthouse.

Connolly also joined the Territorial Army Reserve 15th (Scottish) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (15 PARA). He later commemorated his experiences in the song "Weekend Soldier").

Career

Origin of "The Big Yin"

Connolly's ''The Big Yin'' nickname was first used during his adolescent years to differentiate between himself and his father. "My father was a very strong man. Broad and strong. He had an 18½-inch neck collar. Huge, like a bull. He was "Big Billy" and I was "Wee Billy". And then I got bigger than him, and the whole thing got out of control. And then I became ''The Big Yin'' in Scotland. So, we'd go into the pub and someone would say, 'Billy Connolly was in.' 'Oh, Big Billy or Wee Billy?' 'The Big Yin.' 'Oh, Wee Billy.' If you were a stranger, you'd think, 'What are these people talking about?'"

1960s

In 1966, after he had completed a five-year apprenticeship as a boilermaker, Connolly accepted a ten-week job building an oil platform in Nigeria. Upon his return to Scotland, he worked at John Brown & Company, but focused increasingly on being a folk singer.

Connolly's career as a folk singer led to him forming a folk-pop duo called The Humblebums with Tam Harvey. After recording one album, Harvey left the partnership and was replaced by future rock star Gerry Rafferty. Connolly’s time with Rafferty possibly influenced his future comedy as years later he would recall how Rafferty’s expert prank telephone calls, made while waiting to go on stage, used to make him "scream" with laughter. The Connolly-Rafferty version of The Humblebums recorded two more albums for independent record label Transatlantic Records. The albums were not big commercial successes but enjoyed cult status and critical acclaim. Connolly's contributions were primarily straightforward pop-folk with quirky and whimsical lyrics, but he had not especially focused on comedy at this point.

In 1970, the Humblebums broke up, with Rafferty going on to record a solo album: ''Can I Have My Money Back'' (1971). Connolly returned to being a folk singer. His live performances featured folk songs with humorous introductions that became increasingly long in duration.

The head of Transatlantic Records, Nat Joseph, who had signed The Humblebums and had nurtured their career, was concerned that Connolly find a way to develop a distinctive solo career just as his former bandmate, Gerry Rafferty, was doing. Joseph saw several of Connolly's performances and noted his comedic skills. Joseph had successfully nurtured the recording career of another Scottish folk entertainer, Hamish Imlach, and saw potential in Connolly following a similar path. He suggested to Connolly that he drop the folk-singing and focus primarily on becoming a comedian. It was a life-changing suggestion.

1970s

In 1972, Joseph produced Connolly's first solo album, ''Billy Connolly Live!'', a mixture of comedic songs and short monologues that hinted at what was to follow. In late 1973, Joseph produced the breakthrough album that propelled Connolly to British stardom. Recorded at a small venue, The Tudor Hotel in Airdrie, the record was a double album titled ''Solo Concert''. Releasing a live double-album by a comedian who was virtually unknown (except to a cult audience in Glasgow) was an unusual gambit by Joseph but his faith in Connolly's talent was justified. Joseph and his marketing team, which included publicist Martin Lewis, successfully promoted the album to chart success on its release in 1974. It featured one of Connolly's most famous comedy routines: "The Crucifixion", in which he likens Christ's Last Supper to a drunken night out in Glasgow. The recording was banned by many radio stations at the time. Building on his cult Scottish following, they broke Connolly throughout the UK – an unusual development for a regional comedian.

In 1975, the rapidity and extent of Connolly's breakthrough was used to secure him a booking on Britain's premier TV talk show, the BBC's ''Parkinson''. Connolly made the most of the opportunity and told a bawdy joke about a man who had murdered his wife and buried her bottom-up so he'd have somewhere to park his bike. This ribald humour was unusually forthright on a primetime Saturday night on British television in the mid-1970s, and his appearance made a great impact. He became a good friend of the host, Michael Parkinson, and now holds the record for appearances on the programme, having been a guest on fifteen occasions. Referring to that debut appearance, he later said: "That programme changed my entire life." Parkinson, in the documentary ''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'', stated that people still remember Connolly telling the punchline to the 'bike joke' three decades after that TV appearance. When asked about the material, Connolly stated, "Yes, it was incredibly edgy for its time. My manager, on the way over, warned me not to do it, but it was a great joke and the interview was going so well, I thought, 'Oh, fuck that!!' I don't know where I got the courage in those days, but Michael did put confidence in me." Connolly's UK success spread to other English-speaking countries: Australia, New Zealand and Canada. However, his broad Scottish accent and British cultural references made success in the US improbable.

His increased profile led to contact with other individuals, including musicians such as Elton John. John at that time was trying to assist British performers whom he personally liked to achieve success in the US (he had released records in the US by veteran British pop singer Cliff Richard on his own Rocket Records label.) John tried to give Connolly a boost in America by using him as the opening act on his 1976 US tour. But the well-intentioned gesture was a failure. Elton John's American fans had no interest in being warmed-up by an unknown comedic performer – especially a Scotsman whose accent they found incomprehensible. "In Washington, some guy threw a pipe and it hit me right between my eyes", he told Michael Parkinson two years later. "It wasn't my audience. They made me feel about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit."

Connolly continued to grow in popularity in the UK. In 1975 he signed with Polydor Records. Connolly continued to release live albums and he also recorded several comedic songs that enjoyed commercial success as novelty singles including parodies of Tammy Wynette's song "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." (which he performed on ''Top of the Pops'' in December 1975) and the Village People's "In the Navy" (titled "In the Brownies").

In 1979, Connolly was invited by producer Martin Lewis to join the cast of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'', the third in the series of the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' fundraising shows for Amnesty International. Connolly was the first comedic performer in the series who was not an alumnus of the ''Oxbridge'' school of middle-class university-educated entertainers and he made the most of his appearance. His performance was considered to be one of the highlights of the show's comedy album (released by Island Records in December 1979) and feature film (released by ITC Films in 1980). Appearing in the company of long-established talents such as John Cleese and Peter Cook helped elevate the perception of Connolly as one of Britain's leading comedic talents. Lewis also teamed Connolly with Cleese and Cook to appear in the television commercial for the album.

1980s

In 1981, John Cleese and Martin Lewis invited Connolly to appear in that year's Amnesty show, ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''. Connolly's performance was again reported as one of the highlights of the show and he was prominently featured in the subsequent comedy album (Springtime!/Island Records 1981) and UK film (UIP 1982). The commercial success of the special US version of ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' film (Miramax Films 1982) introduced Connolly to a wider American audience, who were attracted to the film because of the presence of Monty Python members. His on-screen presence alongside these performers – who were already familiar to Anglophile comedy buffs – helped lay down a marker for Connolly's eventual return to the US in his own right eight years later.

In 1985, he divorced Iris Pressagh, his wife of sixteen years (they had separated four years earlier after living together in Drymen). He was awarded custody of their two children. That same year, he performed ''An Audience with...'', which was videotaped at the South Bank Television Centre in front of a celebrity audience for ITV. The uncut, uncensored version was subsequently released on video. In July 1985 he performed at the Wembley leg of Live Aid, immediately preceding Elton John.

In 1986 he visited Mozambique to appear in a documentary for Comic Relief. He also featured in the charity's inaugural live stage show, both as a stand-up and portraying a willing 'victim' in his partner Pamela Stephenson's act of sawing a man in half to create two dwarves.

Connolly completed his first world tour in 1987, including six nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which was documented in the ''Billy and Albert'' video.

When the Fox Network aired ''Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebration'' in 1988, Connolly was still virtually unknown in the States, but his performance drew attention, particularly from producers, and interest in him grew.

In 1988, Connolly's father died after a stroke, the eighth of his life. His mother died four years later of motor neurone disease. She was living in Dunoon at that point.

On 20 December 1989, in Fiji, Connolly married Pamela Stephenson, the New Zealand-born comedy actress he had met when making a cameo appearance on the BBC sketch show ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', in which she was one of four regular performers. He had been living with her since 1981. "Marriage to Pam didn't change me, it saved me," he later said. "I was going to die. I was on a downwards spiral and enjoying every second of it. Not only was I dying, but I was looking forward to it."

In October 1989, Connolly shaved off his trademark shaggy beard for a film role and he remained clean-shaven for several years.

1990s

Although Connolly had performed in North America as early as the 1970s, and had appeared in several movies that played in American theatres, he nonetheless remained relatively unknown until 1990 when he was featured in the HBO special ''Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance'', produced by New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music. Goldberg introduced Connolly, and his performance has been cited as the moment that officially launched his career in the States. Soon after, Connolly succeeded Howard Hesseman as the star of the sitcom ''Head of the Class'' for the 1990–1991 season, but the series was cancelled during his tenure.

Connolly joined Frank Bruno and Ozzy Osbourne when singing 'The War Song of the Urpneys' in The Dreamstone.

The following year, Connolly and Stephenson moved to Los Angeles, and the family won green cards in the Morrison Visa Lottery. In 1991, Connolly received his first (and, to date, only) leading television role as the star of ''Billy'', another sitcom and a spin-off of ''Head of the Class''. It lasted only a half-season.

On 4 June 1992, Connolly performed his 25th-anniversary concert in Glasgow. Parts of the show, and its build-up, were documented in ''The South Bank Show'', which aired later in the year.

Connolly was dealt a blow in 1993 when his close friend and fishing partner, Jimmy Kent, died.

In early January 1994, Connolly began a 40-date ''World Tour of Scotland'', which would be broadcast by the BBC later in the year as a six-part series. It was so well received that the BBC signed him up to do a similar tour two years later, this time in Australia. The eight-part series followed Connolly on his custom-made Harley Davidson trike.

Also in 1995, Connolly recorded a BBC special, entitled ''A Scot in the Arctic'', in which he spends a week by himself in the Arctic Circle.

In 1997, Connolly starred with Judi Dench in ''Mrs. Brown'', in which he played John Brown, the favoured Scottish servant of Queen Victoria. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award and a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

In 1998, Connolly's best friend, Danny Kyle, died. "He was me dearest, dearest, oldest friend," Connolly explained to an Australian audience on his ''Greatest Hits'' compilation, released in 2001.

In November 1998, Connolly was the subject of a two-hour retrospective entitled ''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'', which included tributes from Judi Dench, Sean Connery, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Eddie Izzard. The special was released on DVD in North America in 2004.

The following year, Connolly undertook a four-month, 59-date sellout tour of Australia and New Zealand. Later in the year, he completed a five-week, 25-date sellout run at London's Hammersmith Apollo. In 2000 he travelled to Canada for two weeks on a 13-date tour.

2000s

In 2000 Connolly starred in ''Beautiful Joe'' alongside Sharon Stone. The following year he completed the third in his "World Tour" BBC series, this time of ''England, Ireland and Wales'', which began in Dublin and ended in Plymouth. It was broadcast the following year.

Also in 2001, Pamela Stephenson's first biography of her husband, ''Billy'', was published. It outlines his career and life, including the sexual abuse by his father that lasted from his tenth to his fourteenth years. Much of the book is about Connolly the celebrity but the account of his early years provides a context for his humour and point of view. A follow-up, ''Bravemouth'', was published in 2003.

Connolly has also written several books, including ''Billy Connolly'' (late 1970s) and ''Gullible's Travels'' (early 1980s), both based upon his stage act, as well as books based upon some of his "World Tour" television series. He has stated that his comedy does not work on the printed page.

A fourth BBC series, ''World Tour of New Zealand'', was filmed in 2004 and aired that winter. Also in his 63rd year, Connolly performed two sold-out benefit concerts at the Oxford New Theatre in memory of Malcolm Kingsnorth, who for twenty-five years was Connolly's tour manager and sound engineer.

He has continued to be a much in demand character actor, appearing in several films such as ''White Oleander'' (2002), ''The Last Samurai'' (2003) and ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (2004). He has also played an eclectic collection of leading roles in recent years, including a lawyer who undertakes a legal case of Biblical proportions in ''The Man Who Sued God'' (2001), and a young boy's pet zombie in ''Fido'' (2006).

In January 2005, Connolly came 8th in ''The Comedian's Comedian'', a poll voted for by fellow comedians and comedy insider and embarked on a major UK tour with 15 sold-out nights in Glasgow.

Also in 2005, Connolly and Stephenson announced, after fourteen years of living in Hollywood, they were returning to live in the former's native land. They purchased a yacht with the profits from their house-sale, and split the year between Malta and Candacraig House in Aberdeenshire.

Later in the year, Connolly topped an unscientific poll of "Britain's Favourite Comedian" conducted by TV network Five, placing him ahead of performers such as John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, Dawn French, and Peter Cook.

In 2006, Connolly revealed that he also has a house on the island of Gozo. He and his wife also have an apartment in New York City, near Union Square.

On 30 December 2007, Connolly escaped uninjured from a single-car accident on the A939 near the Scottish town of Ballater, Aberdeenshire.

In late February it was announced that Connolly would play ten shows in early April at the Post Street Theatre in San Francisco.

On 10 March 2008, tickets went on sale for Connolly's Irish tour, set to take place in May, June and July. He performed three shows in University Concert Hall, Limerick, ten shows at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, five shows at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast and three shows at the Cork Opera House. They all sold out in a matter of hours. The tour also travelled to Kerry (two shows) and Mayo (two shows).

In October 2009 he played a tour of his homeland, and sold out everywhere, despite adding extra dates. He stated he was proud to have broken the computer system for Glasgow and Edinburgh, as they could not handle the rush for tickets. In Glasgow he was playing at SECC. The SECC was built near the site where his family had lived when he was a child.

In May 2011 Connolly suffered a broken rib and a gashed knee when his motor trike rolled on top of him while filming for the ITV travel documentary ''Billy Connolly's Route 66''. He returned to filming a week later.

Personal life

Connolly has been married to his second wife, comedian and psychologist Pamela Stephenson, since 1989. In the book ''Billy'', and in a December 2008 online interview, Connolly states he was sexually abused by his father between the ages of 10 and 15. He believes this was a result of the Catholic Church not allowing his father to divorce after his mother left the family. Due to this, Connolly has a "deep distrust and dislike of the Catholic church and any other organization that brainwashes people". In a 1999 interview with ''The Sunday Herald'' Connolly condemned the SNP as "racist" and the new Scottish parliament as a "joke".

Connolly has two siblings: an older sister, Florence, who is a retired school-teacher, and a younger brother, Michael; he has referred to both in his stand-up routines. He is also the father to five children: two from his first marriage and three from his second.

Controversy

Kenneth Bigley joke

In October 2004, during an 18-night stint at London's Hammersmith Apollo, Connolly was criticised for making jokes about the hostage Kenneth Bigley. Shortly after Connolly joked about the future killing of the hostage and touched on the subject of Bigley’s young Thai wife, Bigley was beheaded in Iraq. Connolly claims he was misquoted. He has declined to clarify what he actually said, claiming that the context was as important as the precise words used.

Support for charity

Connolly is a patron of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability.

Folk music

In 1965, together with Tam Harvey, Connolly started a group called the Humblebums. At their first gig, Connolly reportedly introduced them both to the audience by saying, "My name's Billy Connolly, and I'm humble. This is Tam Harvey, he's a bum." The band would later include Gerry Rafferty. After Harvey left the group, Connolly and Rafferty continued as a duo and the latter two of their three albums featured just that duo. Connolly sang, played five-string banjo, guitar and autoharp, and at live shows entertained the audience with his humorous introductions to the songs.

Frank Bruno and Billy Connolly provided lead vocals on The War Song of the Urpneys from The Dreamstone, although the version heard in the series was largely sung by composer Mike Batt.

In his ''World Tour of Scotland'', Connolly reveals that at a trailer show during the Edinburgh Festival, the Humblebums took to the stage just before the late Yehudi Menuhin.

The Humblebums broke up in 1971 and both Connolly and Rafferty went solo. Connolly's first solo album in 1972, ''Billy Connolly Live!'' on Transatlantic Records, featured him as a singer/songwriter.

His early albums were a mixture of comedy performances with comedic and serious musical interludes. Among his best known musical performances were "The Welly Boot Song", a parody of the Scottish folk song "The Wark O' The Weavers," which became his theme song for several years; "In the Brownies", a parody of the hit Village People song "In the Navy" (for which Connolly filmed a music video); "Two Little Boys in Blue", a tongue-in-cheek indictment of police brutality done to the tune of Rolf Harris' "Two Little Boys"; and the ballad "I Wish I Was in Glasgow," which Connolly would later perform in duet with Malcolm McDowell on a guest appearance on the 1990s American sitcom ''Pearl'' (which starred Rhea Perlman). He also performed the occasional Humblebums-era song such as "Oh, No!" as well as straightforward covers such as a version of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors," which was included on his ''Get Right Intae Him!'' album.

In November 1975, his spoof of the Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was a UK No. 1 single for one week. Wynette's original was about parents spelling out words of an impending marital split to avoid traumatising their young child. Connolly's spoof of the song played on the fact that many dog owners use the same tactic when they do not wish their pet to become upset about an impending trip to the vet. Connolly's song is about a couple whose marriage is ruined by a bad vet visit (spelling out "W-O-R-M" or "Q-U-A-R-A-N-T-I-N-E", for example.) His song "No Chance" was a parody of J. J. Barrie's cover of the song "No Charge".

In 1985 he sang the theme song to ''Super Gran'', which was released as a single and in 1996 he performed a cover of Ralph McTell's "'In the Dreamtime" as the theme to his ''World Tour of Australia''. By the late 1980s, Connolly had all but dropped the music from his act, though he still records the occasional musical performance, such as a 1980s recording of his composition "Sergeant, Where's Mine?" with The Dubliners. In 1998 he covered The Beatles' "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" on the George Martin tribute album, ''In My Life''. Most recently, he sang a song during the film ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events''. And in 1995 and 2005, he released two albums of instrumental performances ''Musical Tour of Scotland'' and ''Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand'', respectively.

Connolly is among the artists featured on ''Banjoman'', a tribute to American folk musician Derroll Adams, released in 2002. He plays one song, "The Rock".

Stand-up comedy

It is as a stand-up comedian that Connolly is best known. His observational comedy is idiosyncratic and often off-the-cuff. He has outraged certain sectors of audiences, critics and the media with his free use of the word "fuck". He has made jokes relating to masturbation, blasphemy, defecation, flatulence, haemorrhoids, sex, his father's illness, his aunts' cruelty and, in the latter stages of his career, old age (specifically his experiences of growing old). In 2007 and again in 2010, he was voted the greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups.

Discography

A partial list of musical and comedic recordings:

1972 - ''Billy Connolly Live''

1974 - ''Cop Yer Whack for This''

1974 - ''Solo Concert''

1975 - ''Get Right Intae Him!

1975 - ''Words and Music''

1975 - ''The Big Yin''

1976 - ''Atlantic Bridge''

1977 - ''Billy Connolly''

1977 - ''Raw Meat for the Balcony!''

1978 - ''Anthology''

1979 - ''Riotous Assembly''

1981 - ''The Pick of Billy Connolly'' (compilation)

1983 - ''A Change is Good as Arrest''

1983 - ''In Concert''

1984 - ''Big Yin Double Helping'' (compilation)

1985 - ''An Audience With Billy Connolly''

1985 - ''Wreck on Tour''

1987 - ''Billy & Albert''

1991 - ''Live at the Odeon Hammersmith London''

1995 - ''Musical Tour of Scotland''

1999 - ''Comedy and Songs'' (compilation)

1999 - ''One Night Stand Down Under''

2002 - ''The Big Yin - Billy Connolly in Concert'' (compilation)

2003 - ''Transatlantic Years'' (compilation of material recorded between 1969 and 1974)

2005 - ''Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand''

2007 - ''Live in Concert''

2010 - ''The Man'' Live in London, recorded January 2010

The above list does not include at least two albums recorded with the Humblebums prior to 1972, and only includes a sampling of the many reissues and compilations released over the years.

Playwright

Connolly has written three plays:

''An' Me Wi' A Bad Leg Tae'' (1975)

''When Hair Was Long And Time Was Short'' (1977)

''Red Runner'' (1979)

Film actor

Connolly has often joked about the regularity of the deaths of the characters he portrays in movies. "If you want to see me in a movie, you have to hurry to the theatre, because I usually die in the first fifteen minutes. I'm never in the sequel." Connolly also claims to be the only man to ever die in a Muppet movie. Notable film appearances include ''Absolution'' (1978) with Richard Burton, and ''Mrs Brown'' (1997) with Judi Dench.

Filmography

Year

Title

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1975

Television Movies

*''Just Another Saturday'' as Paddy

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1976

''Connolly'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''The Elephants' Graveyard'' as Jody

Documentaries/Specials

*''Big Banana Feet'' as Himself

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1978

''Absolution as Blakey

*''Billy Connolly in Concert'' as Himself

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1980

''The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)>The Secret Policeman's Ball'' as Himself

*''Worzel Gummidge: A Cup o' Tea an' a Slice o' Cake as Bogle McNeep

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1981

''Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum!'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

Cambodia>Kampuchea'' as Himself

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1982

''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' as Himself

*''The Pick of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''Blue Money'' as Des

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1983

''Bullshot (film)>Bullshot'' as Hawkeye McGillicuddy

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1984

Television

*''Tickle on the Tum''

Television Movies

*''Weekend in Wallop'' as Himself

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1985

''Water (1985 film)>Water'' as Delgado

*''An Audience with Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television

*''Supergran'' composer/singer of the theme song

Television Special

*''Live Aid'' as Himself

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1986

''To the North of Katmandu''

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1987

''The Hunting of the Snark (musical)>The Hunting of the Snark'' as The Bellman

*''Billy Connolly at the Royal Albert Hall'' as Himself

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1988

Documentaries/Specials

*''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' as Himself

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1989

''The Return of the Musketeers'' as Caddie

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1990

''Whoopi Goldberg Presents Billy Connolly (HBO Standup Performance)'' as Himself

*''Crossing the Line'' (known in the UK as ''The Big Man'') as Frankie (for which he shaved off his trademark goatee)

Television

*''Head of the Class'' as Billy MacGregor (1990–1991)

Television Movies

*''Dreaming''

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1991

''Billy Connolly Live 1991'' as Himself

*''Pale Blue Scottish Person (HBO Standup Performance)'' as Himself

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1992

''25 B.C.: The Best of 25 Years of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television

Billy (1992 TV series)>Billy'' as Billy MacGregor

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1993

''Indecent Proposal'' as the Auction MC

Television Movies

*''Down Among the Big Boys'' as Jo Jo Donnelly

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1994

''Billy Connolly Live 1994'' as Himself

Television

*''World Tour of Scotland'' as Himself

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1995

''Pocahontas (1995 film)>Pocahontas'' as Ben (voice)

*''Two Bites of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''A Scot in the Arctic'' as Himself

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1996

''Muppet Treasure Island'' as Billy Bones

Television

*''Pearl'' guest star and composer of "I Wish I Was in Glasgow" (1983) in the episode "Billy"

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia'' as Himself

Video Games

*''Muppet Treasure Island'' as Billy Bones (voice)

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1997

''Beverly Hills Ninja'' as Japanese Antique Shop Proprietor

Mrs. Brown'' as John Brown (for which he was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA)

*''Paws as PC (voice)

*''Billy Connolly: Two Night Stand'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''Deacon Brodie'' as Deacon Brodie

Documentaries/Specials

*''Sean Connery, an Intimate Portrait'' as Himself

*''Sean Connery Close Up'' as Himself

*''Whatever Happened to... Clement and La Frenais?'' as Himself

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1998

''Still Crazy'' as Hughie

**also the composer of "Stealin'"

*''The Impostors'' as Mr. Sparks

*''Middleton's Changeling'' as Alibius

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1999

''Billy Connolly: One Night Stand Down Under''

*''The Boondock Saints'' as "Il Duce", A.K.A. Noah MacManus

*''The Debt Collector'' as Nickie Dryden

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2000

''An Everlasting Piece'' as Scalper

Beautiful Joe (film)>Beautiful Joe'' as Joe

Television Movies

*''Columbo: Murder with Too Many Notes'' as Findlay Crawford

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2001

''Gabriel and Me'' as Gabriel

*''The Man Who Sued God'' as Steve Myers

*''Who is Cletis Tout?'' as Dr. Savian

*''Billy Connolly Live: The Greatest Hits'' as Himself

Television Movies

Prince Charming (TV film)>Prince Charming'' as Hamish

*''Gentlemen's Relish'' as Kingdom Swann

Documentaries/Specials

*''Comic Relief: Say Pants to Poverty'' as Himself

*''Comic Relief Short Pants'' as Himself

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2002

''White Oleander (film)>White Oleander'' as Barry Kolker

*''Billy Connolly Live 2002'' as Himself

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of England, Ireland and Wales'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''Ultimate Fights from the Movies'' as Frankie from ''Crossing the Line''

British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''Judi Dench: A BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch''

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2003

''The Last Samurai'' as Sgt. Zebulon Gant

Timeline (film)>Timeline'' as Prof. E.A. Johnston

Documentaries/Specials

*''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'' as Himself

Julie Walters: A British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''The Importance of Being Famous'' as Himself

*''Overnight'' as Himself

*''Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do'' as Himself

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2004

''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' as Uncle Monty

Television

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of New Zealand'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time'' as #73

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2005

DVD

*''Billy Connolly: Live in New York''

Documentaries

*''Ivor Cutler: Looking for Truth with a Pin'' as Himself

The Aristocrats (film)>The Aristocrats'' as Himself

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2006

''Open Season (film)>Open Season'' as McSquizzy

*''Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties'' as Lord Dargis

Fido (film)>Fido'' as Fido

DVD

*''Billy Connolly: The Essential Collection'' as Himself

Documentaries

Fuck (film)>Fuck'' as Himself

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2007

DVD

*''Billy Connolly Live: Was it Something I Said?'' as Himself

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2008

''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'' as Father Joseph "Joe" Crissman

DVD

* Billy Connolly: Journey to the Edge of the World

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2008

''Open Season 2'' as McSquizzy

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2009

Television

ITV1, also aired Seven Network>Channel Seven in Australia)

*''Good Sharma'' as Reverend Webster

DVD

*''The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' as Noah MacManus, A.K.A. "Il Duce"

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2010

''Gulliver's Travels (2010 film)>Gulliver's Travels'' as King of Lilliput

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2010

Television

* ''Ben 10: Ultimate Alien'' as Captain Glowbeard (1 episode)

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2011

''Open Season 3'' as McSquizzy

* ''The Ballad of Nessie'' as Narrator

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2012

''Brave (2012 film)>Brave'' as King Fergus

Television guest appearances

''The South Bank Show'' on 13 May 1979

''Aspel & Company'' in episode (#2.11), 23 March 1985

''Minder'' as Tick Tack in episode \"Fatal Impression\" (#7.3), 16 January 1989

''The South Bank Show'' on 4 October 1992

''Late Show with David Letterman'' on 18 November 1993

''Clive James'' in episode (#1.3), 6 March 1994

''Pearl'' as William 'Billy' Pynchon in episode \"Billy Returns\" (#1.22), 25 June 1997 and episode \"Billy\" (#1.4), 30 September 1996

''Veronica's Closet'' as Campbell in \"Veronica's Got a Secret\" (#1.11), 8 January 1998

''Tracey Takes On...'' as Rory Cassidy in episode \"Culture\" (#3.9), 1 March 1998

''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Inspector Macaffery one episode \"Dial M for Dick\" (#5.4), 9 November 1999

''Rove Live'' on 23 October 2001

''The Late Late Show'' on 17 October 2003

''Tinseltown TV'' on 6 December 2003

''Parkinson'' in 1975 and on 2 January 1978; 3 April 1982; 23 January 1998; 17 December 1999; 20 October 2001; 18 October 2003; 4 September 2004; 16 December 2007

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on 14 December 2004

''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' on 15 December 2004

''Last Call with Carson Daly'' on 22 December 2004

''Britain's Finest'' on episode \"Actresses\", 18 July 2005 and episode \"Actors\", 11 July 2005

''Real Time with Bill Maher'' on episode (#3.22), 28 October 2005

''Enough Rope'' on 20 February 2006

''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' on 10 May 2006

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 28 September 2006

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on 9 June 2007

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 2 November 2009

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 18 December 2010

Awards

Connolly was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Glasgow on 11 July 2001.

In 2003, the BAFTA presented him with a Lifetime Achievement award. Also in 2003, he received a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

On 4 July 2006, Connolly was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) for his service to performing arts.

On 18 March 2007 and again on 11 April 2010, Connolly was named Number One in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Stand Ups".

On 22 July 2010, Connolly was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Nottingham Trent University

On 20 August 2010, Connolly was made a Freeman of Glasgow with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow.

Bibliography

References

External links

Connolly's official website

A ''Guardian'' interview with Connolly from 2001

"Enough Rope" interview with Andrew Denton; 20 February 2006

Connolly's interview with ''The Guardian'', September 2001

"A laugh a minute? Life with Billy Connolly" - CNN.com

Category:1942 births Category:Boilermakers Category:British Parachute Regiment soldiers Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:Living people Category:People from Glasgow Category:Scottish banjoists Category:Scottish comedians Category:Scottish film actors Category:Scottish folk singers Category:Scottish people of Irish descent Category:Scottish stand-up comedians Category:Scottish television actors Category:Scottish voice actors

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