Northern Ireland's population to peak in 2033

NORTHERN Ireland's population is expected to reach its highest point in 2033, hitting nearly 1.95 million, before it starts to gradually decline, according to a recent report by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
The study emphasises a low birth rate as the main contributing factor.
The projections show that by 2031, the number of deaths will surpass births, marking a demographic shift that is only going to continue.
Any future population growth is likely to rely entirely on migration, which is becoming a particularly thorny issue across the whole of Europe.
However, the report assumes migration will continue at its current pace, resulting in an overall population increase of only 1.1% between 2022 and 2047, which is significantly lower than growth rates seen elsewhere in mainland Britain.
Another worrying detail in the report is the rapid ageing of Northern Ireland's population. By the middle of 2027, pensioners are projected to outnumber children for the first time.
The working-age population, which includes those between 16 and 64 years old, is projected to begin shrinking by 2028.
By 2047, more than a quarter of the population will be aged 65 or older, compared with about one in six today.
Northern Ireland is predicted to have the largest drop in its child population and the largest increase in pensioners compared to Britain.
These projections are based on current trends and assumptions. Changes in government policies, specifically on migration, could alter future demographic changes.
Ireland's population has long been shaped by the migration of its people. Historical upheavals such as the Great Famine in the mid-1800s, led to mass starvation and the emigration of millions.
Ulster was particularly affected. Between 1845-1851 the population fell by 340,000, a nearly 16% drop, with the worst losses in the counties of Cavan, Fermanagh and Monaghan.
Since then, Ireland has seen changes in population both within and outside its borders but still hasn't returned to its pre-Famine peak of 8.5 million in 1845.
See More: Great Irish Famine, Irish Population, NISRA, Northern Ireland

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Irish Examiner

5 hours ago

• Irish Examiner

Air India Flight 182: Cork photographer recalls taking iconic image of 1985 bombing tragedy

One of the most poignant photographs ever printed on the front page of this publication was that of the lines of dead bodies in the temporary morgue set up in Cork for the victims of Air India flight 182. A bomb placed on board the flight by militants exploded off the Kerry/West Cork coast on June 23, 1985, with the plane plunging into the Atlantic. Forty years on, photographer Denis Minihane can still recall second by second the lead-up to snapping that iconic photograph, which also showed a group of medics gathered in the background of the image. Now retired after spending 47 years as a press photographer, the then 26-year-old snapper had been looking forward to a busy afternoon shooting sports photos in Thurles for two Munster hurling games. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading But when news broke of the horror air disaster off the west Cork coast, Denis' day took a different turn. He was not to know it as he returned from Thurles to the offices of the Cork Examiner on Academy Street in Cork city centre but his image would become synonymous with the tragedy unfolding in the sea off West Cork. Denis's image from the temporary mortuary set up in the then Cork Regional Hospital was syndicated across the world, and was featured in the New York magazine, Life, which was very influential at the time. Former Irish Examiner photographer Denis Minihane's picture of the remains of victims from the Air India Flight 182 air disaster on June 23, 1985, in a temporary morgue at Cork Regional Hospital (now Cork University Hospital). The world exclusive photograph taken through a window was published in newspapers and magazines all over the world including LIFE magazine and won a news picture of the year award the following year. Photo: Denis Minihane Looking back, the Skibbereen-born photographer said: 'It was the most significant photograph I took in my career really. Sadly it was one of a disaster. Such is life.' Denis retired last year and recalls entering the photographic trade after seeing his father Michael work as a photographer with the then Cork Examiner. After his Leaving Certificate, Denis entered the dark room in the Cork Examiner in October 1976, not knowing that one of the most iconic images of Irish press photography history would his. He recalls: 'On the morning of the 23rd of June 1985, I was marked to go to Thurles to cover two Munster hurling championship games and the 11 o'clock news came on on RTÉ Radio 1 and it said that Air India flight 182 had gone down off the Irish coast. "So we came back to Cork and parked the car and came into the office and it was rather difficult to get into the photographic department because it was packed with photographers who had arrived in Cork from different countries around the world.' He says of himself that he was just a 'young fella' at the time, aged 26. Forty years on, photographer Denis Minihane can still recall second by second the lead-up to snapping that iconic photograph. Picture: Chani Anderson He continues: 'I went out and attended the press conference (at the Regional Hospital) and there was a huge gathering of photographers and camera crews at it. I managed, through enquiries, to find out where the remains of the people taken from the wreckage were being kept and it was a temporary morgue that was set up in the gymnasium. "I got as far as the door and I obviously was not able to get any further so I went around the back of the building and I could see that there was a very high window. "But it was just down to my level so I could just about see in and didn't know if I could get a photograph or not because there was a very high thick net curtain, full length, inside the window, down on to the window sill. "So I could barely see into the room. I was by the window for quite a while and it was getting late in the evening. It must have been 10.30pm, may be 10.30/11 o'clock at night and I saw someone coming towards the window with a ladder and I move, I step back around the side of the building. I thought I had been seen but obviously I hadn't because what it was was that somebody had gone up and opened the window to let some air in to the building. Seeing his chance, Denis decided to have another attempt at seeing into the mortuary and recalls: 'That's how I had a gap of maybe two inches to get the photograph through and I managed to get a few frames.' But even then, he didn't know if his attempt was successful, in a time when photography took more patience than today. He explains: 'In those days, you had to come back to the office and process so I didn't know whether I had a photograph or not and it was a nervous seven or eight minutes developing the film – an anxious wait. Anxious also because it was also an upsetting scene that I had seen. It was a poignant scene.' He recalls seeing the images develop and night editor Liam Moher writing the caption for his now famous image, which included the words 'world exclusive picture'. He says: 'I just didn't understand the significance of it I suppose. It was over my head. I had done what I had done because it was my job and he had asked me to go and do it but I didn't realise how significant the picture was going to be in the following days and years afterwards.' He is mindful of the pain and suffering of the families and friends of those who were lost in the Air India disaster. He continues: Looking back at the photograph now, it evokes memories of that awfully sad day and my heart still goes out to the families and friends of all those people who died so tragically in that awful disaster when the bomb exploded off the Irish coast. The flight was due to stop over in London's Heathrow before travelling to India for stops in Delhi and Mumbai. Passengers were primarily from Canada, but others on board came from India and Britain, as well as other countries. More than 80 of them were children. Two men accused of murder and conspiracy relating to the crash were found not guilty in March 2005. It was alleged that the bombing was plotted by Sikh extremists in Canada as revenge on India for its storming of Sikhism's Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984. Read More A selection of images chosen by the Irish Examiner picture desk

Irish Examiner

5 hours ago

• Irish Examiner

Darina Allen: It's time to give gooseberries and elderflowers their kitchen spotlight

Quick, the 'catch it if you can' gooseberry and elderflower season is here, but it'll be gone in a flash. I'm sure you've noticed the fluffy white blossoms on the elder trees, not just in the hedgerows around the countryside, but there are plenty in the cities too. Elder is one of our native Irish trees. The flowers have a musky smell which isn't exactly enticing, so some think it's reminiscent of cat urine. But don't let that put you off, both the flavour and aroma are transformed to a wonderfully muscat richness during cooking. Furthermore, the combination of green gooseberry and elderflowers is a marriage made in heaven. Nature has cleverly arranged for the gooseberry and elderflower to be in season at the same time. Wonder who first discovered the combination? I first read about this magical combo of flavours in the late Jane Grigson's Good Things, one of my most treasured cookbooks, the fourth edition has just been republished by Grub Street, bang on time for the gooseberry season. Jane devoted a whole chapter in Good Things to gooseberries. I was thrilled when it landed on my desk a few weeks ago, it brought childhood memories flooding back of picking the green gooseberries off the prickly branches with the promise of gooseberry pie for supper. Something I am perfectly happy to do because the reward is so delicious. However, a few years ago, one of the gardeners showed me how to strip the berries from the bush without getting scratched, so here's the tip: cup your hand over the leaves on the branch close to the main stem, then pull your hand firmly towards you. The leaves cover the thorns, protecting your hands. Otherwise, you'll need to wear a leather glove to protect your hand from the spikes, a much slower method. You'll need to top and tail each gooseberry before cooking. A zen activity provided you're not in a hurry – lean into it and enjoy. At present, gooseberries are hard and green, the recent rain helped them to swell on the bushes, but they are still super tart. They will soften and ripen to a rich red colour later in the summer. Certainly not for nibbling raw but perfect for tarts, compotes, crumbles, jellies, fools and fritters. By the way, gooseberries freeze brilliantly. Just fill them into strong Ziploc plastic bags, they won't adhere to each other and are easy to top and tail while frozen. For best results, use within 6 months. Gooseberries are also super nutritious Elderflowers too, are not just a pretty flower, they have many essential vitamins, including vitamins E, B1, B2, and B3 complex and a little vitamin C. They're known for their anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. All very important. Later in the year, elderberries have a whole other set of nutrients and a much higher vitamin C content to help protect against winter colds and flu. The substantial amount of fibre helps to prevent constipation but they're not around until autumn so let's enjoy the elderflowers and gooseberries while they last. Roast Pork with Crackling and Green Gooseberry Sauce recipe by:Darina Allen You will need to order the joint ahead to ensure that the rind is still on – no rind means no crackling! Servings 8 Course  Main Ingredients For the pork: 2.25kg loin of organic free-range pork with the skin rind intact coarse salt or Maldon sea salt 2 tbsp chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, chives, marjoram, savoury, perhaps very little sage or rosemary) salt and freshly ground pepper For the sauce: 275g fresh green gooseberries stock syrup to cover - 110ml water, 75g sugar – 175ml approximately a knob of butter (optional) Method For the pork: Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Score the skin at 5mm intervals running with the grain – let your butcher do this if possible because the skin, particularly of free-range pork, can be quite tough. This is to give you really good crackling and make it easier to carve later. Dry brine the pork. Put the pork skin-side down on a chopping board, season well with crunchy sea salt and black pepper and sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs. Allow to dry brine for several hours or overnight. Dab off with kitchen paper. Roll the joint tightly and secure with a slipknot, then repeat at the other end of the loin. Work your way towards the centre, tying the joint at about 4cm intervals. Sprinkle some salt over the rind and roast the joint on a wire rack in a roasting tin. Allow 25-28 minutes per 450g. Baste here and there with the rendered pork fat. While the meat is in the oven, follow the recipe to make the gooseberry sauce. Just before the end of the cooking time, remove the pork to another roasting tin. Increase the oven temperature to 230°C/Gas Mark 8 and return the joint to the oven to further crisp the crackling. When the joint is cooked the juices should run clear. Put the pork onto a hot carving dish and leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes in a low oven before carving. Serve two slices of pork per person with some gooseberry sauce and garnish with rocket. Rustic roast potatoes and a seasonal green salad would also be great. For the sauce: Dissolve the sugar in the water and boil together for 2 minutes. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator until needed. Top and tail the gooseberries, put into a stainless steel saucepan, barely cover with stock syrup, bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit bursts. Taste. Stir in a small knob of butter if you like but it is very good without it. JR Ryall's Green Gooseberry Tartlets recipe by:Darina Allen This is a terrific recipe to have up your sleeve. These tartlets are ideal to serve after a simple lunch or even a formal dinner. Servings 30 Course  Dessert Ingredients 1 quantity Cream Pastry (see below), chilled flour, for dusting 700g green gooseberries, topped and tailed 220-290g caster sugar softly whipped cream, to serve For the pastry: 110g plain flour 110g cold salted butter, cut into 5mm cubes 150ml cold fresh cream Method For the pastry: Place the flour into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and then add the butter. With the mixer on low speed, rub the butter into the flour. Keep an eye on the mixture as it is being worked by the paddle. If overworked, the mixture will form a shortbread-like ball! Before this happens, when the butter and flour are on the cusp of coming together, pour in all of the cold cream and continue to mix on a low speed until a smooth pastry forms, about 1 minute. Wrap the pastry with baking paper and place in the refrigerator to chill overnight. Always roll cream pastry straight from the fridge. If the pastry comes to room temperature it will be too soft to handle! For tartlets: Place the cold pastry on a generously floured work surface. Sprinkle flour over the top and roll to a thickness of 3mm, using a rolling pin. Cut the pastry into disks using a 7.5cm round cutter. Transfer the disks of pastry to a shallow, flat-bottom bun (muffin) pan, lining each well with a circle. Place the lined pan in the refrigerator to rest for 15 minutes. Shake excess flour from the pastry scraps, gather them together, wrap in baking paper and place in the refrigerator. The scraps can be re-rolled again when they are properly chilled and used to make another batch of tartlets. Cut the gooseberries in half and arrange them cut side up on top of the pastry. It takes 7-8 halves to fill each tartlet depending on the size of the berries. Sprinkle a scant teaspoon of the sugar over the berries in each tartlet and bake straight away for about 20 minutes, until the sugar begins to caramelise and the pastry is a deep golden colour. While the tartlets are baking, line a heatproof tray with parchment paper and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the paper. Remove the tartlets from the oven and transfer them from the bun pan to the sugared baking paper while still hot. Arrange on a pretty plate and serve warm with softly whipped cream. From Ballymaloe Desserts by JR Ryall published by Phaidon Elderflower Fritters recipe by:Darina Allen These are super easy to make, very crispy and once you've tasted one, you won't be able to stop! Serve these straight away with delicious elderflower cream. Servings 4 Preparation Time  10 mins Cooking Time  10 mins Total Time  20 mins Course  Dessert Ingredients For the fritters: 110g plain flour pinch of salt 1 organic egg 150ml lukewarm water 8-12 elderflower heads caster sugar sunflower oil for frying For the cream: 300ml cream 1-2 tablespoons elderflower cordial Method Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and drop in the egg. Using a whisk, bring in the flour gradually from the edges, slowly adding in the water at the same time. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180°C. Hold the flowers by the stalks and dip into the batter (add a little more water or milk if the batter is too thick). Fry until golden brown in the hot oil. Drain on kitchen paper, toss in caster sugar and serve immediately with elderflower cream. For the cream: To make simply add the elderflower cordial to the cream and whisk lightly. This should be very softly whipped. Seasonal Journal Common Knowledge – Introductory to Fermentation on June 28 This one-day course takes place at the Common Knowledge Centre in Kilfenora, Co. Clare. Enter the realm of plant and fungi-based knowledge to explore the ecology of microbes, engage in discussions on how to reduce food waste, incorporate food medicine, decolonise our food-ways, as well as take home new skills and ferments to steward and share. How to preserve and transform fresh vegetables How ferments play a role in a healthy gut biome and nutrition The science behind fermentation The diverse cultural practices and lifeways that inform contemporary fermentation — to give you a foundation rooted in historical, cultural, and practical methods.

Irish Examiner

5 hours ago

• Irish Examiner

The Menu: Get your teeth into making the most of meat

Presuming you're a meat eater, when was the last time you went to the butcher's? Note, I didn't ask, when was the last time you ate meat as, these days, the bulk of the nation's meat for home consumption is now purchased in the supermarket. Whereas our grandparents were so familiar with the inside of a butcher's shop — or multiple butchers' shops, when 'shopping around' was de rigueur — they could probably reassemble an entire carcass from the constituent cuts laid out at the counter, most of us now buy our meat in the supermarket; the supermarkets, in turn, mostly buy it in already shrink-wrapped from the processor. Many younger consumers can only tell what part of what animal they are purchasing by the package label detailing both creature and cut. That ever-growing ignorance around food we eat is a consequence of a decades-old trade-off when generations of knowledge around food, its provenance, sourcing, and cooking, was exchanged for the convenience of shopping in then-emerging supermarkets. Back when larger families were the norm and dishwashers and tumble dryers were still future shock stuff of BBC TV show Tomorrow's World, it was a blameless choice for the woman of the house, the concept of 'house husbands' too outlandish for even Tomorrow's World to contemplate. (By all accounts, current 'prototypes' are still relatively scarce and often pretty 'glitchy'.) I'm a firm believer in eating less meat but always ensuring it is premium Irish meat and the independent craft butcher is unsurpassable when it comes to sourcing the very finest. But they are struggling, echoing the fate of the independent fruit and veg grocers. In 1990, there were roughly 2,300 independent butchers' shops in Ireland. Today there are less than 550. Whereas an independent craft butcher needs to be making a profit of at least 35% to cover costs, supermarkets are often happy with 2-3% profit or even to use meat as a loss leader to draw in customers. As ever, I'll never spoil your brekkie with a 'bad news' story unless there is some chink of light to cast a more positive glow and Munster Technological University's highly intriguing new BA in Sustainable Butchery and Gastronomy has the potential to do just that. What began as an inspired notion from butcher Pat Whelan has evolved into a two-year degree course commencing next January, joining the dots between culinary arts, agriculture, and business, with meat as the common thread. The comprehensive course appears especially suited to butchers seeking to develop skills in leadership and innovation (including new product development) but it is also open to others working in the meat sector. The course examines how meat is produced, butchered, cooked, and eaten around the world, digging down deep into breeds (10 or 15 years ago, we ate 'beef'; increasingly we seek out Angus, Hereford, Dexter, and, so on) and the impact of various gastronomical approaches. It covers agricultural production and the 'science' of beef, including anatomy, nutrition, and factors that affect taste, texture, and overall quality; there is even a 'beef sommelier' module, the result of a link with Buenos Aires University, in Argentina, Ireland's main rival as a premium beef producer. I appreciate most readers won't skip from savouring a breakfast sausage to suddenly signing up but you can still elevate standards on your own plate, and celebrate world-class Irish beef and lamb as a premium foodstuff of extraordinary quality. Say sayonara to supermarket meat-shopping and seek out an Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland member to act as your guide. Buy good meat cookbooks, starting with Irish classics, Pat Whelan's The Irish Beef Book, and And For Mains, by Gaz Smith and Rick Higgins, and best of all, The Book of St John, by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver, from the globally renowned London restaurant that brought nose-to-tail meat cooking to the fine dining table, showing how cheap cuts can be priceless on the plate and that offal means the very opposite of awful. TABLE TALK Sandwich guru Barry Enderwick ( dives into his Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook with a live Dublin show (July 18) featuring special guest stars, live sandwich making and tasting with audience-suggested ad-ons, audience Q&A, trivia games and more. When it comes to cooking with fresh Irish produce, few culinary courses can surpass those at Lettercollum House, in West Cork, one of Ireland's great market gardens and where Karen Austin with her summer series of classes covering Lebanese, Spanish, Mediterranean and South East Asian cuisines. Today (June 21) being World Martini Day, I'd advise a trip this week to No 27 Bar at Dublin's Shelbourne to sample their four flights of ice-cold hand-batched martinis available until June 27, because a good martini fixes everything! TODAY'S SPECIAL "I approached Mór Taste compote-like preserves with interest, as they shun the traditional 50-50 fruit to sugar ratio of traditional jams for a 70% reduction in sugar, and incorporating 85% fruit." Always open to reducing sugar intake, I approached Mór Taste compote-like preserves with interest, as they shun the traditional 50-50 fruit to sugar ratio of traditional jams for a 70% reduction in sugar, and incorporating 85% fruit. Raspberry was a challenge for one raised on the traditional sweeter version since childhood until I paired it with natural yogurt and grilled peach but it was Cherry that really knocked my socks off, the reduction in sugar emphasising the tart, almond-adjacent flavours and if I then tried it with crème fraîcheon sweet toasted brioche … well, that's just the way this Sugar Daddy rolls!