Lisburn is a city in east-central Northern Ireland, southwest of Belfast. It lies on the River Lagan, which forms the border between the historic, former counties of Antrim and Down. The city of Lisburn is the administrative center for the Lisburn and Castlereagh local government district. The city is home to a cathedral that was built in 1623.
Other towns in the Lisburn area include Dunmurry, Hillsborough, and Moira. A race track at Dundrod stages the Ulster Grand Prix motorcycle races. Important industries in the area include electrical engineering and the production of agricultural machinery, office equipment, and textiles. Farming is also important.
The six historic counties of Northern Ireland ceased to be used as administrative areas in 1973, when local government was divided into smaller districts. From 1973 to 2015, Lisburn was the name of a district council area—a kind of local government area—that included the city of Lisburn. In 2015, most of the Lisburn and Castlereagh districts were combined into a single local government district called Lisburn and Castlereagh. A small area of each of the two older districts became part of the Belfast local government district.
