
County Down is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, located on the eastern coast of the region. Down is named for Downpatrick, the county town, and it used to be known as Downshire during the Middle Ages. Bangor and Belfast are both located in County Down, with Belfast also being a part of County Antrim. Down had a population of 531,665 people in 2011; in 1861, it had a population of 99,200 people, with 84.1% being Protestant Anglo-Irish/Ulster Scots and 15.9% being Catholic Irish.