| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Born in East Timor 894 (2011 census) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Dungannon,Portadown,Lurgan,Cookstown, some inBelfast | |
| Languages | |
| Tetum,Portuguese,English | |
| Religion | |
| Primarily Christianity (Roman Catholicism and other) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| East Timorese people |
Timorese in Northern Ireland are a recent group of immigrants who primarily live around the towns ofDungannon andPortadown. The first Timorese migrants who moved toNorthern Ireland arrived in the late 1990s after being hired through a Northern Irish recruitment agency at recruitment fairs in Portugal.[1] The 2011 Northern Ireland census recorded 894 residents born in East Timor.[2] A 2014 newspaper article estimated their population to be "several thousand".[1]
Most ethnic Timorese in Northern Ireland primarily work as butchers working for companies such as Moy Park and Dungannon Meats.[1]
As they are mostlyCatholic, the East Timorese community and other immigrants have occasionally been attacked byUlster loyalists,[3] including in 2011 when violence in Portadown caused hundreds of Timorese residents to flee.[4] There have also been reports of other immigrants and ethnic Timorese residents clashing.[3]
Dungannon has a population of many other Portuguese speaking immigrants, especially fromPortugal,Brazil, andMozambique. Many of the Portuguese-speaking residents celebrated together after Portugal's triumph in theUEFA Euro 2016.[5]
