The Baháʼí Faith in Northern Ireland begins after a century of contact between Irishmen and Baháʼís beyond the island and on the island.[22][23][24] The members of the religion elected its first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly in 1949 in Belfast.[25] The Baháʼís held an international conference in Dublin in 1982 which was described as “…one of the very few occasions when a world event for a faith community has been held in Ireland".[26] By 1993 there were a dozen assemblies in Northern Ireland.[27] By 2005 Baháʼí sources claim some 300 Baháʼís across Northern Ireland.[28]