Blobs in Antrim

I had this map pressed into my hand outside a design fair in London lately. It's a flier for a craft magazine called Hole and Corner. I like the colour scheme, the few dashes of orange set it off well. On the map Britain and Ireland are marked up with images of cultural produce, sports and famous art from various regions.





The top half of Ireland is filled mainly with two GAA players. That makes sense, but what are those mysterious blobs occupying Country Antrim? Painters' pallets? Alien invaders? This is a serious question, any ideas?