Enliven a Northern Ireland pal (7)
I believe the answer is:
animate
'enliven' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'a northern ireland pal' is the wordplay.
'northern ireland' becomes 'NI' (abbreviation).
'pal' becomes 'mate' (both can mean a friend).
'a'+'ni'+'mate'='ANIMATE'
(Other definitions for animate that I've seen before include "Give life or movement to, as with a cartoon" , "Bring to life, like cartoon" , "Make lively like cartoon" , "Enliven - draw for cartoon" , "Spirited" .)