   #copyright

Northern Ireland

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

          For an explanation of often confusing terms like Ulster,
          (Republic of) Ireland, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see
          British Isles (terminology).

   CAPTION: Northern Ireland (English)
   Tuaisceart Éireann^  ( Irish)
   Norlin Airlann^1 ( Ulster Scots)


   Northern Ireland flags issue
   Flag of Northern Ireland
   (former official)            Coat of arms
                                (former official)
   Motto: Dieu et mon droit
   (French for "God and my right")^2
   Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen
   Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air
   Location of Northern Ireland
   Capital Belfast
   54°35.456′N 5°50.4′W
   Largest city Belfast
   Official language(s) English ( de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots ^3, NI
   Sign Language
   Government Constitutional monarchy
    - Queen Queen Elizabeth II
    - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP
    - First Minister Office suspended
    - Deputy First Minister Office suspended
    - Secretary of State Peter Hain MP
   Establishment
    - Government of Ireland Act 1920
   Area
    - Total 13,843 km² ( 4^th in UK)
     5,345 sq mi
   Population
    - 2004 est. 1,710,300 ( 4^th in UK)
    - 2001 census 1,685,267
    - Density 122/km² (3^rd in UK)
   315/sq mi
   GDP ( PPP) 2002 estimate
    - Total $33.2 billion
    - Per capita $19,603
   Currency Pound sterling ( GBP)
   Time zone GMT ( UTC0)
    - Summer ( DST) BST ( UTC+1)
   Internet TLD .uk^4 .ie^5 .eu^6
   Calling code +44^7
   Patron Saint St Patrick^5
   ^1 Norlin Airlann is a neologism which was not used by Scots speakers
   historically, but which has some official usage. The spelling Norn Iron
   is often used by indigenous speakers as an affectionate phonetic
   spelling to reflect local pronunciation.

   ^2 In line with England
   ^3 Officially recognised languages: Northern Ireland has no official
   language; the use of English has been established through precedent.
   Irish and Ulster Scots are officially recognised minority languages
   ^4 ISO 3166-1 is GB, but .gb is unused
   ^5In common with the rest of Ireland.
   ^6European Union shared domain
   ^7+44 is always followed by 28 when calling landlines. The code is 028
   within the UK and 048 from the Republic of Ireland

   Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and covers 5,459  square
   miles (14,139  km²) in the northeast of the island of Ireland, about a
   sixth of the total area of the island. It has a population of 1,685,000
   (April 2001) — between a quarter and a third of the island's total
   population. It consists of six counties situated within the province of
   Ulster, and in the UK is generally known as one of its four Home
   Nations, forming a constituent country of the United Kingdom. Some of
   these terms have controversial implications in relation to political
   ideologies concerning the constitutional status of Northern Ireland.

   As an administrative division of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland
   was defined by the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and has had its own
   form of devolved government in a similar manner to Scotland and Wales.
   The Northern Ireland Assembly is, however, currently in suspension.

   Northern Ireland has been for many years the site of a violent and
   bitter ethno-political conflict between those claiming to represent
   Nationalists (who are predominantly Catholic and want it to be unified
   with the Republic of Ireland) and those claiming to represent Unionists
   (who are predominantly Protestant and want it to remain part of the
   United Kingdom). Unionists are in the majority in Northern Ireland,
   though Nationalists do represent a significant minority. The campaign
   of violence has become known popularly as The Troubles. The majority of
   both sides of the community have had no actual association with the
   violent campaigns waged, and most have not supported the violent
   representatives of their respective communities. Since the signing of
   the Belfast Agreement in 1998, many of the major paramilitary campaigns
   have either been on ceasefire or have declared their "war" to be over.

Demographics and politics

          Main article: Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland

   The population of Northern Ireland was estimated as being 1,710,300 on
   30 June 2004. In the 2001 census, 53.1% of the Northern Irish
   population were Protestant, (Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Methodist
   and other Protestant denominations), 43.8% of the population were Roman
   Catholic, 0.4% Other and 2.7% none.

   A plurality of the present-day population (38%) define themselves as
   Unionist, 24% as Nationalist and 35% define themselves as neither, 59%
   express long term preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland's
   membership of the United Kingdom, while 22% express a preference for
   membership of a united Ireland. Possible explanations for this
   discrepancy may be due to disillusionment with Northern Irish politics
   surrounding the constitutional question, and others who support the
   Union but only so long as that is the preference of the majority of the
   people of Northern Ireland. (See demographics and politics of Northern
   Ireland) Official voting figures, which reflect both views on the
   "national question" along with issues of candidate, geography, personal
   loyalty and historic voting patterns show 54% of Northern Ireland
   voters vote for Pro-Unionist parties, and 42% voting for
   Pro-Nationalist parties and 4% vote "other". Opinion polls consistently
   show that the election results are not necessarily an indication of the
   electorate's stance regarding the constitutional status of Northern
   Ireland.

   Most of the population of Northern Ireland are at least nominally
   Christian. The ethno-political loyalties are allied, though not
   absolutely, to the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations and
   these are the labels used to categorise the opposing views. This is
   however, becoming increasingly irrelevant, as the Irish Question is
   very complicated. Many voters (regardless of religious affiliation) are
   attracted to Unionism's conservative policies, while other voters are
   instead attracted to the traditionally leftist, nationalist SDLP and
   its party platform for Social Democracy. A majority of Protestants feel
   a strong connection with Great Britain and wish for Northern Ireland to
   remain part of the United Kingdom. Many Catholics desire a greater
   connection with the Republic of Ireland, with 42% of Catholics,
   according to a 2004 survey, supporting a united Ireland. According to
   the same 2004 survey, 24% of Northern Irish Catholics support Northern
   Ireland remaining a part of the United Kingdom (see Catholic Unionist).
   Official voting figures, again, have these figures much higher.

   There have been moves to make Northern Ireland's political scene more
   in keeping with other parts of the United Kingdom, with some local
   voters frustrated by the endemically sectarian nature of local
   political parties. The British Conservative Party now accepts members
   from Northern Ireland and has contested elections — and has a strong
   presence in the parliamentary constituency of North Down. The Labour
   Party, because of a claimed affiliation to the (Irish Nationalist)
   SDLP, has been reluctant to contest elections locally. The Alliance
   Party is loosely aligned with the UK Liberal Democrat Party.

   Protestants have a slight majority in Northern Ireland, according to
   the latest Northern Ireland Census. The make-up of the Northern Ireland
   Assembly reflects the appeals of the various parties within the
   population. Of the 108 members, 59 are Unionists and 42 are Nationalist
   (the remaining seven are classified as "other"). Although the
   Protestant population is the majority, the largest religious
   denomination is the Roman Catholic Church, followed by the Presbyterian
   Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland (Anglican), and the Methodist
   Church.

   The two opposing views of British unionism and Irish nationalism are
   linked to deeper cultural divisions. Unionists are predominantly
   Protestant and often descendants of mainly Scottish, English, Welsh and
   Huguenot settlers and indigenous Irishmen who had converted to one of
   the Protestant denominations.

   Nationalists are predominantly Catholic and usually descend from the
   population predating the settlement. Discrimination against
   nationalists under the Stormont government (1921–1972) gave rise to the
   nationalist civil rights movement in the 1960s. Some Unionists argue
   that any discrimination was not just because of religious or political
   bigotry, but also the result of more complex socio-economic,
   socio-political and geographical factors. Whatever the cause, the
   existence of discrimination, and the manner in which Nationalist anger
   at it was handled, was a major contributing factor which led to the
   long-running conflict known as The Troubles. The political unrest has
   gone through its most violent phase in recent times between 1968–1994.

   The main actors have been the Provisional IRA and other republican
   groups determined to end the union with Great Britain, and the Royal
   Ulster Constabulary, British army and various loyalist paramilitary
   groups who were defending it. As a consequence of the worsening
   security situation, self-government for Northern Ireland was suspended
   in 1972. Since the mid 1990s, the main paramilitary group, the
   Provisional IRA, has observed an uneasy ceasefire. Following
   negotiations, the Belfast Agreement of 1998 provides for an elected
   Northern Ireland Assembly, and a power-sharing Northern Ireland
   Executive comprising representatives of all the main parties. These
   institutions have been suspended since 2002 because of unionist
   impatience at the pace of Sinn Féin's movement away from its
   associations with the Provisional IRA, which reached breaking point
   after PSNI allegations of spying by people working for Sinn Féin at the
   Assembly ( Stormontgate). The resulting case against the accused Sinn
   Fein member collapsed and the defendant later admitted to being a
   British agent.

   On 28 July 2005, the Provisional IRA declared an end to its campaign
   and have since decommissioned what is thought to be all of their
   arsenal. This final act of decommissioning was performed in accordance
   with the Belfast Agreement 1998, and under the watch of the
   International Decommissioning Body and two external church witnesses.
   Many unionists, however, remain sceptical. Many Loyalist paramilitaries
   also remain sceptical and have refused to decommission their arsenals.
   See Independent International Commission on Decommissioning

Nationality and identity

   People from Northern Ireland are citizens of the UK on the same basis
   as people from any other part of the UK (i.e. by birth in the UK to at
   least one parent who is a UK permanent resident or citizen, or by
   naturalisation).

   In addition to UK citizenship, people who were born in Northern Ireland
   on or before 31 December 2004 (and most persons born after this date)
   are entitled to claim citizenship of the Republic of Ireland. This is
   as a result of the Republic of Ireland extending its nationality law on
   an extra-territorial basis in 2001 as a result of the Belfast Agreement
   of 1998, which stated that:

   The two governments recognise the birthright of all the people of
   Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or
   British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that
   their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by
   both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the
   status of Northern Ireland.

   This was subsequently qualified by the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the
   Constitution of Ireland, which stated that, "notwithstanding any other
   provision of [the] Constitution," no-one would be automatically
   entitled to Irish citizenship unless they had at least one parent who
   was (or was entitled to be) an Irish citizen. The subsequent
   legislation (Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004) brought Irish
   nationality law into line with British citizenship laws with regard to
   parentage and ended the anomalous Northern Ireland situation.

   In general, Protestants in Northern Ireland see themselves as being
   British, while Catholics regard themselves as being Irish. Details from
   attitude surveys are in Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland.

Symbols

   Today, Northern Ireland comprises a diverse patchwork of communities,
   whose national loyalties are represented in some areas by flags flown
   from lamp posts. The Union Flag and former governmental Flag of
   Northern Ireland therefore appear in some loyalist areas, with the
   Irish national flag, the tricolour appearing in some republican areas.
   Even kerbstones in some areas are painted red-white-blue or
   green-white-orange, depending on whether local people express
   unionist/loyalist or nationalist/republican sympathies.

   The only "official" flag of Northern Ireland is the Union Flag. The
   Northern Ireland Flag (also known as the ' Ulster Banner' or 'Red Hand
   Flag') is no longer used officially by government, due to the abolition
   of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1973. The Ulster Banner,
   however, still remains the main de facto flag used to uniquely
   represent Northern Ireland. The Ulster Banner is based on the flag of
   Ulster.

   Some unionists tend to use the Union flag, the Ulster Banner, while
   some nationalists typically use the Irish Tricolour. Many people,
   however, prefer to avoid flags due to their divisive nature. Violent
   paramilitary groups on both sides have also developed their own flags.
   Some unionists also occasionally use the flags of secular and religious
   organizations to which they belong.

   Some groups, including the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Church of
   Ireland have used the Flag of St. Patrick as a symbol of Ireland which
   lacks nationalist or unionist connotations. However, this is felt by
   some to be a loyalist flag, as it was used to represent Ireland when
   the whole island was part of the UK and is used by some British army
   regiments. Foreign flags are also found, such as the Palestinian flags
   in some Nationalist areas and Israeli flags in some Unionist areas,
   which represent general comparisons made by both sides with conflicts
   in the wider world.

   The national anthem played at state events in Northern Ireland is God
   Save The Queen. At some cross-community events, however, the
   Londonderry Air, also known as the tune of Danny Boy, may be played as
   a neutral, though unofficial, substitute.

   At the Commonwealth Games, the Northern Ireland team uses the Ulster
   Banner as its flag and Danny Boy is used as its National Anthem. The
   Northern Ireland football team also uses the Ulster Banner as its flag.

Geography and climate

   Map of Northern Ireland
   Enlarge
   Map of Northern Ireland

          Main articles: Geography of Ireland and Geography of the United
          Kingdom

   Northern Ireland was covered by an ice sheet for most of the last ice
   age and on numerous previous occasions, the legacy of which can be seen
   in the extensive coverage of drumlins in Counties Fermanagh, Armagh,
   Antrim and particularly Down. The centrepiece of Northern Ireland's
   geography is Lough Neagh, at 151 square miles (392 km²) the largest
   freshwater lake both on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles,
   and the third largest lake in Western Europe. A second extensive lake
   system is centred on Lower and Upper Lough Erne in Fermanagh.

   There are substantial uplands in the Sperrin Mountains (an extension of
   the Caledonian fold mountains) with extensive gold deposits, granite
   Mourne Mountains and basalt Antrim Plateau, as well as smaller ranges
   in South Armagh and along the Fermanagh–Tyrone border. None of the
   hills are especially high, with Slieve Donard in the dramatic Mournes
   reaching 848 m (2782 feet), Northern Ireland's highest point. The
   volcanic activity which created the Antrim Plateau also formed the
   eerily geometric pillars of the Giant's Causeway.

   The Lower and Upper River Bann, River Foyle and River Blackwater form
   extensive fertile lowlands, with excellent arable land also found in
   North and East Down, although much of the hill country is marginal and
   suitable largely for animal husbandry.

   The valley of the River Lagan is dominated by Belfast, whose
   metropolitan area includes over a third of the population of Northern
   Ireland, with heavy urbanisation and industrialisation along the Lagan
   Valley and both shores of Belfast Lough.

   The whole of Northern Ireland has a temperate maritime climate, rather
   wetter in the west than the east, although cloud cover is persistent
   across the region. The weather is unpredictable at all times of the
   year, and although the seasons are distinct, they are considerably less
   pronounced than in interior Europe or the eastern seaboard of North
   America. Average daytime maximums in Belfast are 6.5°C (43.7°F) in
   January and 17.5°C (63.5°F) in July. The damp climate and extensive
   deforestation in the 16^th and 17^th centuries resulted in much of the
   region being covered in rich green grassland.

   Highest maximum temperature: 30.8°C (87.4°F) at Knockarevan, near
   Garrison, County Fermanagh on 30 June 1976 and at Belfast on 12 July
   1983.

   Lowest minimum temperature: -17.5°C (0.5°F) at Magherally, near
   Banbridge, County Down on 1 January 1979.

Biology

Counties

   Mussenden Temple in County Londonderry
   Enlarge
   Mussenden Temple in County Londonderry

   Northern Ireland consists of six counties:
     * County Antrim
     * County Armagh
     * County Down
     * County Fermanagh
     * County Londonderry
     * County Tyrone

   These counties are no longer used for local government purposes;
   instead there are twenty-six districts of Northern Ireland which have
   different geographical extents, even in the case of those named after
   the counties from which they derive their name. Fermanagh District
   Council most closely follows the borders of the county from which it
   takes its name. Coleraine Borough Council, on the other hand, derives
   its name from the town of Coleraine in County Londonderry.

Cities

   There are 5 settlements with city status in Northern Ireland:
     * Belfast
     * Derry
     * Newry
     * Armagh
     * Lisburn

Towns and villages

     * Ahoghill, Antrim
     * Ballycastle, Ballyclare, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Ballynahinch,
       Banbridge, Bangor, Bushmills
     * Carnmoney, Carrickfergus, Castlerock, Comber, Coleraine, Cookstown,
       Craigavon, Crumlin
     * Donaghadee, Downpatrick, Dromore, Dundonald, Dungannon, Dungiven
     * Enniskillen
     * Glengormley, Garvagh
     * Garrison, County Fermanagh
     * Hillsborough, Holywood
     * Kilkeel
     * Larne, Limavady, Lurgan
     * Magherafelt, Macosquin
     * Newcastle, Newtownards, Newtownstewart
     * Omagh
     * Portrush, Portstewart, Portadown, Portaferry, Poyntzpass
     * Strabane
     * Warrenpoint

Places of interest

   Giant's Causeway
   Enlarge
   Giant's Causeway
     * Belfast City
     * Walled City of Derry
     * Political Murals in Derry and Belfast
     * Cave Hill
     * Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
     * The Giant's Causeway
     * Castlerock and Mussenden Temple
     * The Glens of Antrim
     * Navan Fort Armagh, Emain Macha
     * Portstewart
     * The Sperrin Mountains
     * Rathlin Island
     * Lough Erne
     * The Mountains of Mourne
     * Lough Neagh
     * Strangford Lough
     * Carlingford Lough
     * River Foyle and Lough Foyle
     * National parks of Northern Ireland
     * National Trust Properties in Northern Ireland

Variations in geographic nomenclature

   Many people inside and outside Northern Ireland use other names for
   Northern Ireland, depending on their point of view:

   The most common names used are

Unionist/Loyalist

     * Ulster - to suggest that Northern Ireland has an older ancestry
       that predates its founding in 1921, dating back both to the
       Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century and to the
       millennium-old province of Ulster, one of four provinces on the
       island of Ireland. The historic province of Ulster covers a greater
       landmass than Northern Ireland: six of its counties are in Northern
       Ireland, three in the Republic of Ireland.

     * The Province - to again link to the historic Irish province of
       Ulster, with its mythology. Also refers to the fact that NI is a
       province of the UK.

Nationalist/Republican

     * North of Ireland - to link Northern Ireland to the rest of the
       island, by describing it as being in the 'north of Ireland' and so
       by implication playing down Northern Ireland's links with Great
       Britain. (The northernmost point in Ireland, in County Donegal, is
       in fact in the Republic.)

     * The Six Counties - language used by republicans e.g. Sinn Féin,
       which avoids using the name given by the British-enacted Government
       of Ireland Act, 1920. (The Republic is similarly described as the
       Twenty-Six Counties.) Some of the users of these terms contend that
       using the official name of the region would imply acceptance of the
       legitimacy of the Government of Ireland Act.

     * The Occupied Six Counties. The Republic, whose legitimacy is not
       recognised by republicans opposed to the Belfast Agreement, is
       described as being "The Free State", referring to the Irish Free
       State, the Republic's old name.

     * British Occupied Ireland. Similar in tone to the Occupied Six
       Counties this term is used by more dogmatic anti- Belfast Agreement
       republicans who still hold that the First Dáil was the last
       legitimate government of Ireland and that all governments since
       have been foreign imposed usurpations of Irish national
       self-determination.

     * Fourth Green Field. From the song Four Green fields by Tommy Makem
       which describes Ireland as divided with one of the four green
       fields (the traditional provinces of Ireland) being In strangers
       hands, referring to the partition of Ireland.

Other

     * The Black North - a term sometimes used in different ways - either
       pejoratively or ironically, depending on one's political
       affiliation / sympathies. Often used by people from the Republic of
       Ireland.

     * Norn Iron - a joke term used by both nationalists and unionists in
       reference to their own accent. Often refers to the Northern Ireland
       national football team.

Use of language for geography

   Nationalist wall mural, Derry 1986
   Enlarge
   Nationalist wall mural, Derry 1986

   Notwithstanding the ancient realm of Dal Riata which extended into
   Scotland, disagreement on names, and the reading of political symbolism
   into the use or non-use of a word, also attaches itself to some urban
   centres. The most famous example is whether Northern Ireland's second
   city should be called Derry or Londonderry.

   Choice of language and nomenclature in Northern Ireland often reveals
   the cultural, ethnic and religious identity of the speaker. The first
   Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Seamus Mallon, was
   criticised by unionist politicians for calling the region the "North of
   Ireland" while Sinn Féin has been criticised in some newspapers in the
   Republic for still referring to the "Six Counties".

   Those who do not belong to any group but lean towards one side often
   tend to use the language of that group. Supporters of unionism in the
   British media (notably the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express)
   regularly call Northern Ireland "Ulster". Some nationalist and
   republican-leaning media outlets in Ireland (such as Daily Ireland)
   almost always use "North of Ireland" or the "Six Counties".

   Government and cultural organisations in Northern Ireland, particularly
   those pre-dating the 1980s, often use the word "Ulster" in their title;
   for example, the University of Ulster, the Ulster Museum the Ulster
   Orchestra, and BBC Radio Ulster.

   Many news bulletins since the 1990s have opted to avoid all contentious
   terms and use the official name, Northern Ireland. The North is still
   used by some news bulletins in the Republic of Ireland, to the
   annoyance of some Unionists. For Northern Ireland's second largest
   city, broadcasting outlets which are unaligned to either community and
   broadcast to both use both names interchangeably, often starting a
   report with "Londonderry" and then using "Derry" in the rest of the
   report. However, within Northern Ireland, print media which are aligned
   to either community (the News Letter is aligned to the unionist
   community while the Irish News is aligned to the nationalist community)
   generally use their community's preferred term. British newspapers with
   unionist leanings, such as the Daily Telegraph, usually use the
   language of the unionist community, while others, such as The Guardian
   use the terms interchangeably. The media in the Republic of Ireland use
   the names preferred by nationalists. Whether this is an official
   editorial policy or a personal preference by the writers is unknown.

   The division in nomenclature is seen particularly in sports and
   religions associated with one of the communities. Gaelic games use
   Derry, for example. Nor is there clear agreement on how to decide on a
   name. When the nationalist-controlled local council voted to re-name
   the city "Derry" unionists objected, stating that as it owed its city
   status to a Royal Charter, only a charter issued by the Queen could
   change the name. The Queen refused to intervene on the matter and thus
   the council is now called "Derry City Council" while the city is still
   officially "Londonderry". Nevertheless, the council has printed two
   sets of stationery - one for each term - and their policy is to reply
   to correspondence using whichever term the original sender used.

   At times of high communal tension, each side regularly complains of the
   use of the nomenclature associated with the other community by a third
   party such as a media organisation, claiming such usage indicates
   evident "bias" against their community.

Economy

   The Northern Ireland economy is the smallest of the four economies
   making up the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland has traditionally had an
   industrial economy, most notably in shipbuilding, rope manufacture and
   textiles, but most heavy industry has since been replaced by services,
   primarily the public sector. Tourism also plays a big role in the local
   economy. More recently the local economy has benefitted from major
   investment by many large multi-national corporations into high tech
   industry. These large organisations are attracted by government
   subsidies and the highly skilled workforce in Northern Ireland.

History

   The area now known as Northern Ireland has had a diverse history. From
   serving as the bedrock of Irish resistance in the era of the
   plantations of Queen Elizabeth and James I in other parts of Ireland,
   it became itself the subject of major planting of Scottish and English
   settlers after the Flight of the Earls in 1607 (when the native Gaelic
   aristocracy fled to Catholic Europe).

   The all-island Kingdom of Ireland (1541—1800) merged into the United
   Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 under the terms of the Act
   of Union, under which the kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain merged
   under a central parliament, government and monarchy based in London. In
   the early 20th century Unionists, led by Sir Edward Carson, opposed the
   introduction of Home Rule in Ireland. Unionists were in a minority on
   the island of Ireland as a whole, but were a majority in the northern
   province of Ulster, and a very large majority in the counties of
   Antrim, and Down, small majorities in the counties of Armagh and
   Londonderry, with substantial numbers also concentrated in the
   nationalist-majority counties of Fermanagh and Tyrone. These six
   counties, containing an overall unionist majority, would later form
   Northern Ireland.

   The clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords of the
   controversial budget of Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd-George,
   produced the Parliament Act 1911 which enabled the veto of the Lords to
   be overturned. Given that the Lords had been the unionists' main
   guarantee that a home rule act would not be enacted, because of the
   majority of pro-unionist peers in the House, the Parliament Act made
   Home Rule a likely prospect in Ireland. Opponents to Home Rule, from
   Conservative Party leaders like Andrew Bonar Law and Lord Randolph
   Churchill to militant unionists in Ireland threatened the use of
   violence, producing the Larne Gun Running incident in 1912, when they
   smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial
   Germany for the Ulster Volunteer Force. Randolph Churchill famously
   told a unionist audience in Ulster that "Ulster will fight, and Ulster
   will be right".

                                Prime Ministers
                                                       of Northern Ireland

     Sir James Craig (1922—1940)
     Enlarge
     Sir James Craig (1922—1940)

                                         John Millar Andrews (1940—1943)
                                                                   Enlarge
                                         John Millar Andrews (1940—1943)

                                            Sir Basil Brooke (1943—1963)
                                                                   Enlarge
                                            Sir Basil Brooke (1943—1963)

                                     Captain Terence O'Neill (1963—1969)
                                                                   Enlarge
                                     Captain Terence O'Neill (1963—1969)

                                              Brian Faulkner (1971—1972)
                                                                   Enlarge
                                              Brian Faulkner (1971—1972)

   The prospect of civil war in Ireland was seen by some as likely. In
   1914 the Third Home Rule Act, which contained provision for a temporary
   partition, received the Royal Assent. However its implementation was
   suspended for the duration of the intervening First World War, which
   was only expected to last a few weeks but lasted four years. But by the
   time it concluded, the Act was seen as dead in the water, with public
   opinion in the majority nationalist community having moved from a
   demand for home rule to something more substantial, independence.
   Lloyd-George proposed in 1919 a new bill which would divide Ireland
   into two Home Rule areas, twenty-six counties being ruled from Dublin,
   six being ruled from Belfast, with a shared Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
   appointing both executives and a Council of Ireland, which Lloyd-George
   believed would evolve into an all-island parliament.

Partition of Ireland, partition of Ulster

   In United Kingdom law, Ireland was partitioned in 1921 under the terms
   of the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Six of the nine Ulster counties
   in the north-east formed Northern Ireland and the remaining three
   counties joined those of Leinster, Munster and Connacht to form
   Southern Ireland. Whilst the former came into being, the latter had
   only a momentary existence to ratify (in United Kingdom law) the
   Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the Anglo-Irish War.

   Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Northern Ireland was provisionally
   scheduled to be included in the Irish Free State, though it could opt
   out should the Parliament of Northern Ireland elect so to do. As
   expected it did so immediately. Once that happened, as provided for, an
   Irish Boundary Commission came into being, to decide on the territorial
   boundaries between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Though
   leaders in Dublin expected a substantial reduction in the territory of
   Northern Ireland, with nationalist areas like south Armagh, Tyrone,
   southern Londonderry and urban territories like Derry and Newry moving
   to the Free State, it appears that the Boundary Commission decided
   against this. The British and Irish governments agreed to leave the
   boundaries as they were defined in the 1920 Act. The Council of Ireland
   provided for in the Treaty, to link Northern Ireland and the Irish Free
   State, did not come into being.

1925 to the present

   In June 1940, to encourage the Irish state to join with the Allies,
   British Prime Minister Winston Churchill indicated to the Taoiseach
   Éamon de Valera that the United Kingdom would push for Irish unity but,
   believing that Churchill could not deliver, de Valera declined the
   offer. The British did not inform the Northern Ireland government that
   they had made the offer to the Dublin government.

   The Ireland Act 1949 gave the first legal guarantee to the Parliament
   and Government that Northern Ireland would not cease to be part of the
   United Kingdom without consent of the majority of its citizens, and
   this was most recently reaffirmed by the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
   This status was echoed in the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, which was
   signed by the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of
   Ireland. Bunreacht na hÉireann, the constitution of the Republic, was
   amended in 1999 to remove a claim of the "Irish nation" to sovereignty
   over the whole of Ireland (in Article 2), a claim qualified by an
   acknowledgement that the southern state only could exercise legal
   control over the territory formerly known as the Irish Free State. The
   new Articles 2 and 3, added to the Bunreacht to replace the earlier
   articles, implicitly acknowledge that the status of Northern Ireland,
   and its relationships with the United Kingdom and the Republic of
   Ireland, would only be changed with the agreement of a majority of
   voters in Northern Ireland. An acknowledgement that a decision on
   whether to remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland
   rests with the people of Northern Ireland was also central to the
   Belfast Agreement, which was signed in 1998 and ratified by plebiscites
   held simultaneously in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. However,
   many unionist leaders equivocate when asked if they would peacefully
   accept a reunited Ireland if a majority in Northern Ireland sought it.

   A plebiscite within Northern Ireland on whether it should remain in the
   United Kingdom, or join the Republic, was held in 1973. The vote went
   heavily in favour (98.9%) of maintaining the status quo with
   approximately 57.5% of the total electorate voting in support, but most
   nationalists boycotted the poll (see Northern Ireland referendum, 1973
   for more). Though legal provision remains for holding another
   plebiscite, and former Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble some
   years ago advocated the holding of such a vote, no plans for such a
   vote have been adopted as of 2006.

Lives lost and injured in the “Troubles”

   Bombings in Great Britain tended to have had more publicity since
   attacks in Britain were comparatively rare (in the context of the
   troubles) indeed 93% of killings happened in Northern Ireland.
   Republican paramilitaries have contributed to nearly 60% (2056) of
   these. Loyalists have killed nearly 28% (1020) while the security
   forces have killed just over 11% (362) with 9% percent of those
   attributed to the British Army.

   Civilians killed

   Civilians account for the highest death toll at 53% or 1798 fatalities.
   Loyalist paramilitaries account for a higher proportion of civilian
   deaths (those with no military or paramilitary connection) according to
   figures published in Malcolm Sutton’s book, “Bear in Mind These Dead:
   An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland 1969 - 1993”. According
   to research undertaken by the CAIN organisation, based on Sutton's
   work, 85.6% (873) of Loyalist killings, 52.9% (190) by the security
   forces and 35.9% (738) of all killings by Republican paramilitaries
   took the lives of civilians between 1969 and 2001. The disparity of a
   relatively high civilian death toll yet low Republican percentage is
   explained by the fact that they also had a high combatant's death toll,
   while on the other hand the Loyalists focused almost exclusively on
   civilians as they rarely discriminated between the Catholic community
   and Republicans.

   Combatants killed

   Republican paramilitaries account for a higher proportion of combatants
   killed (those within paramilitaries or the military) Again from Malcolm
   Sutton's research Republicans killed 1318 combatants, the security
   forces killed 192 the Loyalists killed 147. Both Republicans and
   Loyalists killed more of their own than each other, over twice as many
   for Loyalists and nearly four times as many for Republicans.

   80 people, mainly civilians, have died without any organisation
   claiming responsibility. The British Army has also lost 14 soldiers to
   Loyalists while the security forces overall in the Republic have lost
   10 to Republicans.

   According to a Submission by Marie Smyth to the Northern Ireland
   Commission on Victims 40,000 people have also been injured though she
   believes that to be a conservative figure.

Culture

          See Culture of Northern Ireland, Culture of Ulster, Culture of
          Ireland, Culture of the United Kingdom

   With its improved international reputation, Northern Ireland has
   recently witnessed rising numbers of tourists who come to appreciate
   the area's unique heritage. Attractions include cultural festivals,
   musical and artistic traditions, countryside and geographical sites of
   interest, pubs, welcoming hospitality and sports (especially golf and
   fishing). In 1987, pubs were allowed to open on Sundays, despite vocal
   opposition.

Languages

   The Mid Ulster dialect of English spoken in Northern Ireland shows
   influence from both the West Midlands and Scotland, thereby giving it a
   distinct accent compared to Hiberno-English, along with the use of such
   Scots words as wee for 'little' and aye for 'yes'. Some jocularly call
   this dialect phonetically by the name Norn Iron. There are supposedly
   some minute differences in pronunciation between Protestants and
   Catholics, the best known of which is the name of the letter h, which
   Protestants tend to pronounce as "aitch", as in British English, and
   Catholics tend to pronounce as "haitch", as in Hiberno-English.
   However, geography is a much more important determinant of dialect than
   ethnic background. English is by far the most widely spoken language in
   Northern Ireland.

   Under the Good Friday Agreement, Irish and Ulster Scots (one of the
   dialects of the Scots language), sometimes known as Ullans, have
   recognition as "part of the cultural wealth of Northern Ireland". Often
   the use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland has met with the
   considerable suspicion of Unionists, who have associated it with the
   largely Catholic Republic of Ireland, and more recently, with the
   republican movement in Northern Ireland itself.

   Ulster Scots comprises varieties of the Scots language spoken in
   Northern Ireland. Mac Póilin (1999: 116) states that "While most argue
   that Ulster-Scots is a dialect or variant of Scots, some have argued or
   implied that Ulster-Scots is a separate language from Scots. The case
   for Ulster-Scots being a distinct language, made at a time when the
   status of Scots itself was insecure, is so bizarre that it is unlikely
   to have been a linguistic argument."

   Chinese and Urdu are also spoken by Northern Ireland's Asian
   communities. Though the Chinese community is often referred to as the
   "third largest" community in Northern Ireland — it is tiny by
   international standards.

   Since the accession of new member states to the European Union in 2004,
   Eastern European languages, particularly Polish, are becoming
   increasingly common.

   The most common sign language in Northern Ireland is British Sign
   Language (BSL), but as Catholics tended to send their deaf children to
   schools in Dublin ( St Joseph's Institute for Deaf Boys and St Mary's
   Institute for Deaf Girls, in Cabra), Irish Sign Language (ISL) is
   commonly used in the Nationalist community. The two languages are not
   related: BSL is in the British family (which also includes Auslan), and
   ISL is in the French family (which also includes ASL/ Amerislan). A
   third language, Northern Ireland Sign Language, is also attested by
   some.

Education

   Education in Northern Ireland differs slightly from systems used
   elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom,
   in the last year of Primary school, children sit the eleven plus
   transfer test, and the results determine whether they attend Grammar
   schools or Secondary schools. This system is due to be changed in 2008
   amidst some controversy. Integrated Education is increasing, although
   Northern Ireland still has a highly religiously segregated education
   system.

   See:
     * List of Primary schools in Northern Ireland
     * List of Grammar schools in Northern Ireland
     * List of Secondary schools in Northern Ireland
     * List of Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland

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