Northern Ireland
Overview
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries
Countries of the United Kingdom
Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These four countries together form the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also described as a country. The alternative terms, constituent...

 of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border
Republic of Ireland-United Kingdom border
The Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border is the boundary between the sovereign states of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...

 with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. At the time of the 2001 UK Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of the United Kingdom.

Northern Ireland consists of six
Counties of Northern Ireland
The counties of Northern Ireland were the principal local government divisions of Northern Ireland from its creation in 1921 until 1972 when their governmental features were abolished and replaced with twenty-six unitary authorities....

 of the nine counties of the Irish province
Provinces of Ireland
Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, literally meaning "fifth part", indicates that there were once five; the fifth province, Meath, was incorporated into Leinster, with parts going to...

 of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

.
Timeline

1889    78 are killed in the Armagh rail disaster near Armagh in what is now Northern Ireland.

1910    The hull of the {{RMS|Olympic}}, sister-ship to the ill-fated {{RMS|Titanic}}, is launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1921    Belfast's Bloody Sunday: 16 people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1932    Bad weather forces Amelia Earhart to land in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she thereby becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

1941    In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attack Belfast, Northern Ireland killing one thousand people.

1942    World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.

1966    The Ulster Volunteer Force declares war on the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.

1969    Members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary damage property and assault occupants in the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland. In response, residents erect barricades and establish Free Derry.

1969    Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.

1969    British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland.

 
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