
of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border
with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. At the time of the 2001 UK Census
, 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
of the nine counties of the Irish province
of Ulster
.
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.
of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border
with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. At the time of the 2001 UK Census
, 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
of the nine counties of the Irish province
of Ulster
. It was created
as a distinct division of the United Kingdom on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920
, though its constitutional roots lie in the 1800 Act of Union
between Great Britain and Ireland. For over 50 years it had its own devolved government
and parliament
. These institutions were suspended in 1972
and abolished in 1973. Repeated attempts to restore self-government finally resulted in the establishment in 1998
of the present-day Northern Ireland Executive
and Northern Ireland Assembly
. The Assembly operates on consociational democracy principles requiring cross-community support.
Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict—the Troubles
—which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists
, who are predominantly Protestant, which has been the most prevalent religion. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom, while nationalists wish for it to be politically united
with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. Since the signing of the "Good Friday Agreement
" in 1998, most of the paramilitary groups involved in the Troubles have ceased their armed campaigns.
Owing to its unique history, the issue of the symbolism, name and description of Northern Ireland is complex, as is the issue of citizenship and identity. In general, unionists consider themselves British and nationalists see themselves as Irish, though these identities are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Additionally, many people from both sides of the community consider themselves as Northern Irish.
Background

programmes of colonialism
in the late 16th century. The English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland
had been declared by the English king Henry VIII
in 1542, but Irish resistance made English control fragmentary. Following Irish defeat at the Battle of Kinsale, though, the region's Gaelic
, Roman Catholic aristocracy
fled to continental Europe
in 1607 and the region became subject to major programmes of colonialism by Protestant English (mainly Anglican) and Scottish (mainly Presbyterian
) settlers. Between 1610 and 1717 perhaps as many as 100,000 Lowlanders came across from Scotland, and by the latter date there were some five Scots to every three Irishmen and one Englishman in Ulster. A rebellion in 1641
by Irish aristocrats against English rule resulted in a massacre of settlers in Ulster in the context of a war breaking out between England, Scotland and Ireland
fuelled by religious intolerance in government. Victories by English forces in that war and further Protestant victories in the Williamite War in Ireland
toward the close of the 17th century solidified Anglican
rule in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, the iconic victories of the Siege of Derry
(1689) and the Battle of the Boyne
(1690) in this latter war are still celebrated today by the Unionist
community (both Anglican and Presbyterian).
Following the victory of 1691, and contrary to the terms of the Treaty of Limerick
, a series of penal laws was passed by the Anglican ruling class
in Ireland. Their intention was to materially disadvantage the Catholic community and, to a lesser extent, the Presbyterian community. In the context of open institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in communities in the region and act on sectarian
tensions in violent attacks. These events escalated at the end of the century following an event known as the Battle of the Diamond
, which saw the supremacy of the Anglican and Presbyterian Peep o'Day Boys
over the Catholic Defenders
and leading to the formation of the (Anglican) Orange Order. A rebellion in 1798 led by the cross-community Belfast-based Society of the United Irishmen
and inspired by the French Revolution
sought to break the constitutional ties between Ireland and Britain and unite Irishmen and -women of all communities. Following this, in an attempt to quell sectarianism and force the removal of discriminatory laws (and to prevent the spread of French-style republicanism to Ireland), the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain
pushed for the two kingdoms to be merged. The new state, formed in 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
, was governed from a single government and parliament based in London.
Between 1717 and 1775 some 250,000 people from Ulster emigrated to the American colonies. It is estimated that there are more than 27 million descendants of the Scots-Irish migration now living in the U.S.
Partition of Ireland
Following this, those who supported the continued union between Ireland and Great Britain are known as unionists. In what is now Northern Ireland, these were mainly Protestant (both Anglican and Presbyterian). During the 19th century, legal reforms started in the late 18th centuryremoved legal discrimination against Catholics and progressive programmes enabled farmers to buy back land from landlords. By the close of the century, the possibility of autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom, known as home rule
, was imminent. In 1912, it became a certainty. A clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords over a controversial budget produced the Parliament Act 1911
, which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. The House of Lords veto had been unionists' main guarantee that home rule would not be enacted because the majority of members of the House of Lords were unionists. In response, opponents to home rule from Conservative Party
leaders such as Andrew Bonar Law and Dublin-based barrister
Sir Edward Carson to militant unionists in Ireland threatened the use of violence. In 1914, they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition
from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers, a paramilitary organisation opposed to the implementation of home rule.
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 County Antrim
and County Down
, with small majorities in County Armagh
and County Londonderry
. There were substantial numbers also concentrated in County Fermanagh
and County Tyrone
. These six counties (i.e. four majority-unionist counties and two majority-nationalist counties) would later constitute Northern Ireland. All of the remaining 26 counties which later became the Republic of Ireland were overwhelmingly majority-nationalist.

. However, its implementation was suspended before it came into effect owing to the outbreak of the First World War. The war was expected to last only a few weeks but in fact lasted four years. By the end of the war (during which the 1916 Easter Rising
had taken place), the act was seen as unimplementable. Public opinion in the majority "nationalist" community (who sought greater independence from Britain) had shifted during the war from a demand for home rule to one for full independence. In 1919, David Lloyd George
proposed a new bill which would divide Ireland into two home rule areas: twenty-six counties being ruled from Dublin and six being ruled from Belfast
. Straddling these two areas would be a shared Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
who would appoint both governments and a Council of Ireland
, which Lloyd George believed would evolve into an all-Ireland parliament. Events had however overtaken government. In the general election of 1918
, the pro-independence Sinn Féin
won seventy-three of the one hundred and five parliamentary seats in Ireland and established an extrajudicial parliament in Ireland
.
Ireland was partitioned
between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland
in 1921 under the terms of Lloyd George's Government of Ireland Act 1920
during the war of independence between Ireland and Britain. At the conclusion of that war on 6 December 1922, under the terms of the resulting treaty
, Northern Ireland provisionally became an autonomous part of the newly independent Irish Free State
.
Northern Ireland
However, as expected, the Parliament of Northern Irelandresolved the following day to opt out of the Irish Free State at the earliest possible opportunity (they had one month to do so). Shortly afterwards, a commission was established to decide on the territorial boundaries between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Owing to the outbreak of civil war in the Free State
, the work of the commission was delayed until 1925. Leaders in Dublin expected a substantial reduction in the territory of Northern Ireland, with nationalist areas moving to the Free State. However the commission decided against this and its report recommended that some small portions of land should be ceded from the Free State to Northern Ireland. To prevent argument, this report was suppressed and, in exchange for a waiver to the Free State's obligations to the UK's public debt and the dissolution of the Council of Ireland (sought by the Government of Northern Ireland
), the initial six-county border was maintained with minor changes.

, 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 Government of Northern Ireland that they had made the offer to the Dublin government, and De Valera's rejection was not publicised until 1970).
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.
The Troubles
, starting in the late 1960s, consisted of about thirty years of recurring acts of intense violence between elements of Northern Ireland's nationalist
community (principally Roman Catholic) and unionist community (principally Protestant) during which 3,254 people were killed. The conflict was caused by the disputed status of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom and the discrimination against the nationalist minority by the dominant unionist majority. From 1967 to 1972 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
, modelling itself on the US civil rights movement, led a campaign of civil resistance
to anti-Catholic discrimination in housing, employment, policing, and electoral procedures (the franchise being limited to property-owning rate-payers, thereby excluding most Catholics). However NICRA's campaign, and the reaction to it, proved to be a precursor to a more violent period. As early as 1969, armed campaigns of paramilitary groups began, including the Provisional IRA campaign of 1969–1997 which was aimed at the end of British rule in Northern Ireland and the creation of a new "all-Ireland", "thirty-two county" Irish Republic
, and the Ulster Volunteer Force, formed in 1966 in response to the perceived erosion of both the British character and unionist domination of Northern Ireland. The state security forces – the British Army
and the police (the Royal Ulster Constabulary
) – were also involved in the violence. The British government's point of view is that its forces were neutral in the conflict, trying to uphold law and order in Northern Ireland and the right of the people of Northern Ireland to democratic self-determination. Irish republicans regarded the state forces as "combatants" in the conflict, alleging collusion between the state forces and the loyalist paramilitaries as proof of this (loyalists are against the union of Ireland). The "Ballast" investigation by the Police Ombudsman
has confirmed that British forces, and in particular the RUC, did collude with loyalist
paramilitaries, were involved in murder, and did obstruct the course of justice when such claims had previously been investigated, although the extent to which such collusion occurred is still hotly disputed.
As a consequence of the worsening security situation, autonomous regional government for Northern Ireland was suspended in 1972. Alongside the violence, there was a political deadlock between the major political parties in Northern Ireland, including those who condemned violence, over the future status of Northern Ireland and the form of government there should be within Northern Ireland. In 1973, Northern Ireland held a referendum
to determine if it should remain in the United Kingdom, or be part of a united Ireland. 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 only 1% of Catholics voted following a boycott organised by the SDLP.
Recent history
The Troubles were brought to an uneasy end by a peace processwhich included the declaration of ceasefires by most paramilitary organisations and the complete decommissioning of their weapons, the reform of the police, and the corresponding withdrawal of army troops from the streets and from sensitive border areas such as South Armagh and Fermanagh, as agreed by the signatories to the Belfast Agreement (commonly known as the "Good Friday Agreement"). This reiterated the long-held British position, which had never before been fully acknowledged by successive Irish governments, that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom until a majority votes otherwise. Bunreacht na hÉireann, the constitution of the Irish state, 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 Ireland could only exercise legal control over the territory formerly known as the Irish Free State. The new Articles 2 and 3
, added to the Constitution to replace the earlier articles, implicitly acknowledge that the status of Northern Ireland, and its relationships within the rest of the United Kingdom and with Ireland, would only be changed with the agreement of a majority of voters in both jurisdictions (Ireland voting separately). This aspect was also central to the Belfast Agreement which was signed in 1998 and ratified by referendums held simultaneously in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. At the same time, the British Government recognised for the first time, as part of the prospective, the so-called "Irish dimension": the principle that the people of the island of Ireland as a whole have the right, without any outside interference, to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent. The latter statement was key to winning support for the agreement from nationalists and republicans. It also established a devolved power-sharing government within Northern Ireland, which must consist of both unionist and nationalist parties.
These institutions were suspended by the British Government in 2002 after Police Service of Northern Ireland
(PSNI) allegations of spying by people working for Sinn Féin at the Assembly (Stormontgate
). The resulting case against the accused Sinn Féin member collapsed.
On 28 July 2005, the Provisional IRA declared an end to its campaign and has since decommissioned what is thought to be all of its arsenal
. This final act of decommissioning was performed in accordance with the Belfast Agreement of 1998, and under the watch of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
and two external church witnesses. Many unionists, however, remain sceptical. This IRA decommissioning is in contrast to Loyalist paramilitaries who have so far refused to decommission many weapons. It is not thought that this will have a major effect on further political progress as political parties linked to Loyalist paramilitaries do not attract significant support and will not be in a position to form part of a government in the near future. Sinn Féin, on the other hand, with their (real and perceived) links to militant republicanism, are the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland.
Politicians elected to the Assembly at the 2003 Assembly Election
were called together on 15 May 2006 under the Northern Ireland Act 2006 for the purpose of electing a First Minister of Northern Ireland and a Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and choosing the members of an Executive (before 25 November 2006) as a preliminary step to the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland.
Following the election
held on 7 March 2007, devolved government returned to Northern Ireland on 8 May 2007 with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley
and Sinn Féin deputy leader Martin McGuinness
taking office as First Minister and Deputy First Minister, respectively. The current First Minister is Peter Robinson, having taken over as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, and the current deputy First Minister is Martin McGuinness
of Sinn Féin.
Governance

Northern Ireland has devolved
government within the United Kingdom. There is a Northern Ireland Executive
together with the 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly
to deal with devolved matters with the UK Government and UK Parliament responsible for reserved matters
. Elections to the Assembly are by single transferable vote
with 6 representatives elected for each of the 18 Westminster constituencies. Northern Ireland is a distinct legal jurisdiction
, separate from England & Wales
and Scotland
. It is also an electoral region
of the European Union
.
Northern Ireland elects 18 Members of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons; not all take their seats, however, as the Sinn Féin MPs (currently five) refuse to take the oath to serve the Queen that is required of all MPs. The Northern Ireland Office
represents the UK government in Northern Ireland on reserved matters and represents Northern Irish interests within the UK government. The Northern Ireland office is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
, who sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom
.
The main political divide in Northern Ireland is between Unionists or Loyalists who wish to see Northern Ireland continue as part of the United Kingdom and Nationalists or Republicans
who wish to see Northern Ireland join the rest of Ireland, independent from the United Kingdom. These two opposing views are linked to deeper cultural divisions. Unionists are overwhelmingly Protestant
, descendants of mainly Scottish
, English, Welsh
and Huguenot
settlers as well as Old Gaelic
Irishmen who had converted to one of the Protestant denominations. Nationalists are predominantly Catholic and descend from the population predating the settlement, with a minority from Scottish Highlanders as well as some converts from Protestantism. 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 due to 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, were a major contributing factor which led to the long-running conflict known as the Troubles
. The political unrest went through its most violent phase between 1968 and 1994.
As of 2007, 36% of the population define themselves as Unionist, 24% as Nationalist
and 40% define themselves as neither. According to a 2009 opinion poll, 69% express longterm preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland's membership of the United Kingdom (either directly ruled
or with devolved government
), while 21% express a preference for membership of a united Ireland. This discrepancy can be explained by the overwhelming preference among Protestants to remain a part of the UK (91%), while Catholic preferences are spread across a number of solutions to the constitutional question including remaining a part of the UK (47%), a united Ireland (40%), Northern Ireland becoming an independent state (5%), and those who "don't know" (5%).
Official voting figures, which reflect 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, 42% vote 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 Sinn Féin and Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP) and their respective party platforms for Democratic Socialism
and Social Democracy
.
For the most part, Protestants feel a strong connection with Great Britain and wish for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Many Catholics however, generally aspire to a United Ireland or are less certain about how to solve the constitutional question. In the 2009 survey by Northern Ireland Life and Times, 47% of Northern Irish Catholics supported Northern Ireland remaining a part of the United Kingdom, either by direct rule (8%) or devolved government (39%).
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 MLA
s, 55 are Unionists and 44 are Nationalists (the remaining nine are classified as "other").
Citizenship and identity
People from Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, are British citizens. They are also entitled to Irish citizenship by birth under the 1998 Belfast Agreement between the British and Irish governments, which provides that:it is 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 [the two governments] 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.
As a result of the Agreement, the Constitution of Ireland
was amended so that people born in Northern Ireland are entitled to be Irish citizens
on the same basis as people from any other part of the island of Ireland.
Neither government, however, extends its citizenship to all persons born in Northern Ireland. Both governments exclude some people born in Northern Ireland (e.g. certain persons born in Northern Ireland neither of whose parents is a UK or Irish national). The Irish restriction was given effect by the Twenty-seventh amendment to the Irish Constitution
in 2004.
Several studies and surveys performed between 1971 and 2006 have indicated that, in general, Protestants in Northern Ireland see themselves primarily as 'British', whereas Roman Catholics regard themselves primarily as 'Irish'.
This does not however account for the complex identities within Northern Ireland, given that many of the population regard themselves as "Ulster" or "Northern Irish", either as a primary or secondary identity. A 2008 survey found that 57% of Protestants described themselves as British, while 32% identified as Northern Irish, 6% as Ulster and 4% as Irish. Compared to a similar survey carried out in 1998, this shows a fall in the percentage of Protestants identifying as British and Ulster, and a rise in those identifying as Northern Irish. The 2008 survey found that 61% of Catholics described themselves as Irish, with 25% identifying as Northern Irish, 8% as British and 1% as Ulster. These figures were largely unchanged from the 1998 results.
Law
Northern Ireland's legal and administrative systems have evolved from those in place in the pre-partition United Kingdom, and were developed by its devolved government from 1921 until 1972. From 1972 until 1999 (except for a brief period in 1974), laws and administration relating to Northern Ireland were handled directly from Westminster. Between the years 1999 and 2002 (except during a brief suspension), and since May 2007, devolution has returned to Northern Ireland.
Demography of Northern Ireland
The population of Northern Ireland has increased annually since 1978.Ethnicity
- WhiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
: 1,670,988 (99.15%)- Northern Ireland born: 91.0%
- Other UK or Republic of Ireland born: 7.2%
- Irish TravellerIrish TravellerIrish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...
: 1,710 (0.10%)
- Asian: 6,824
- ChineseOverseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
: 4,145 (0.25%) - IndianNon-resident Indian and Person of Indian OriginA Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
: 1,567 (0.09%) - Pakistani: 666 (0.04%)
- BangladeshiBritish BangladeshiA British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...
: 252 (0.01%) - Other Asian: 194 (0.01%)
- Chinese
- BlackBlack peopleThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
: 1,136- Black African: 494 (0.03%)
- Black Caribbean: 255 (0.02%)
- Other Black: 387 (0.02%)
- Other ethnic groups: 1,290 (0.08%)
- Mixed: 3,319 (0.20%)
Religion
The population of Northern Ireland was estimated as being 1,759,000 on 10 December 2008. In the 2001 census, 45.57% of the population identified as belonging to Protestant or other non-Roman Catholic denominations (20.69% Presbyterian, 15.30% Church of Ireland, 3.51% Methodist
, 6.07% other Christian/Christian related), 40.26% identified as Roman Catholic, 0.30% identified with non-Christian religions and 13.88% identified with no religion. In terms of community background, 53.1% of the Northern Irish population came from a Protestant background, 43.8% came from a Catholic background, 0.4% from non-Christian backgrounds and 2.7% non-religious backgrounds. The population is forecast to pass the 1.8 million mark by 2011.
Symbols used in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland comprises a patchwork of communities whose national loyalties are represented in some areas by flags flown from lamp posts. The Union Flagand the former Northern Ireland Flag
are flown in some loyalist areas, and the Tricolour, adopted by republicans as the flag of Ireland
in 1848, is flown in some republican areas. Even kerbstones
in some areas are painted red-white-blue or green-white-orange (or gold), depending on whether local people express unionist/loyalist or nationalist/republican sympathies.
The official flag is the Union Flag
. The Northern Ireland flag was previously the former Governmental Northern Ireland banner (also known as the "Ulster Banner
" or "Red Hand Flag"). It was based on the arms of the former Parliament of Northern Ireland
, and was used officially by the Government of Northern Ireland and its agencies between 1953 and 1972. Since 1972, it has had no official status. UK flags policy states that in Northern Ireland: The Ulster flag and the Cross of St. Patrick have no official status and, under the Flags Regulations, are not permitted to be flown from Government Buildings.
The Union Flag and the Ulster Banner are mainly used by Unionists.
The Irish Rugby Football Union
and the Church of Ireland have used the Flag of St. Patrick
. 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 Israel
i flags in some Unionist areas. This is also true during matches with Scottish teams.
The United Kingdom national anthem
of "God Save the Queen
" is often played at state events in Northern Ireland. At the Commonwealth Games
, the Northern Ireland team uses the Ulster Banner as its flag and Londonderry Air
(usually set to lyrics
as Danny Boy
) is used as its national anthem
. The Northern Ireland football team
also uses the Ulster Banner as its flag but uses "God Save The Queen" as its national anthem.
Major Gaelic Athletic Association
matches are opened by the Republic of Ireland national anthem, "Amhrán na bhFiann
(The Soldier's Song)", which is also used by some other all-Ireland sporting organisations.
Since 1995, the Ireland rugby union team has used a specially commissioned song, "Ireland's Call
" as the team's anthem. The Republic of Ireland national anthem is also played at Dublin home matches as a courtesy to the host country.
Northern Irish murals
have become well-known features of Northern Ireland, depicting past and present divisions, both also documenting peace and cultural diversity. Almost 2,000 murals have been documented in Northern Ireland since the 1970s (see Conflict Archive on the Internet/Murals).
Geography and climate

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 drumlin
s in Counties Fermanagh, Armagh, Antrim and particularly Down. The centrepiece of Northern Ireland's geography is Lough Neagh
, at 151 square miles (391 km²) the largest freshwater lake both on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles
. A second extensive lake system is centred on Lower and Upper Lough Erne
in Fermanagh. The largest island of Northern Ireland is Rathlin
, off the north Antrim coast. Strangford Lough
is the largest inlet in the British Isles, covering 150 km² (58 sq mi).
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 849 metres (2,785 ft), Northern Ireland's highest point. Belfast's most prominent peak is Cavehill
. The volcanic activity which created the Antrim Plateau also formed the eerily geometric pillars of the Giant's Causeway
on the north Antrim coast. Also in north Antrim are the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
, Mussenden Temple
and the Glens of Antrim
.

, 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
.

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: -18.7 °C at Castlederg
, County Tyrone
on 23 December 2010.
Counties


Northern Ireland consists of six historic 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. Most districts are based around large towns, for instance Coleraine Borough Council derives its name from the town of Coleraine in County Londonderry.
Although counties are no longer used for governmental purpose, they remain a popular means of describing where places are. They are officially used while applying for an Irish passport
, which requires one to state one's county of birth. The name of county then appears in both Irish and English on the passport's information page, as opposed to the town or city of birth on the United Kingdom passport. The Gaelic Athletic Association
still uses the counties as its primary means of organisation and fields representative teams of each GAA county
. The original system of car registration numbers largely based on counties still remains in use. In 2000 the telephone numbering system was restructured into an 8 digit scheme with the first digit reflecting the county.
The county boundaries still appear on Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland Maps and the Phillips Street Atlases, among others. With their decline in official use, there is often confusion surrounding towns and cities which lie near county boundaries, such as Belfast and Lisburn
, which are split between counties Down and Antrim (the majorities of both cities, however, are in Antrim).
Cities



in Northern Ireland:
- ArmaghArmaghArmagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
- BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
- DerryDerryDerry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
- LisburnLisburnDemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
- NewryNewryNewry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
Towns and villages
The following is a list of towns (settlements with at least 4,500 inhabitants) in Northern Ireland.- AntrimAntrim, County AntrimAntrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...
- BallycastleBallycastle, County AntrimBallycastle is a small town in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Its population was 5,089 people in the 2001 Census. It is the seat and main settlement of Moyle District Council....
, BallyclareBallyclareBallyclare is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,770 people in the 2001 Census...
, BallymenaBallymenaBallymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....
, BallymoneyBallymoneyBallymoney is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,021 people in the 2001 Census. It is currently served by Ballymoney Borough Council....
, Ballynahinch, BanbridgeBanbridgeBanbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It was named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. The town grew as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing...
, Bangor - CarrickfergusCarrickfergusCarrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
, CarryduffCarryduffCarryduff is a small town and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, about south of Belfast city centre. It had a population of 6,595 people in the 2001 Census....
, CoalislandCoalislandCoalisland is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 4,917 people . As its name suggests, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.-History:...
, ColeraineColeraineColeraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...
, ComberComberComber is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies 5 miles south of Newtownards, at the northern end of Strangford Lough. It had a population of 8,933 people in the 2001 Census. Comber is part of the Borough of Ards...
, CookstownCookstownCookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
, CraigavonCraigavonCraigavon is a settlement in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was a planned settlement that was begun in 1965 and named after Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister — James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon. It was intended to be a linear city incorporating Lurgan and Portadown, but this plan... - DonaghadeeDonaghadeeDonaghadee is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles south east of Bangor. It had a population of 6,470 people in the 2001 Census...
, DownpatrickDownpatrickDownpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the county town of Down with a rich history and strong connection to Saint Patrick. It had a population of 10,316 at the 2001 Census...
, DromoreDromore, County DownDromore is a small market town in the Banbridge District of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is south-west of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast – Dublin road. The 2001 Census recorded a population of 4,968 people....
, DundonaldDundonaldDundonald is a large settlement in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies east of Belfast and is often deemed to be a suburb of the city. It includes the large housing estate of Ballybeen, and many new housing estates have emerged in the past ten years....
, DungannonDungannonDungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time... - EnniskillenEnniskillenEnniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
- HolywoodHolywoodHolywood is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby. The town hosts an annual jazz and blues festival.-Name:...
- KilkeelKilkeelKilkeel is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the main fishing port on the Down coast, and its harbour houses one of the largest fishing fleets in Ireland. It had a population of 6,338 people according to the 2001 Census...
- LarneLarneLarne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
, LimavadyLimavadyLimavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991...
, LurganLurganLurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway... - MagherafeltMagherafeltMagherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...
- NewcastleNewcastle, County DownNewcastle is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,444 people recorded in the 2001 Census. The seaside resort lies on the Irish Sea coast at the base of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains, and is known for its sandy beach and the Royal County Down Golf Club...
, NewtownabbeyNewtownabbeyNewtownabbey is a large town north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Sometimes considered to be a suburb of Belfast, it is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course...
, NewtownardsNewtownardsNewtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in... - OmaghOmaghOmagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
- PortadownPortadownPortadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
, PortrushPortrushPortrush is a small seaside resort town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the County Londonderry border. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, is built on a mile–long peninsula, Ramore Head, pointing north-northwest....
, PortstewartPortstewartPortstewart is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,803 people in the 2001 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Of the two towns, Portstewart is decidedly quieter with more sedate attractions. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an... - RandalstownRandalstownRandalstown is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Antrim and Toome. It had a population of 4,956 people in the 2001 Census. It has a very prominent disused railway viaduct and lies beside Lough Neagh and the Shane's Castle estate...
- StrabaneStrabaneStrabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....
- WarrenpointWarrenpointWarrenpoint is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northern shore of Carlingford Lough and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town sprang up within the townland of Ringmackilroy...
Economy

Transport
Northern Ireland is served by three airports – Belfast Internationalnear Antrim
, George Best Belfast City
in East Belfast, and City of Derry
in County Londonderry.
Major sea ports at Larne
and Belfast
carry passengers and freight between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Passenger railways are operated by Northern Ireland Railways
. With Iarnrod Éireann
(Irish Rail), Northern Ireland Railways
co-operates in providing the joint Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast.
Main motorways are:
- M1M1 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for from Belfast to Dungannon through County Down and County Armagh...
connecting Belfast to the south and west, ending in DungannonDungannonDungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time... - M12M12 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M12 is a 1½ miles length of spur motorway in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was opened on 1970.It leads off the main M1 motorway, to Portadown, part of the conurbation of Portadown-Craigavon-Lurgan, and forms most of the route between junction 11 of the M1 and the A3 Northway at...
connecting the M1M1 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for from Belfast to Dungannon through County Down and County Armagh...
to PortadownPortadownPortadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast... - M2M2 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M2 is a motorway in Belfast and County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is in two sections, the southern section running from north Belfast to Antrim and the northern section acts as a bypass of Ballymena, with the A26 road linking the two sections. In total it is 22 miles...
connecting Belfast to the north. An unconnected section of the M2M2 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M2 is a motorway in Belfast and County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is in two sections, the southern section running from north Belfast to Antrim and the northern section acts as a bypass of Ballymena, with the A26 road linking the two sections. In total it is 22 miles...
also by-passes BallymenaBallymenaBallymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census.... - M22M22 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M22 is a motorway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 5.6 miles long and connects the M2 with the A6. It forms part of the unsigned European route E16.-History:...
connecting the M2M2 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M2 is a motorway in Belfast and County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is in two sections, the southern section running from north Belfast to Antrim and the northern section acts as a bypass of Ballymena, with the A26 road linking the two sections. In total it is 22 miles...
to near RandalstownRandalstownRandalstown is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Antrim and Toome. It had a population of 4,956 people in the 2001 Census. It has a very prominent disused railway viaduct and lies beside Lough Neagh and the Shane's Castle estate... - M3M3 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M3 is an urban motorway 0.8 miles in length owned by Siac Construction and Cintra, S.A. that connects the M2 in north Belfast, Northern Ireland to the A2 Sydenham Bypass in east Belfast. It is the shortest motorway in Northern Ireland, and one of the busiest, carrying 60,000 vehicles per...
connecting the M1 and M2 in Belfast with the A2 dual carriageway to BangorBangor, County DownBangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status... - M5M5 motorway (Northern Ireland)The M5 is a spur motorway of 1.4 miles length in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It connects the M2 to the A2 Shore Road at Hazelbank in Newtownabbey...
connecting Belfast to NewtownabbeyNewtownabbeyNewtownabbey is a large town north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Sometimes considered to be a suburb of Belfast, it is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course...
The cross-border road connecting the ports of Larne
in Northern Ireland and Rosslare Harbour
in the Republic of Ireland is being upgraded as part of an EU-funded scheme. European route E01
runs from Larne through the island of Ireland, Spain and Portugal to Seville
.
Culture


s, welcoming hospitality and sports (especially golf and fishing). Since 1987 public house
s have been allowed to open on Sundays, despite some opposition.
The Ulster Cycle is a large body of prose and verse centring around the traditional heroes of the Ulaid
in what is now eastern Ulster. This is one of the four major cycles of Irish Mythology
. The cycle centres around the reign of Conchobar mac Nessa
, who is said to have been king of Ulster around the time of Christ. He ruled from Emain Macha
(now Navan Fort near Armagh), and had a fierce rivalry with queen Medb
and king Ailill of Connacht and their ally, Fergus mac Róich
, former king of Ulster. The foremost hero of the cycle is Conchobar's nephew Cúchulainn
.
English
The dialect of English spoken in Northern Ireland shows influence from the lowland Scots language. 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 religious background. English is spoken as a first language by almost 100% of the Northern Irish population, though 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".


Irish
The Irish language (Gaeilge) is the native language of the whole island of Ireland. It was spoken predominantly throughout what is now Northern Ireland before the Ulster Plantations in the 17th century. Most placenames throughout Northern Ireland are anglicised versions of their Gaelic originals. These Gaelic placenames include thousands of lanes, roads, townlands, towns, villages and all of its modern cities. Examples include Belfast- derived from Béal Feirste, Shankill- derived from Sean Cill and Lough Neagh- derived from Loch nEathach.In Northern Ireland the Irish language has long been associated with Irish nationalism. The language was seen as a common heritage and indeed the object of affection by many prominent 19th century Protestant republicans and Protestant unionists. There are three main dialects in the island of Ireland—Ulster, Munster and Connacht. Speakers of each dialect often find others difficult to understand. Speakers in Northern Ireland speak the Ulster dialect.
In the early years of the 20th century, the language became a political football throughout Ireland as Republican activists became increasingly linked with it. In the 20th century, the language became in Unionist eyes increasingly polarised for political ends and many in that community would blame Sinn Féin
in this regard. After Ireland was partitioned, the language was largely rejected in the education system of the new Northern Ireland. It is argued that the predominant use of the English language may have served to exacerbate the Troubles.
The erection by some district councils of legal bilingual street names (English/Irish), invariably in predominantly Catholic/Nationalist/Republican districts, may be perceived as creating a 'chill factor' by Unionists and as such not conducive to fostering good cross community relationships. However other countries within the United Kingdom, such as Wales and Scotland, enjoy the use of Bilingual signs in Welsh and Scots Gaelic respectively. Because of this, nationalists in Northern Ireland argue for equality in this regard. In responses to the 2001 census in Northern Ireland 10% of the population claimed "some knowledge of Irish", 4.7% to "speak, read, write and understand" Irish. It was not asked as part of the census but in a poll, 1% of respondents said they speak it as their main language at home. Following a public consultation, the decision was taken not to introduce specific legislation for the Irish language at this time, despite 75% of the (self-selecting) respondents stating that they were in favour of such legislation.
Ulster Irish or Donegal Irish, is the dialect which is nearest to Scots Gaelic. Some words and phrases of the dialect are shared with Scots Gaelic. The dialects of East Ulster – those of Rathlin Island and the Glens of Antrim – were very similar to the Scottish Gaelic dialect formerly spoken in Argyll, the part of Scotland nearest to Rathlin Island. The Ulster Gaelic is the most central dialect of Gaelic, both geographically and linguistically, of the once vast Gaelic speaking world, stretching from the south of Ireland to the north of Scotland.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Munster Irish was favoured by many revivalists, with a shift to Connacht Irish in the 1960s, which is now the preferred dialect by many in Ireland. Many younger speakers of Irish experience less confusion with dialects due to the expansion of Irish-language broadcasting (TG4) and the exposure to a variety of dialects. There are fewer problems regarding written Irish as there is a standardised spelling and grammar, created by the Irish Government, which was supposed to reflect a compromise between various dialect forms. However, Ulster Irish speakers find that Ulster forms are generally not favoured by the standard.
All learners of Irish in Northern Ireland use this form of the language. Self-instruction courses in Ulster Irish include Now You’re Talking and Tús maith.
The writer Séamus Ó Searcaigh, once warned about the Irish Government's attempts at producing a Caighdeán or Standard for the Irish language in Ireland in 1953, when he wrote that what will emerge will be "Gaedhilg nach mbéidh suim againn inntí mar nár fhás sí go nádúrtha as an teangaidh a thug Gaedhil go hÉirinn" (A Gaelic which is of no interest to us, for it has not developed naturally from the language brought to Ireland by the Gaels).
The Ulster Irish dialect is spoken throughout the area of the historical nine county Ulster, in particular the Gaeltacht region of County Donegal and the Gaeltacht Quarter of West Belfast. Mayo Irish has strong ties with Donegal Irish.
Ulster Scots
Ulster Scots comprises varieties of the Scots languagespoken in Northern Ireland. Approximately 2% of the population claim to speak Ulster Scots, however the number speaking it as their main language in their home is negligible. Classes at colleges can now be taken but for a native English speaker "[the language] is comparatively accessible, and even at its most intense can be understood fairly easily with the help of a glossary." The St Andrews Agreement recognises the need to "enhance and develop the Ulster Scots language, heritage and culture".
Sign languages
Two sign languages are used in Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Sign Language(NISL) also known as British Sign Language
(NI-BSL) and Irish Sign Language
(ISL).
The most common sign language
in Northern Ireland is Northern Ireland Sign Language
(NISL), but as (in the past) Catholic families tended to send their deaf children to schools in Dublin (St Joseph's School for Deaf Boys and St. Mary's School for Deaf Girls), Irish Sign Language
(ISL) is commonly used among many older deaf people from Catholic families. The two languages are not related: NISL has a large component from the British family (which also includes Auslan
) with many borrowings from American Sign Language
, while ISL has some influence from the French family (which also includes American Sign Language
).
Northern Ireland Sign Language is described as being related to Irish Sign Language
(ISL) at the syntactic level while the lexicon
is based on British Sign Language
(BSL) and American Sign Language
(ASL).
the British Government recognises only British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language as the official sign languages used in Northern Ireland.
Other languages
There are an increasing number of ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland. Chinese and Urdu
are 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, Central and Eastern European languages, particularly Polish
, are becoming increasingly common.
Alternative names for Northern Ireland
Many people inside and outside Northern Ireland use other names for Northern Ireland, depending on their point of view.
.
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 Irish newspapers 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 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
.
Although some news bulletins since the 1990s have opted to avoid all contentious terms and use the official name, Northern Ireland, the term "The North" remains commonly used by broadcast media in the Republic, to the annoyance of some Unionists. Bertie Ahern
, the previous Taoiseach
, now almost always refers to "Northern Ireland" in public, having previously only used "The North". 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. However the more left-wing Guardian
recommends in its style guide using "Derry" and "Co Derry", and "not Londonderry".
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 has not intervened on the matter and thus the council is now called the 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.
Unionist/Loyalist
- UlsterUlsterUlster 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...
, strictly speaking, refers to the province of Ulster, of which six of nine historical counties are in Northern Ireland. The term "Ulster" is widely used by the Unionist community and the British press as shorthand for Northern Ireland. In the past, calls have been made for Northern Ireland's name to be changed to Ulster. This proposal was formally considered by the Government of Northern Ireland in 1937 and again in 1949 but no change was made.
- The Province refers literally to the historic Irish province of Ulster but today is used as shorthand for Northern Ireland. The BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, in its editorial guidance for Reporting the United Kingdom, states that "the Province" is an appropriate secondary synonym for Northern Ireland, while "Ulster" is not. It also suggests that "people of Northern Ireland" should be preferred to "British", and the term "mainland" should be avoided in reference to Great Britain in relation to Northern Ireland
Nationalist/Republican
- North of Ireland (Tuaisceart na hÉireann) or North-East Ireland (Oirthuaisceart Éireann)- to emphasise the link of Northern Ireland to the rest of the island, and so by implication playing down Northern Ireland's links with Great Britain.
- The Six Counties (na Sé Chontae) – 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 state of Ireland, whose legitimacy is not recognised by republicans opposed to the Belfast Agreement, is described as "The Free State", referring to the Irish Free StateIrish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, which gained independence (as a Dominion) in 1922.
- British-Occupied Ireland. Similar in tone to the Occupied Six Counties this term is used by more dogmatic anti-Good Friday Agreement republicans who still hold that the First DáilFirst DáilThe First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...
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 (An Cheathrú Gort Glas). From the song Four Green FieldsFour Green FieldsFour Green Fields is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem, described in the New York Times as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad." Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.-Content and...
by Tommy MakemTommy MakemThomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone...
which describes Ireland as divided with one of the four green fields (the traditional provinces of IrelandProvinces of IrelandIreland 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...
) being In strangers hands, referring to the partition of Ireland.
Other
- The North (An Tuaisceart) – used to describe Northern Ireland in the same way that "The South" is used to describe the Republic.
- Norn Iron – is an informal and affectionate local nickname used by both nationalists and unionists to refer to Northern Ireland, derived from the pronunciation of the words "Northern Ireland" in an exaggerated Ulster accent (particularly one from the Greater Belfast area). The phrase is seen as a light-hearted way to refer to Northern Ireland, based as it is on regional pronunciation. Often refers to the Northern Ireland national football teamNorthern Ireland national football teamThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
.
Descriptions for Northern Ireland
There is no generally accepted term to describe what Northern Ireland is: province, region, country or something else. The choice of term can be controversial and can reveal the writer's political preferences. This has been noted as a problem by several writers on Northern Ireland, with no generally recommended solution.Owing in part to the way in which the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland came into being, there is no legally defined term to describe what Northern Ireland 'is'. There is also no uniform or guiding way to refer to Northern Ireland amongst the agencies of the UK government. For example, the websites of the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the UK Statistics Authority describe the United Kingdom as being made up of four countries, one of these being Northern Ireland. Other pages on the same websites refer to Northern Ireland specifically as a "province" as do publications of the UK Statistics Authority. The website of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency also refers to Northern Ireland as being a province as does the website of the Office of Public Sector Information and other agencies within Northern Ireland. Publications of HM Treasury and the Department of Finance and Personnel of the Northern Ireland Executive, on the other hand, describe Northern Ireland as being a "region of the UK". The UK's submission to the 2007 United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names
defines the UK as being made up of two countries (England and Scotland), one principality
(Wales) and one province (Northern Ireland).
Unlike England, Scotland and Wales, Northern Ireland has no history of being an independent country or of being a nation in its own right. Some writers describe the United Kingdom as being made up of three countries and one province or point out the difficulties with calling Northern Ireland a country. Authors writing specifically about Northern Ireland dismiss the idea that Northern Ireland is a "country" in general terms, and draw contrasts in this respect with England, Scotland and Wales. Even for the period covering the first 50 years of Northern Ireland's existence, the term country is considered inappropriate by some political scientists on the basis that many decisions were still made in London. The absence of a distinct nation of Northern Ireland, separate within the island of Ireland, is also pointed out as being a problem with using the term and is in contrast to England, Scotland and Wales.
Many commentators prefer to use the term "province", although that is also not without problems. It can arouse irritation, particularly among nationalists, for whom the title province is properly reserved for the traditional province of Ulster, of which Northern Ireland occupies six out of nine counties. The BBC style guide is to refer to Northern Ireland as a province, and use of the term is common in literature and newspaper reports on Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. Some authors have described the meaning of this term as being equivocal: referring to Northern Ireland as being a province both of the United Kingdom and of the traditional country of Ireland.
"Region" is used by several UK government agencies and the European Union. Some authors choose this word but note that it is "unsatisfactory". Northern Ireland can also be simply described as "part of the UK", including by UK government offices.
Sport
In Northern Ireland, sport is popular and important in the lives of many people. Sports tend to be organised on an all-Ireland basis including both Northern Ireland and the Republic, as in the case of Gaelic football, rugby union
, rugby league
hockey
, basketball, cricket
and hurling
. The main exception is association football, which has separate governing bodies for each jurisdiction.
Association football (soccer)
The Irish Football Association(IFA) is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland. The highest level of competition within Northern Ireland is the IFA Premiership
. There is also an all-island tournament, the Setanta Cup, which includes six IFA Premiership teams and six teams from the Republic's league. The best Northern Irish players tend to play for clubs in the English or Scottish leagues. Despite Northern Ireland's small population, its international team
made it to the World Cup
quarter-finals in 1958 and 1982.
Cricket
The Ireland cricket team, which represents both the Republic and Northern Ireland, is an associate member of the International Cricket Council. It participated in 2007 Cricket World Cup
and qualified for the Super 8s and did the same in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20
. Ireland are current champions of ICC Intercontinental Cup
. One of Ireland's regular international venues is Stormont
in Belfast.
Gaelic games
Gaelic games include Gaelic football, hurling
, Gaelic handball
and rounders
. Of the four, football is the most popular in Northern Ireland. Players play for local clubs with the best being selected for their county teams: Antrim
, Armagh
, Derry
, Down
, Fermanagh
and Tyrone
. The Ulster GAA
is the branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association
that is responsible for all nine counties of Ulster, including the six that are in Northern Ireland. All nine field teams in the Ulster Senior Football Championship
, Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
, All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
. Recent successes for Northern Ireland's teams include Armagh
's 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
win and Tyrone
's wins in 2003, 2005 and 2008.
Golf
Perhaps Northern Ireland's most notable successes in professional sport have come in golf. Northern Ireland alone has contributed more major champions in the modern era than any other European country, with three in the space of just 14 months from the US Openin 2010 to the Open Championship in 2011.
Northern Ireland's golf courses include the Royal Belfast Golf Club (the earliest, formed in 1881), Royal Portrush Golf Club
(the only course outside Great Britain to have hosted The Open Championship
), and Royal County Down Golf Club
(Golf Digest
magazine's top-rated course outside the United States).
Notable golfers include Fred Daly
(winner of The Open in 1947), Ryder Cup players Ronan Rafferty
and David Feherty
, leading European Tour professionals David Jones
(now a prominent course designer) Michael Hoey (a winner on Tour in 2011) and Gareth Maybin
, as well as three recent major winners Graeme McDowell
(winner of the US Open
in 2010, the first European since 1970), Rory McIlroy
(winner of the U.S. Open
in 2011) and Darren Clarke
(winner of The Open in 2011).
Northern Ireland has also contributed several players to the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup
team, including Alan Dunbar and Paul Cutler who played on the victorious 2011 team in Scotland.
Rugby Union
Northern Ireland's six counties are among the nine governed by the Ulster branchof the all-island governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union
. Ulster is one of the four professional provincial teams in Ireland and competes in the Celtic League and European Cup
. Ulster won the European Cup in 1999. In international competition, players from Northern Ireland represent the Ireland national rugby team
, whose recent successes include four Triple Crown
s between 2004 and 2009 and a Grand Slam
in 2009.
Rugby League
The Ireland national rugby league teamrepresents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland has participated in the Emerging Nations Tournament (1995), Super League World Nines (1996), World Cup (2000 and 2008), European Nations Cup (since 2003) and Victory Cup (2004). Ireland A compete annually in the Amateur Four Nations competition (since 2002) and the St Patrick's Day Challenge (since 1995).
Snooker
Northern Ireland has produced two world snooker champions; Alex Higginswho won the title in 1972 and 1982, and Dennis Taylor
who won in 1985. The highest ranked Northern Ireland professional on the world circuit presently is Mark Allen
from Antrim. The sport is governed locally by the Northern Ireland Billiards & Snooker Association who run regular ranking tournaments and competitions.
Education

Integrated schools
, which attempt to ensure a balance in enrolment between pupils of Protestant, Roman Catholic and other faiths (or none) are becoming increasingly popular, although Northern Ireland still has a primarily de facto religiously segregated education system. In the primary school sector, forty schools (8.9% of the total number) are Integrated Schools and thirty two (7.2% of the total number) are Gaelscoileanna.
See:
- List of Gaelic medium primary schools in Northern Ireland
- 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
The two main universities in Northern Ireland are The Queen's University of Belfast, and the University of Ulster
.
Media and communications
The BBChas a division called BBC Northern Ireland
with headquarters in Belfast. As well as broadcasting standard UK-wide programmes, BBC NI produces local content, including a news break-out called BBC Newsline
. The ITV
franchise in Northern Ireland is Ulster Television (UTV). The privately-operated Channel 4
and Channel 5 also broadcast in Northern Ireland and access is also available to satellite and cable services. All Northern Ireland viewers must obtain a UK TV licence to watch live television transmissions.
RTÉ
, the national broadcaster of the Republic of Ireland, is available over the air to some parts of Northern Ireland via reception overspill and via satellite or cable. After the digital switchover, RTÉ and the Irish-language channel, TG4
, will be available over the air from signals broadcast inside Northern Ireland.
As well as the standard UK-wide radio stations from the BBC, Northern Ireland is home to many local radio stations, such as Cool FM
, CityBeat
, and Q102.9
. The BBC has two regional radio stations which broadcast in Northern Ireland, BBC Radio Ulster
and BBC Radio Foyle
.
The Belfast Telegraph is the leading newspaper, and UK and Irish national newspapers are also available. There is a range of local newspapers such as the News Letter
and the Irish News
.
Northern Ireland uses the same telecommunications and postal services as the rest of the United Kingdom at standard domestic rates and there are no mobile roaming charges between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. People in Northern Ireland who live close to the border with the Republic of Ireland may inadvertently switch over to the Irish mobile networks, causing international roaming fees to be applied. Northern Ireland can be called from the Republic of Ireland at trunk rates, as opposed to international rates, using the 048 prefix.
See also
- Celtic languagesCeltic languagesThe Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
- Celtic nationsCeltic nationsThe Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
- Celts
- Common Travel AreaCommon Travel AreaThe Common Travel Area is a passport-free zone that comprises the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by Irish and British citizens with only...
- Ethnic groups in Europe
- The Ireland FundsThe Ireland FundsThe Ireland Funds are a global fundraising network for people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland, dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland...
- National parks of Northern IrelandNational parks of Northern IrelandThere are, at present, no national parks in Northern Ireland and moves to establish a national park in the Mourne Mountains have proved to be controversial. If established, it would stretch from Carlingford Lough to Newcastle and Slieve Croob, creating a tourism boom and up to 2,000 jobs...
- Northern Ireland national football teamNorthern Ireland national football teamThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
- Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border
Lists
Further reading
- Jonathan BardonJonathan BardonJonathan Bardon , OBE, is an Irish historian and author.-Early life:Bardon was born in Dublin in 1941 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 1963. Shortly thereafter, in 1964, he moved to Belfast to begin his teaching career at Orangefield Boys Secondary School...
, A History of Ulster (Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1992), ISBN 0-85640-476-4 - Brian E. Barton, The Government of Northern Ireland, 1920–1923 (Athol Books, 1980)
- Paul BewPaul BewPaul Anthony Elliott Bew, Baron Bew of Donegore is a Northern Irish historian. He has worked at Queen's University Belfast since 1979, and is currently Professor of Irish Politics, a position he has held since 1991.-Academic career:...
, Peter Gibbon and Henry Patterson The State in Northern Ireland, 1921–72: Political Forces and Social Classes, Manchester (Manchester University Press, 1979) - Robert KeeRobert KeeRobert Kee CBE is a British broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland....
, The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism (Penguin, 1972–2000), ISBN 0-14-029165-2 - Osborne Morton, 1994, Marine Algae of Northern Ireland. Ulster Museum, Belfast. ISBN 0-900761-28-8
- Henry Patterson, "Ireland Since 1939: The Persistence of Conflict" (Penguin, 2006), ISBN 978-1-84488-104-8
- Hackney, P. (Ed) 1992, Stewart's and Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland Third edition. Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, ISBN 0 85389 446 9(HB)
- Betts, N.L. in Hackney, P. 1992, Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland Third Edition, Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, ISBN 0 85389 446 9 (HB)
External links
- Northern Ireland Executive (Northern Ireland devolvedDevolutionDevolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
government) - Northern Ireland Office (UK central government)
- Discover Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Tourist BoardNorthern Ireland Tourist BoardThe Northern Ireland Tourist Board is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment. Its primary objective is to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination....
)