Northern Ireland has competed in sixteen of the eighteen Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

 beginning with the second games, held in 1934. Northern Ireland did not compete in 1930 (when there was a single team from Ireland

Ireland at the Commonwealth Games

In the first British Empire Games in 1930, the forerunner of the Commonwealth Games, held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, a team representing all of Ireland competed...

) and in 1950. It differs from the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 where although it officially competes with England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 as part of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, many athletes have represented the Ireland team.

Northern Ireland's participation in the Commonwealth Games is managed by a body known as the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council.

Medal tally

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games

2006 Commonwealth Games

The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...

, Northern Ireland was twenty-fourth in the medal tally and was fourteenth in the All-time tally of medals

All-time medal tally of Commonwealth Games

This page shows the all-time medal table for the Commonwealth Games. The table is updated as of 14 October 2010, the day the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi ended....

, with an overall total of 78 medals (17 Gold, 23 Silver and 38 Bronze).

Medals by Summer Games

1934 London 1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games. They were held at the White City Stadium in London, England from 4–11 August 1934, apart from the cycling at Fallowfield Stadium, Manchester, and the swimming, which took place at the Empire Pool in Wembley...	0	1	2	3
1938 Sydeny 1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the Commonwealth Games being the modern-day equivalent. Held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from February 5–12, 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary...	0	0	0	0
1950 Auckland 1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth edition of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between the 4th and 11th of February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the 3rd edition of the games...	did not participate
1954 Vancouver 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 30 July-7 August 1954. These were the first games since the name change from British Empire Games took effect in 1952....	2	1	0	3
1958 Cardiff 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, capital of Wales from 18–26 July 1958.Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games and 23 countries and dependencies won medals, including, for the first time, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya...	1	1	3	5
1962 Perth 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia from 22 November-1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth....	0	0	1	1
1966 Kingston 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica from 4 August to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions....	1	3	3	7
1970 Edinburgh 1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland from 16 July to 25 July 1970.This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in events, and also the first time the games were held in...	3	1	5	9
1974 Christchurch 1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games....	3	1	2	6
1978 Edmonton 1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec...	2	1	2	5
1982 Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...	0	3	3	6
1986 Edinburgh 1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. The Games were held from 24 July-2 August 1986.-Organisation and Controversy:...	2	4	9	15
1990 Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January-3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, judo,...	1	3	5	9
1994 Victoria 1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 18 August to 28 August 1994.The XV Commonwealth Games marked South Africa's return to the Commonwealth Games following the apartheid era, and over 30 years since the country last competed in the...	5	2	3	10
1998 Kuala Lumpar 1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...	2	1	1	4
2002 Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...	2	2	1	5
2006 Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...	0	2	0	2
2010 Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...	3	3	4	10
Total	27	29	44	100

Flag and victory anthem

At the games the Northern Ireland team uses the flag of the former Government of Northern Ireland

Government of Northern Ireland

The Government of Northern Ireland is, generally speaking, whatever political body exercises political authority over Northern Ireland. A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland....

, the Ulster Banner

Ulster Banner

The Ulster Banner, more commonly known as the Ulster flag, Northern Ireland flag or the Red Hand of Ulster flag, was the flag of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1953 and 1972. Since that government was abolished in 1972, the flag has become a symbol of Ulster loyalism and is not...

 as its national flag. This flag is also used by the Northern Ireland national football team

Northern Ireland national football team

The 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...

.

The team uses Londonderry Air

Londonderry Air

Londonderry Air is an air that originated from County Londonderry in Ireland. It is popular among the Irish diaspora and is very well known throughout the world. The tune is played as the victory anthem of Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. "Danny Boy" is a popular set of lyrics to the...

 as its victory anthem.

The team logo, and of the Commonwealth Games Council for Northern Ireland, features the Red Hand of Ulster

Red Hand of Ulster

The Red Hand of Ulster is a symbol used in heraldry to denote the Irish province of Ulster. It is less commonly known as the Red Hand of O'Neill. Its origins are said to be attributed to the mythical Irish figure Labraid Lámh Dhearg , and appear in other mythical tales passed down from generation...

, a traditional emblem of the province 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...

.

The team goes by the abbreviation NIR.

External links

• Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council
• Sport Northern Ireland