History of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom[1][2] (although it is also described by official sources as a province or a region[3][4]), situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It was created as a separate legal entity on 3 May 1921, under the Government of Ireland Act 1920.[5] The new autonomous Northern Ireland was formed from six of the nine counties of Ulster: four counties with unionist majorities – Antrim, Armagh, Down, and Derry/Londonderry – and two counties with slight[a] Irish nationalist majorities – Fermanagh and Tyrone – in the 1918 General Election.[6] The remaining three Ulster counties with larger nationalist majorities were not included. In large part unionists, at least in the north-east, supported its creation while nationalists were opposed.

The Troubles in Northern Ireland (1920–1922) were followed by decades of relatively peaceful rule by the Ulster Unionist Party-controlled government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), interrupted by Luftwaffe attacks during World War II. Systemic discrimination against Catholics by the government ensured a high emigration rate[citation needed] from that community and contributed to its continued dislike of the partition of Ireland. The Troubles erupted in the late 1960s, and continued until the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

  1. ^ "The Countries of the UK". 11 November 1997. Archived from the original on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2019. The top-level division of administrative geography in the UK is the 4 countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  2. ^ "Countries within a country". 10 Downing Street. 10 January 2003. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2012. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  3. ^ "Toponymic guidelines for map and other editors, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". 27 May 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2023. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy consisting of 4 constituent parts: 3 countries: England, Scotland and Wales 1 province: Northern Ireland.
  4. ^ "The European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland 2007–2013" (PDF). Northern Ireland Executive. 4 October 2007. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2010. NI (NI) is a region of the United Kingdom (UK) that operates in an island economy sharing a land border with Ireland
  5. ^ Statutory Rules & Orders published by authority, 1921 (No. 533); Additional source for 3 May 1921 date: Alvin Jackson (2004). Home Rule – An Irish History. Oxford University Press. p. 198.
  6. ^ "The Irish Election of 1918". ark.ac.uk. Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive.


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