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Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. Since the independence of the Irish Free State, which is now the Republic of Ireland, unionism has focused on preserving the place of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.

The political relationship between England and Ireland dates from the 12th century. In the Act of Union 1800, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created. In 1922, twenty-six counties of Ireland gained independence from the UK as the Irish Free State; this new state later left the Commonwealth entirely and became a republic. The remaining six counties constituted the territory of Northern Ireland, which has remained part of what in 1927 was renamed the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Today, unionism is overwhelmingly concerned with the relationship between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. In the Irish Republic unionists who would advocate the state rejoining the UK are now extremely rare.

Unionism and its opposing ideology, Irish nationalism, are associated with particular ethnic and/or religious communities. Most, but not all, unionists are of one of various Protestant backgrounds. Nationalists are mostly of a Catholic background. However, these are generalisations, because there are both Protestant nationalists and Catholic unionists,^[1] as well as more recent immigrants, and their descendants, some of whom are neither Catholic nor Protestant.

Unionism and British identity[link]

Irish unionism is often centred on an identification with Protestantism, especially in the sense of Britishness,^[2] though not necessarily to the exclusion of a sense of Irishness or of an affinity to Northern Ireland specifically.^[3] Unionism emerged as a unified force in opposition to William Ewart Gladstone's Home Rule Bill of 1886.^[4][5] Irish nationalists believed in separation from Great Britain, whether through repeal of the 1800 Act of Union, "home rule", or complete independence. Unionists believed in maintaining and deepening the relationship between the various nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. They expressed pride in symbols of Britishness.

A key symbol for unionists is the Union Flag.^[6] Unionist areas of Northern Ireland often display this and other symbols to show the loyalty and sense of identity of the community.^[7] Unionism is also known for its allegiance to the British Crown, both historically^[8] and today.^[9]

Religion[link]

Historically, most Unionists in Ireland have been Protestants and most Nationalists have been Catholics. This remains the case. However, a significant number of Protestants have adhered to the Nationalist cause, and a significant number of Catholics have espoused Unionism. The phenomenon of Catholic Unionism continues to exist in Northern Ireland, where it may be seen in the context of middle-class Catholics' misgivings regarding the economic consequences of a united Ireland.

Both Unionism and Nationalism have had sectarian and anti-sectarian elements, and that both have attracted supporters from outside their base religious communities. While Nationalism has historically had a number of Protestant leaders (for instance, Henry Grattan, Theobald Wolfe Tone, Charles Stewart Parnell, and Douglas Hyde), Unionism was invariably led by Protestant leaders and politicians. The lack of Catholics among the leadership made them vulnerable to accusations of sectarianism, particularly during the period when the Ulster Unionist Party had undisputed control of Northern Ireland (1921–1972). Only one Catholic served in government throughout this period (G. B. Newe, who was specially recruited to boost cross-community relations in the last UUP government in the 1970s). Ulster Unionist Leader and Nobel Peace Prize-winner David Trimble suggested that Northern Ireland had been a "cold house" for Catholics in the past.

The Unionist vision is for Northern Ireland to continue with England, Scotland and Wales as part of the United Kingdom

Terminology[link]

Unionists and Loyalists[link]

People espousing unionist beliefs are sometimes referred to as Loyalists. The two words are sometimes used interchangeably, but the latter is more often associated with particularly hardline forms of Unionism. In some cases it has been associated with individual or groups who support or engage in violence. Most unionists do not describe themselves as loyalists.

Nationalists and Republicans[link]

A similar distinction exists in relation to Irish nationalists. Mainstream nationalists, such as the supporters of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the main parties in the Irish Republic, are generally referred to by that term. The more militant strand of nationalism, which once comprised groups such as Sinn Féin, has been known as republicanism. In the Irish Republic, the republican tradition has moderated and moved into the mainstream. Today the republican party, Fianna Fáil, has little in common with militant republicans other than certain ideological and historical perspectives.

Unionists and the British monarchy[link]

Unionism has traditionally been associated with strong loyalty to the British monarchy. Four members of the current Royal Family hold titles with roots in Northern Ireland: the Duke of York (Baron Killyleagh), the Earl of Ulster, the Duke of Kent (Baron Downpatrick) and the Duke of Cambridge (Baron Carrickfergus). Older Irish royal titles included Lord of Ireland, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Earl of Athlone and Baron Arklow. The Queen is still technically Sovereign of the Order of St. Patrick, the highest Irish order of chivalry, and the Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is an officer in the College of Arms in London.

History[link]

Division between Catholic and Protestant in Ireland pre-dates the conflict over the Union. To some extent, these can be traced back to the wars of religion, land and power arising out the 16th and 17th century Plantations of Ireland. In the 18th century, Ireland was ruled by a Protestant-only Irish Parliament, autonomous in some respects from Britain. Catholics and Presbyterians were denied full political and economic rights under the Penal Laws.

Origins of unionism in Ireland[link]

At the time of the Act of Union in 1800, the Protestant community was divided over whether to support the Act. The Union came in the aftermath of the 1798 Rebellion, in which elements of Irish Protestants – particularly Presbyterians – had supported republican United Irishmen and others had been mobilised to defend the status quo in the Yeomanry and Orange Order. Others still, parliamentary 'patriots' such as Henry Grattan did not support the rebellion but had lobbied for more independence for Ireland and for equal rights for Catholics.^[10]

The Act of union was first proposed in the Irish Parliament in 1799 but defeated by 111 votes to 116. The idea of Union was supported by in Parliament those whose main concern was security in the wake of the 1798 rebellion and the need for the 40,000 strong British military garrison to remain. It was opposed by two distinct groups. On one side, by those known as the 'ultra Protestants', who feared that direct British rule would mean reforms that would give Catholics equal rights and overturn Protestant supremacy in Ireland, and from the other side by the 'patriot' tendency led by Henry Grattan who wanted to defend Ireland's constitutional independence and were also worried about the effect that a Union would have on Irish trade. Lord Castlereagh managed to tip the balance in favour of the Union by offering titles, land and in some cases cash payments to Parliamentarians. The Act was passed at the second attempt in 1800.^[11]

The Orange Order was split over the Union and adopted policy of neutrality in order to avoid a split.^[12] Conversely, the Catholic Bishops and much of the Catholic middle class initially accepted the Union, as it promised to undo the last of the Penal Laws.

However, what radically changed the balance of forces for and against the Union was Catholic Emancipation in 1829. This enabled Catholics to hold public office for the first time since the 1690s. It now meant that an Irish Parliament, even one elected under strict property requirements, would have a majority of Catholic voters and potentially of Catholic representatives.

For this reason, most Protestants in Ireland opposed the agitation, under Daniel O'Connell and the Repeal Association for Repeal of the Union or restoration of the Irish Parliament, in the 1830s and 1840s. The Orange Order, by this stage committed to the Union, increased its membership to over 100,000 by 1835 and "working class Protestants...developed effective militant politics of their own".^[13] The political representative of Unionism was the Irish Conservative Party – which urged the suppression of O'Connell's 'monster meetings' for Repeal. The British Conservative government eventually agreed to this in October 1843, banning a proposed mass meeting for Repeal at Clontarf, Dublin and deploying troops and a warship to prevent it.^[14]

The Conservative Party successfully mobilised Protestant voters against Repeal, by such means signing on more freemen of the cities (hereditary trade guilds, open only to Protestants from the 1690s to the 1840s) to get around the greater number of Catholic property holders.^[15] The Conservative Party remained the largest in Irish politics until 1859.

The final challenge to the Union in this era was the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, which largely failed to come off and which was suppressed after minor military action.

Home Rule[link]

The political union is symbolised by the Westminster Parliament

"Home Rule" was the name given to the policy of establishing a devolved parliament to govern Ireland as an autonomous region within the United Kingdom. Home Rule was supported from the 1860s onwards by mainstream nationalist leaders such as Isaac Butt, William Shaw, Charles Stewart Parnell, John Redmond and John Dillon, and it became the aim of the Nationalist Party, subsequently known as the Home Rule League and the Irish Parliamentary Party, which was the largest political party in Ireland from the 1880s until the end of the First World War.

Unionists comprised the opposition to Home Rule. They believed that an Irish Parliament dominated by Catholic nationalists would be to their economic, social and religious disadvantage, and would move eventually towards total independence from Britain. In most of Ireland, Unionists were members of the governing and landowning classes and the minor gentry, but Unionism had a broad popular appeal among Protestants of all classes and backgrounds in northeastern Ireland. This part of the island had become industrialised, and had an economy that closely resembled that of Britain.

A series of British governments introduced Home Rule Bills in the British Parliament. The 1886 Bill was rejected by the House of Commons, and managed to destroy the Liberal government in the process: Whig and Radical elements left the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Unionist Party, which allied itself with the Conservative Party. Eventually, the two parties merged into the Conservative and Unionist Party (generally known as the Conservative Party), which remains Britain's dominant right-of-centre party. The 1893 Bill passed the Commons but was rejected by the House of Lords, which had a permanent and large Conservative majority.

Political Unionism crystallised around the Protestant areas in the northern part of Ireland. By the early 20th century, the Irish Unionist Party had become predominantly associated with this territory, and in 1905 the Ulster Unionist Council was founded, which in turn produced the Ulster Unionist Party, which replaced the IUP in northeastern Ireland.^{[citation needed]} In the period up to 1920, most of the IUP's leadership (including the Earl of Middleton and the Earl of Dunraven) came from other parts of Ireland, and its most prominent leader, Sir Edward Carson, opposed not merely Home Rule but also any attempt to partition Ireland.

In 1911, the House of Lords' veto over legislation was removed, and it became clear that a Home Rule Bill would finally be enacted. Unionists, particularly in northern Ireland, mounted a campaign against Home Rule, drawing up a "Solemn League and Covenant" and threatening to establish a Provisional Government in Belfast if Home Rule were imposed upon them. They set up a militia called the Ulster Volunteers and imported 25,000 rifles from Germany. By mid-1914, 90,000 men had joined the Volunteers.^{[citation needed]}

On the eve of the First World War, the Home Rule Act 1914 passed into law. The War, however, prevented it from coming into force. The Easter Rising of 1916 and the events that followed it led to the enactment of a fourth Home Rule Bill after the War, known as the Government of Ireland Act 1920. This was heavily influenced by the Unionist leader Sir Edward Carson, and provided six of the nine counties of Ulster with its own devolved parliament independent from that of the rest of the island ("Southern Ireland"). The 1914 Act had provided for a similar partition as a temporary measure, for an unspecified length of time. In the end, only Northern Ireland became a functioning entity, as the Irish War of Independence began in 1919 with nationalist rebels boycotting both Northern and Southern parliaments, preferring their own rebel parliament, however in Northern Ireland, there was still enough members who didn't boycott to have a functioning parliament.

Unionists opposed Home Rule for several reasons:

• Landowners in southern and western Ireland feared that a nationalist assembly would introduce property and taxation laws contrary to their interests.
• Some feared that Home Rule would become "Rome Rule" under an oppressive and socially dominant Roman Catholic Church. They feared that they would experience discrimination, including legal disabilities analogous to those imposed on Catholics and dissenting Protestants under the old Penal Laws.
• Some identified strongly with the Crown and British rule and wished to see both continue unchanged in Ireland.
• Some, particularly in northern Ireland, viewed the rest of the island as economically backward, and feared that a parliament in Dublin would impose economic tariffs against industry.
• Again, primarily in the industrialised north and Dublin, many viewed Ireland's economic interests as tied to Britain and her export markets, which would be adversely affected by independence.

Not all Protestants supported Unionism. Some – notably Charles Stewart Parnell – were nationalists, while by contrast some middle-class Catholics supported the maintenance of the union. In addition, Unionism received the support in the period from the 1880s until 1914 from leading mainland Conservative politicians, notably Lord Randolph Churchill and future prime minister Andrew Bonar Law. Churchill coined the well-known slogan "Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right".

Northern Ireland[link]

The Union Flag represents England, Ireland and Scotland united together

The Ulster Banner – the flag of the former Government of Northern Ireland 1953–72

St. Patrick's Cross represents Ireland in the Union Flag

The creation of Northern Ireland under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and the later creation of the Irish Free State in the remainder of the island separated southern and northern unionists. The exclusion of three Ulster counties, County Donegal, County Monaghan and County Cavan, from 'Northern Ireland' left unionists there feeling isolated and betrayed. They established an association to persuade their fellow unionists to reconsider the border, but to no avail. Many assisted in the policing of the new region, serving in the B-Specials while continuing to live in the Free State (see here ^[16]).

Unionists were in the majority in four counties of the Ulster (Antrim, Londonderry, Down and Armagh), and formed a large minority in the remaining counties of Fermanagh and Tyrone. Sir Edward Carson had expressly urged the new Prime Minister, Sir James Craig, to ensure absolute equality in the treatment of Catholics, so to guarantee the stability of the new state. Discrimination, however, took place, particularly in the areas of housing, employment and local government representation, with the former Northern Irish prime minister, Lord Brokeborough proclaiming that the new entity was "a Protestant state for a Protestant people". The extent of such discrimination is disputed,^{[citation needed]} and there was also widespread poverty among Protestants: for example, recovery operations in working-class areas after the Belfast Blitz of 1941 revealed that both communities had disadvantaged elements. Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble has admitted that Northern Ireland was a "cold house" for Catholics for most of the 20th century. Many unionists, particularly in the Democratic Unionist Party, deny that organised discrimination took place and attribute the poverty suffered by both communities to wider economic conditions.

The Troubles[link]

Ulster Defence Association mural in Shankill, Belfast

By the 1960s, the reforms of Prime Minister, Terence O'Neill, designed to create a more equitable society between unionists and nationalists, resulted in a backlash led by fundamentalist Protestant minister Ian Paisley. Nationalists launched a Civil Rights movement in the mid 1960s with key demands made on matters such as one man, one vote. With attacks on Northern Ireland's infrastructure by loyalists, and the resignation of a relative from the Cabinet over the principle of One man One Vote, O'Neill resigned on 2 April 1969^[17] to be replaced by Chichester Clark.

In August 1969 following the annual Apprentice Boys of Derry parade in the city, serious rioting took place in Derry^[18] and Belfast.^[19] The Civil Rights movement responded by calling marches across Northern Ireland to further stretch police resources^[20] and on August 14 the British Government allowed the deployment of the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment in Derry to relieve the Police.^[21] The following day the deployment was extended to Belfast.^[22] Early the next year Chichester Clark flew to London to request more military support in an attempt to stem the increasing violence. Receiving much less than he had requested, he resigned and was replaced by Brian Faulkner.

By 1972 the situation in Northern Ireland had deteriorated considerably, and on January 30, thirteen civilians on a Civil Rights march in Derry were killed by the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday. Three months later the Parliament of Northern Ireland and government were suspended, and later abolished, and replaced by Direct Rule.^[23] Within Unionism, Ian Paisley had entered electoral politics and quickly merged his Protestant Unionist Party into the new Democratic Unionist Party with former UUP MPs Desmond Boal and John McQuade.^[24] The new party quickly began to win support from the UUP, and since 1975 polled at least 10% of the vote at elections.^[25]

A power-sharing government between nationalists and unionists in 1974 was brought down by the Ulster Workers' Council Strike. Faulkner as a result lost the support of his party, where he was replaced as leader by Harry West, and formed his own Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. West subsequently resigned and was replaced by Jim Molyneaux in 1979. Secretary of State Jim Prior made another attempt at restoring devolution by introducing a plan for rolling devolution through an assembly between 1982 and 1986 but this was boycotted by nationalists. Violence intensified throughout this period.

After nearly three decades of conflict, a ceasefire and intense political negotiations produced the Belfast Agreement on 10 April 1998 (also known as the "Good Friday Agreement"), which again attempted with mixed success to produce a power-sharing government for Northern Ireland with cross-community support. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) supported the agreement but it was opposed by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and other smaller parties.

Unionism in Northern Ireland today[link]

Unionist – and nationalist – convictions in Northern Ireland are expressed in a number of different ways: through everyday preferences (which need not be consistent for each individual) such as choice of newspaper or sports team, participation in a locally developed unionist or nationalist subculture, and voting for the appropriate political parties and candidates at election time.

Ties to Unionism in Scotland[link]

There is some degree of social and political co-operation between some Scottish unionists and Northern Irish unionists, due to their similar aims of maintaining the unity of their constituent country with the United Kingdom. For example, the Orange Order parades in Orange Walks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, many unionists in Scotland shy away from connections to unionism in Ireland in order not to endorse any side of a largely sectarian conflict. This brand of unionism is largely concentrated in the Central Belt and west of Scotland. Loyalists in Scotland are seen as a militant or extreme branch of unionism. Orangism in west and central Scotland, and opposition to it by Catholics in Scotland, can be explained as a result of the large amount of immigration from the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Songs and symbols of unionism, particularly of the Northern Irish variety, are used by many supporters of Rangers F.C., an association football club in Glasgow, Scotland. Both Rangers and its main rival Celtic F.C., which has Irish Roman Catholic roots, have a reputation for sectarian clashes and bitter opposition to each other, frequently characterised by religious taunts, chants and other provocations. This behaviour by some supporters is condemned by the management of the clubs. Despite the symbols associated with the clubs, not all Rangers supporters can be automatically classified as unionists, nor all Celtic supporters as nationalists.

Unionism and religion[link]

Most Unionists in Northern Ireland are Protestants and most Nationalists are Catholics, but this generalisation (which is evident in the work of some commentators) is subject to significant qualifications. The Ulster Unionist Party, for example, has some Catholic members and supporters, such as Sir John Gorman, a respected former MLA. Polls taken over the years have suggested that as many as one in three Catholics could be considered Unionist, though this may not translate into support for Unionist parties at election time and the size of the foregoing figure has been questioned.

In a more general sense, Catholics cannot be assumed to be hostile to the institutions of the Union: many Catholics serve in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the British Army, just as their predecessors served in the RIC and the RUC, in the face of sometimes violent opposition from militant nationalists. The PSNI maintains a 50% quota for Catholic officers.

On the Nationalist side, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) has attracted a number of sympathetic Protestants, and Sinn Féin too is said to have some Protestant members and elected officials.^{[citation needed]}

Northern Ireland has an increasing number of inhabitants who are neither Catholic nor Protestant, either being adherents of other religions or being non-religious. Increasingly, the trend has been to ignore the question of religion, particularly as the numbers of practising churchgoers on both sides have been in decline.

For some years, there has been a perception both in Britain and in Ireland that the Catholic birthrate will guarantee a Catholic – and hence supposedly Nationalist – majority in Northern Ireland at some point in the first half of the 21st century. However, a strong decline in the Catholic birthrate may slow down or even reverse the growth in the Catholic population (which may in turn be balanced by an increased rate of emigration of young Protestants, often to study and work in Great Britain). Recent influxes of immigrants, especially from Eastern Europe, are also having a significant effect on the demographic balance, although how many choose to reside permanently in Northern Ireland or take an interest in the political scene remains to be seen.

Political Unionism[link]

Northern Ireland currently has a number of pro-union political parties, the largest of which is the traditionalist Democratic Unionist Party led by Peter Robinson, followed by the more moderate Ulster Unionist Party led by Mike Nesbitt. Both parties are active across Northern Ireland. On a smaller level, the Progressive Unionist Party, which is the political wing of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) paramilitary group, attracts some support in the greater Belfast area. Traditional Unionist Voice is opposed to the current constitutional arrangements in Northern Ireland following the Belfast Agreement and St Andrews Agreement. The pluralist Conservative Party is currently allied to the Ulster Unionist Party. While the Alliance Party supports the status quo position of Northern Ireland, it does not define itself as Unionist.

Moderate unionists who support the principle of equal citizenship between Northern Ireland and Great Britain have campaigned for mainstream British political parties to organise and contest elections in Northern Ireland. Equal citizenship pressure groups have included the Campaign for Equal Citizenship (CEC), Labour Representation Campaign, Democracy Now and, currently, Labour - Federation of Labour Groups. Momentum for this concept picked up after the Conservative Party Conference voted in favour of working in Northern Ireland in 1989. The Conservatives currently have one councillor on Down District Council, who was elected as an Ulster Unionist. No Conservative has been elected in Northern Ireland since the 1997 local government elections.^[38]

Under legal pressure from local trade unionists, Labour accepted members from Northern Ireland in October 2002^[39] and in September 2006 agreed to organise through a forum.^[40] The Liberal Democrats have a branch in Northern Ireland but do not contest elections, but are affiliated with the Alliance Party.^[41]

Pro-union parties and independents contest elections and represent their constituents at a number of different levels. There is a unionist presence at election time in all parliamentary constituencies. A Unionist win is a virtual certainty in ten constituencies: East Antrim, North Antrim, South Antrim, Belfast North, Belfast East, North Down, Lagan Valley, East Londonderry, Strangford, Upper Bann.

Twenty peers in the House of Lords owe their peerages to a direct connection with Northern Ireland,^[42] usually through a political party. Of these there are eight Ulster Unionists (sitting as Cross-benchers), three Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), two Conservative, two Labour and one Liberal Democrat, with the rest independent. As well as the two Unionist MEPs in the European Parliament, DUP MP Nigel Dodds is also an alternate member of the UK Parliament delegations to the Council of Europe and Western European Union^[43] and Unionists also participate in the EU Committee of the Regions.^[44]

Unionist candidates stand for election in most district electoral areas (small areas which make up district councils) in Northern Ireland. Exceptions, in 2005, were Slieve Gullion in South Armagh, Upper and Lower Falls in Belfast, Shantallow, Northland and Cityside in Derry – all of which are strongly nationalist. Likewise, nationalist parties and candidates did not contest some areas in North Antrim, East Antrim, East Belfast, North Down and the Strangford constituency which are strongly unionist and therefore unlikely to return a nationalist candidate.

Local government in Northern Ireland is not entirely divided on nationalist-unionist lines and the level of political tension within a council depends on the district that it represents and its direct experience of the Troubles.

[edit] Southern Irish Unionism 1891–1922

Satellite view of Great Britain and Ireland.

After 1890, and particularly during the period from the start of the First World War to the mid 1920s, the number of Unionists in what is now the Republic of Ireland declined to a point where their numbers were widely regarded as almost insignificant.^[45] This is attributed to a number of factors:

• Land reform from the 1870s to the 1900s, arranged by the Land Commission. This broke up many of the large Protestant-owned estates, many of whose former owners chose in the 1920s to use their compensation money to settle in Britain, often in other estates that they owned there.
• The disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1871. This led the Church to sell many of its properties, in the process laying off many Protestant workers who subsequently moved away.
• World War I. Irish Unionists participated in the War at a higher rate than Nationalists, some of whom opposed participation on principle, and there was a very high casualty rate in Irish regiments.
• The Irish War of Independence and its aftermath. During the War, some elements of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) allegedly conducted a campaign of murder and ethnic cleansing against Unionists in parts of the country such as Cork. Historians disagree as to whether such murders were isolated incidents or parts of a wider organised campaign. Attacks continued in the 1920s against many Unionists who had assisted the British in the War, and in the process 300 historic homes were burned. Such attacks were said to be reprisals for the British forces' destruction of the homes and property of republicans, actual or suspected.
• Emigration. Large numbers of Unionists left Ireland (voluntarily or otherwise) in the years before and after independence, mainly for Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Canada.
• Assimilation. Many of the Unionists who remained assimilated to some extent into the majority nationalist culture. This was encouraged by the Free State government, and was largely accepted with resignation. The process was accelerated by the pro-Free State stance taken by most Unionists in the Irish Civil War. The process of assimilation had begun prior to Irish independence, with a number of Protestant Nationalists playing leading roles in the Irish nationalist and Gaelic revival movements.
• Intermarriage and the Ne Temere decree. Unionists were and are^{[citation needed]} largely Protestant, and in many mixed households the children were brought up as Catholics, often because of family or community pressure and the 1908 papal Ne Temere decree. There was also a surplus of marriageable female Unionists in the aftermath of World War I who could not find Protestant husbands.^[46]

The first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde (1938–1945) was Protestant, though only two senior Irish politicians attended his Church of Ireland funeral; the Catholic members of the government had to wait on the pavement near the Church to be compliant with Canon law.

Some Unionists in the south simply adapted and began to associate themselves with the new southern Irish regime of Cumann na nGaedheal. On 19 January 1922, leading Unionists held a meeting and unanimously decided to support the Free State government. Many gained appointment to the Free State's Senate, including the Earl of Dunraven and Thomas Westropp Bennett. Several generations of one Unionist political family, the Dockrells, won election as Teachta Dála (TDs). The Dublin borough of Rathmines had a unionist majority up to the late 1920s, when a local government re-organisation abolished all Dublin borough councils. Later, the Earl of Granard and the Provost of Trinity College Dublin gained appointment to the President of Ireland's advisory body, the Council of State. Most Irish Unionists, however, simply withdrew from public life, and since the late 1920s there have been no self-professed Unionists elected to the Irish parliament.^[47]

See also[link]

Unionism in Northern Ireland[link]

• Catholic Unionist
• The Border
• Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland
• Government of Ireland Act 1920
• Ulster Scots people
• Ulster Loyalist

Southern Unionism[link]

• Anglo-Irish
• West Brit
• Partitionism
• Reform Movement

Wider interests[link]

• Commonwealth
• The Scots-Irish in North America
• Scottish Unionism

Unionist political parties[link]

• Conservative and Unionist Party (1830–)
• Liberal Unionist Party (1886–1912)
• Irish Unionist Alliance (1891–1922)
• Ulster Unionist Party (UUP 1905–)
• Communist Party of Northern Ireland (1941–1970)
• Northern Ireland Labour Party (1949–1987)
• Democratic Unionist Party (DUP 1971–)
• Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (1973–1978)
• Volunteer Political Party (1974–1975)
• Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (1974–1981)
• United Ulster Unionist Party (1975–1984)
• Progressive Unionist Party (1978–)
• Ulster Popular Unionist Party (1980–1995)
• Ulster (Loyalist) Democratic Party (1982–2001)
• UK Unionist Party (UKUP 1995–2007)
• United Unionist Coalition (UUC 1998–)
• Northern Ireland Unionist Party (1999–2008)
• Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV 2007–)

Notes[link]

References[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2010)

Articles[link]

• Anonymous (2005) Obelus.org "Ulster Unionism: dead but not gone"
• Coulter, J. (2005) Open Republic "Revolutionary Unionism"
• Hastings, M. (2005) The Guardian "The last writhings of a society left beached by history"
• Langhammer, M. (2005) The North Belfast News "Analysis of the Malaise in Protestant Heartlands."
• Peacocke, D. (2003) The Observer "A job to be done"
• Christopher D (2006) "The fate of Cork unionists 1919–1921"
• Wheatcroft, G. (1998) New Statesman "Ethnic cleansing in the Free State – Protestants in the Republic of Ireland"

Books and reports[link]

• Alcock, A. (1994) Understanding Ulster (chap 2) The Unloved, Unwanted Garrison – The Unionist Community in Northern Ireland. Lurgan: Ulster Society
• Buckland, Patrick Irish Unionism I: The Anglo-Irish and the New Ireland, 1885–1922, Dublin: 1972.
• Buckland, Patrick Irish Unionism II: Ulster Unionism and the Origins of Northern Ireland, 1886–1922, Dublin: 1973.
• Farrington, C. (2006) Ulster Unionism and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Cochrane, F. (1997) Unionist Politics and the Politics of Unionism since the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Cork: Cork University Press.
• Fealty, M., Ringland, T. & Steven D. (2003) A Long Peace? The Future of Unionism in Northern Ireland
• Jackson, Alvin Colonel Edward Sanunderson: Land and Loyalty in Victorian Ireland, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
• Jackson, Alvin The Ulster Party: Irish Unionists in the House of Commons, 1884–1911, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
• McCartney, R. (2001) Reflections on Liberty, Democracy and The Union. Dublin: Maunsel.
• McDonald, H. (2000) Trimble. Bloomsbury.
• McDowell, R.B. (1998) Crisis and Decline: The Fate of the Southern Unionists. The Lilliput Press Limited.
• McIntosh, G. (1999) The Force of Culture: Unionist identities in twentieth-century Ireland. Cork University Press.
• Porter, N. (1996) Rethinking Unionism: an alternative vision for Northern Ireland. Blackstaff: Belfast.
• Shirlow, P. & McGovern, M. (1997) Who Are The People?Unionism, Protestantism and Loyalism in Northern Ireland. Pluto: London
• Walker, G. (2004) A History of the Ulster Unionist Party. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Manifestos[link]

The following Unionist parties have contested at least one election in Northern Ireland since 2001 and produced online manifestos (all PDF format):

Conservative and Unionist Party

• Westminster 2001
• Assembly 2003
• Westminster 2005

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

• Westminster 2001
• Assembly 2003
• Westminster 2005

Progressive Unionist Party (PUP)

• Assembly 2003

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)

• Westminster 2001
• Assembly 2003
• Westminster 2005

Debates[link]

• Minutes & Recordings of a College Historical Society debate on the state of modern Unionism, featuring Dr. Garret FitzGerald, Albert Reynolds, Jeffrey Donaldson and Mark Durkan

Speeches[link]

• Donaldson, J. (2004) The Bruges Group "The European Union – an Unionist/Ulster perspective"
• HM The Queen (2002) Golden Jubilee Address to the Northern Ireland Assembly
• Robinson, P. (2006) The Planter and The Gael
• Trimble, D. (1998) Nobel Peace Prize
• Trimble, D. (2001) Conservative Party Conference

Websites[link]

Analytical[link]

Analytical sites do not necessarily imply support for political causes:

• Act of Union 1800 Archive
• British Council: website on Anglo-Irish relationships
• Cadogan Group
• Devolution and Constitutional Change Project
• Irish Association
• Ulster Covenant 1913 Archive

Cultural[link]

Lambeg Drum competition in Tyrone on 12 July

Cultural sites do not necessarily imply support for political causes:

• Apprentice Boys of Derry
• Belfast Newsletter
• Belfast Proms in the Park
• Glasgow Rangers Football Club (largely unionist following)
• Independent Orange Order
• Orange Order
• Protestant Unionist Loyalist Social Education
• Royal Black Institution
• Ulster Scots Agency
• Ulster Society

Integrationist (with Great Britain)[link]

• Conservative Party in Northern Ireland
• Friends of the Union (archive)
• Labour in Northern Ireland Campaign

Legal[link]

A number of Acts of Parliament and other laws provide a legal framework for the union:

• Act of Union 1800
• Government of Ireland Act 1920
• Ireland Act 1949
• Northern Ireland Act 1998
• Memorandum of Understanding (Devolution)
• Concordat between NIO and Northern Ireland Executive

Political parties[link]

• Conservative and Unionist Party
• Democratic Unionist Party
• Progressive Unionist Party
• Ulster Unionist Party

Southern Ireland/Neo-Unionist[link]

• Border Minority Group
• Irish Unionist Alliance
• Loyal Irish Union
• Reform Movement
• Trinity College Unionist Association (archive)

Structural[link]

Some official agencies and organisations at a national level have developed specific structural links as part of the union. These links reflect the responsibilities of the agency or organisation to the citizens of Northern Ireland and the other UK regions. However, they do not indicate support for political unionism as the UK Civil Service is regulated by strict laws on impartiality. In addition, Northern Ireland is nowadays part of a web of co-operative links with the Republic of Ireland (north-south), the United Kingdom (east-west), the European Union and the United States.

Ceremonial

• Privy Council
• The Queen

Central Government

• 10 Downing Street
• Government Internet Portal
• Government News Network (GNN)
• Northern Ireland Office
• Scotland Office
• Wales Office

Co-operation

• North-South Ministerial Council
• British-Irish Council
• Office of the Northern Ireland Executive, Brussels
• Northern Ireland Bureau, Washington DC

Devolution

• Northern Ireland Assembly
• Northern Ireland Executive
• Northern Ireland Internet Portal
• Scottish Executive
• Scottish Parliament
• Welsh Assembly

Parliament

• Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
• Northern Ireland Grand Committee 2005/2006
• Scottish Affairs Committee
• Welsh Affairs Committee
• Welsh Grand Committee 2005/2006

Coordinates: 53°20′N 08°00′W / 53.333°N 8°W / 53.333; -8

Ireland

Native name: Irish: Éire, English: Ireland, Ulster-Scots: Airlann Nickname: The Emerald Isle, The Island of Saints and Scholars
Satellite photograph of Ireland. The Atlantic Ocean is to the west, the Celtic Sea is to the south and the Irish Sea is to the east.
Geography
Location	Northern Europe or Western Europe[1]
Area	81,638.1 km2 (31,520.65 sq mi)[2]
Area rank	20th
Coastline	2,797 km (1,738 mi)
Highest elevation	1,041 m (3,415 ft)
Highest point	Carrauntoohil
Country
Republic of Ireland
Largest city	Dublin
United Kingdom
Constituent Country	Northern Ireland
Largest city	Belfast
Demographics
Population	6,380,661[3] (as of 2008)
Density	73.4 /km2 (190.1 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Irish, Ulster Scots, Irish Travellers[Note 1]

Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɪrlənd] ( listen); Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann or Airlan) is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth.^[4] To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea.

Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.^[3]

Relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain epitomise Ireland's geography with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild but changeable oceanic climate, which avoids extremes in temperature. Thick woodlands covered the island until the 17th century. Today, it is one of the most deforested areas in Europe.^[5][6] There are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland.

A Norman invasion in the Middle Ages gave way to a Gaelic resurgence in the 13th century. Over sixty years of intermittent warfare in the 1500s led to English dominance after 1603. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. In 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. A war of independence in the early 20th century led to the partition of the island, creating the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades. Northern Ireland remained a part of the United Kingdom and saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973, both parts of Ireland joined the European Economic Community.

Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, particularly in the fields of literature and, to a lesser degree, science and education. A strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed for example through Gaelic games, Irish music and the Irish language, alongside mainstream Western culture, such as contemporary music and drama, and a culture shared in common with Great Britain, as expressed through sports such as soccer, rugby, horse racing, and golf, and the English language.

History[link]

History of Ireland
This article is part of a series
Chronology
Prehistory
Protohistory
400–800
800–1169
1169–1536
1536–1691
1691–1801
1801–1923
Timeline of Irish history
Peoples and polities
Gaelic Ireland
Lordship of Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Republic of Ireland · Northern Ireland
Topics
Battles · Clans · Kingdoms · States
Gaelic monarchs · British monarchs
Economic history · History of the Irish language
Ireland Portal v t e

Pre-history[link]

Most of Ireland was covered with ice until the end of the last ice age over 9,000 years ago. Sea levels were lower and Ireland, like Great Britain, was part of continental Europe. Mesolithic stone age inhabitants arrived some time after 8,000 BC and agriculture followed with the Neolithic Age around 4,500 to 4,000 BC when sheep, goats, cattle and cereals were imported from the Iberian peninsula.

At the Céide Fields, preserved beneath a blanket of peat in present-day County Mayo, is an extensive field system, arguably the oldest in the world,^[7] dating from not long after this period. Consisting of small divisions separated by dry-stone walls, the fields were farmed for several centuries between 3,500 and 3,000 BC. Wheat and barley were the principal crops.

The Bronze Age – defined by the use of metal – began around 2,500 BC, with technology changing people's everyday lives during this period through innovations such as the wheel, harnessing oxen, weaving textiles, brewing alcohol, and skillful metalworking, which produced new weapons and tools, along with fine gold decoration and jewellery, such as brooches and torcs. According to John T. Koch and others, Ireland in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included Britain, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages developed.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

The Uragh Stone Circle a Neolithic stone circle in Gleninchaquin Park, County Kerry.

The Iron Age in Ireland is traditionally associated with people known as the Celts. The Celts were commonly thought to have colonised Ireland in a series of invasions between the 8th and 1st centuries BC. The Gaels, the last wave of Celts, were said to have divided the island into five or more kingdoms after conquering it. However, some academics favour a theory that emphasises the diffusion of culture from overseas as opposed to a military colonisation.^[15] Finds such as Clonycavan Man are given as evidence for this theory.

Late antiquity and early medieval times[link]

The earliest written records of Ireland come from classical Greco-Roman geographers. Ptolemy in his Almagest refers to Ireland as Mikra Brettania (Lesser Britain), in contrast to the larger island, which he called Megale Brettania (Great Britain).^[16] In his later work, Geography, Ptolemy refers to Ireland as Iwernia and to Great Britain as Albion. These "new" names were likely to have been the Celtic names for the islands at the time. The earlier names, in contrast, were likely to have been coined before direct contact with local peoples was made.^[17]

The Romans would later refer to Ireland by this name too in its Latinised form, Hibernia,^[18] or Scotia.^[19] Ptolemy records sixteen tribes inhabiting every part of Ireland in 100 AD.^[20] The relationship between the Roman Empire and the tribes of ancient Ireland is unclear. However, a number of finds of Roman coins have been found, for example at New Grange.^[21]

Ireland continued as a patchwork of rival tribes but, beginning in the 7th century AD, a concept of national kingship gradually became articulated through the concept of a High King of Ireland. Medieval Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings stretching back thousands of years but modern historians believe the scheme was constructed in the 8th century to justify the status of powerful political groupings by projecting the origins of their rule into the remote past.^[22]

The High King was said to preside over the patchwork of provincial kingdoms that together formed Ireland. Each of these kingdoms had their own kings but were at least nominally subject to the High King. The High King was drawn from the ranks of the provincial kings and ruled also the royal kingdom of Meath, with a ceremonial capital at the Hill of Tara. The concept only became a political reality in the Viking Age and even then was not a consistent one.^[23] However, Ireland did have a unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws, administered by a professional class of jurists known as the brehons.^[24]

The Chronicle of Ireland records that in 431 AD Bishop Palladius arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine I to minister to the Irish "already believing in Christ."^[25] The same chronicle records that Saint Patrick, Ireland's best known patron saint, arrived the following year. There is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and Patrick but the consensus is that they both took place^[26] and that the older druid tradition collapsed in the face of the new religion.^[27] Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin and Greek learning and Christian theology. In the monastic culture that followed the Christianisation of Ireland, Latin and Greek learning was preserved in Ireland during the Early Middle Ages in contrast to elsewhere in Europe, where the Dark Ages followed the decline of the Roman Empire.^[27][28]

The arts of manuscript illumination, metalworking and sculpture flourished and produced treasures such as the Book of Kells, ornate jewellery and the many carved stone crosses^[29] that still dot the island today. A mission founded in 563 on Iona by the Irish monk Saint Columba began a tradition of Irish missionary work that spread Christianity and learning to Scotland, England and the Frankish Empire on Continental Europe after the fall of Rome.^[30] These missions continued until the late Middle Ages, establishing monasteries and centres of learning, producing scholars such as Sedulius Scottus and Johannes Eriugena and exerting much influence in Europe.

From the 9th century, waves of Viking raiders plundered Irish monasteries and towns.^[31] These raids added to a pattern of raiding and endemic warfare that was already deep-seated in Ireland. The Vikings also were involved in establishing most of the major coastal settlements in Ireland: Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Wexford, Waterford, and also Carlingford, Strangford, Annagassan, Arklow, Youghal, Lough Foyle and Lough Ree.^[32]

Norman and English invasions[link]

Remains of the 12th-century Trim Castle in County Meath, the largest Norman castle in Ireland.

On May 1, 1169, an expedition of Cambro-Norman knights with an army of about six hundred landed at Bannow Strand in present-day County Wexford. It was led by Richard de Clare, called Strongbow due to his prowess as an archer.^[33] The invasion, which coincided with a period of renewed Norman expansion, was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough, the king of Leinster.^[34]

In 1166, Mac Murrough had fled to Anjou, France following a war involving Tighearnán Ua Ruairc, of Breifne, and sought the assistance of the Angevin king, Henry II, in recapturing his kingdom. In 1171, Henry arrived in Ireland in order to review the general progress of the expedition. He wanted to re-exert royal authority over the invasion which was expanding beyond his control. Henry successfully re-imposed his authority over Strongbow and the Cambro-Norman warlords and persuaded many of the Irish kings to accept him as their overlord, an arrangement confirmed in the 1175 Treaty of Windsor.

The invasion was legitimised by the provisions of the Papal Bull Laudabiliter, issued by Adrian IV in 1155. The bull encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganisation of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system.^[35] Some restructuring had already begun at the ecclesiastical level following the Synod of Kells in 1152.^[36] There has been significant controversy regarding authenticity of Laudabiliter,^[37] and there is no general agreement as to whether the bull was genuine or a forgery.^[38][39]

In 1172, the new pope, Alexander III, further encouraged Henry to advance the integration of the Irish Church with Rome. Henry was authorised to impose a tithe of one penny per hearth as an annual contribution. This church levy, called Peter's Pence, is still extant in Ireland as a voluntary donation. In turn, Henry accepted the title of Lord of Ireland which Henry conferred on his younger son, John Lackland, in 1185. This defined the Irish state as the Lordship of Ireland. When Henry's successor died unexpectedly in 1199, John inherited the crown of England and retained the Lordship of Ireland.

Irish soldiers, 1521 — by Albrecht Dürer.

Over the century that followed, Norman feudal law gradually replaced the Gaelic Brehon Law so that by the late 13th century the Norman-Irish had established a feudal system throughout much of Ireland. Norman settlements were characterised by the establishment of baronies, manors, towns and the seeds of the modern county system. A version of the Magna Carta (the Great Charter of Ireland), substituting Dublin for London and Irish Church for Church of England, was published in 1216 and the Parliament of Ireland was founded in 1297.

However, from the mid-14th century, after the Black Death, Norman settlements in Ireland went into a period of decline. The Norman rulers and the Gaelic Irish elites intermarried and the areas under Norman rule became Gaelicised. In some parts, a hybrid Hiberno-Norman culture emerged. In response, the Irish parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367. These were a set of laws designed to prevent the assimilation of the Normans into Irish society by requiring English subjects in Ireland to speak English, follow English customs and abide by English law.^[40] However, by the end of the 15th century central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared and a renewed Irish culture and language, albeit with Norman influences, was dominant again. English Crown control remained relatively unshaken in an amorphous foothold around Dublin known as The Pale and under the provisions of Poynings' Law of 1494, the Irish Parliamentary legislation was subject to the approval of the English Parliament.

Kingdom of Ireland[link]

A scene from The Image of Irelande (1581) showing a chieftain at a feast.

The title of King of Ireland was re-created in 1542 by Henry VIII, then King of England, of the Tudor dynasty. English rule of law was reinforced and expanded in Ireland during the latter part of the 16th century leading to the Tudor conquest of Ireland. A near complete conquest was achieved by the turn of the 17th century, following the Nine Years' War and the Flight of the Earls. This control was further consolidated during the wars and conflicts of the 17th century, which witnessed English and Scottish colonisation in the Plantations of Ireland, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Williamite War. Irish losses during the Wars of the three Kingdoms (which, in Ireland, included the Irish Confederacy and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland) are estimated to include 20,000 battlefield casualties. 200,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a result of a combination of war-related famine, displacement, guerilla activity and pestilence over the duration of the war. A further 50,000^{[Note 2]} were sent to slavery in the West Indies. Some historians estimate that as much as half of the pre-war population of Ireland may have died as a result of the conflict.^[43]

The religious struggles of the 17th century left a deep sectarian division in Ireland. Religious allegiance now determined the perception in law of loyalty to the Irish King and Parliament. After the passing of the Test Act 1672, and with the victory of the forces of the dual monarchy of William and Mary over the Jacobites, Roman Catholics and nonconforming Protestant Dissenters were barred from sitting as members in the Irish Parliament. Under the emerging penal laws Irish Roman Catholics and Dissenters were increasingly deprived of various and sundry civil rights even to the ownership of hereditary property. Additional regressive punitive legislation followed 1703, 1709 and 1728. This completed a comprehensive systemic effort to materially disadvantage Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters, while enriching a new ruling class of Anglican conformists.^[44] The new Anglo-Irish ruling class became known as the Protestant Ascendancy.

Half-hanging of suspected United Irishmen.

An extraordinary climatic shock known as the "Great Frost" struck Ireland and the rest of Europe between December 1739 and September 1741, after a decade of relatively mild winters. The winters destroyed stored crops of potatoes and other staples and the poor summers severely damaged harvests.^[45] This resulted in the famine of 1740. An estimated 250,000 people (about one in eight of the population) died from the ensuing pestilence and disease.^[46] The Irish government halted export of corn and kept the army in quarters but did little more.^[46][47] Local gentry and charitable organisations provided relief but could do little to prevent the ensuing mortality.^[46][47]

In the aftermath of the famine, an increase in industrial production and a surge in trade brought a succession of construction booms. The population soared in the latter part of this century and the architectural legacy of Georgian Ireland was built. In 1782, Poynings' Law was repealed, giving Ireland virtual legislative independence from Great Britain for the first time since the Norman invasion.^{[citation needed]} The British government, however, still retained the right to nominate the government of Ireland without the consent of the Irish parliament.

In 1798, members of the Protestant Dissenter tradition (mainly Presbyterian) made common cause with Roman Catholics in a republican rebellion inspired and led by the Society of United Irishmen, with the aim of creating an independent Ireland. Despite assistance from France the rebellion was put down by British and Irish government and yeomanry forces. In 1800, the British and Irish parliaments both passed Acts of Union that, with effect from 1 January 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.^[48]

Union with Great Britain[link]

The passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was ultimately achieved with substantial majorities, having failed on the first attempt in 1799. According to contemporary documents and historical analysis, this was achieved through a considerable degree of bribery, with funding provided by the British Secret Service Office, and the awarding of peerages, places and honours to secure votes.^[48] Thus, Ireland became part of an extended United Kingdom, ruled directly by a united parliament at Westminster in London.

Aside from the development of the linen industry, Ireland was largely passed over by the industrial revolution, partly because it lacked coal and iron resources^[49][50] and partly because of the impact of the sudden union with the structurally superior economy of England,^[51] which saw Ireland as a source of agricultural produce and capital.^[52][53]

Emigrants Leave Ireland engraving by Henry Doyle depicting the emigration to America following the Great Famine in Ireland.

The Great Famine of the 1840s caused the deaths of one million Irish people and over a million more emigrated to escape it.^[54] By the end of the decade, half of all immigration to the United States was from Ireland.^{[citation needed]} Mass emigration became deeply entrenched and the population continued to decline until the mid-20th century. Immediately prior to the famine the population was recorded as 8.2 million by the 1841 census.^[55] The population has never returned to this level since.^[56] The population continued to fall until 1961 and it was not until the 2006 census that the last county of Ireland (County Leitrim) to record a rise in population since 1841 did so.^{[citation needed]}

The 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of modern Irish nationalism, primarily among the Roman Catholic population. The pre-eminent Irish political figure after the Union was Daniel O'Connell. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Ennis in a surprise result and despite being unable to take his seat as a Roman Catholic. O'Connell spearheaded a vigorous campaign that was taken up by the Prime Minister, the Irish-born soldier and statesman, the Duke of Wellington. Steering the Catholic Relief Bill through Parliament, aided by future prime minister Robert Peel, Wellington prevailed upon a reluctant George IV to sign the Bill and proclaim it into law. George's father had opposed the plan of the earlier Prime Minister, Pitt the Younger, to introduce such a bill following the Union of 1801, fearing Catholic Emancipation to be in conflict with the Act of Settlement 1701.

A subsequent campaign, led by O'Connell, for the repeal of the Act of Union failed. Later in the century, Charles Stewart Parnell and others campaigned for autonomy within the Union, or "Home Rule". Unionists, especially those located in Ulster, were strongly opposed to Home Rule, which they thought would be dominated by Catholic interests.^[57] After several attempts to pass a Home Rule bill through parliament, it looked certain that one would finally pass in 1914. To prevent this from happening, the Ulster Volunteers were formed in 1913 under the leadership of Edward Carson.^[58]

Their formation was followed in 1914 by the establishment of the Irish Volunteers, whose aim was to ensure that the Home Rule Bill was passed. The Act was passed but with the "temporary" exclusion of the six counties of Ulster that would become Northern Ireland. Before it could be implemented, however, the Act was suspended for the duration of the First World War. The Irish Volunteers split into two groups. The majority, approximately 175,000 in number, under John Redmond, took the name National Volunteers and supported Irish involvement in the war. A minority, approximately 13,000, retained the Irish Volunteers name, and opposed Ireland's involvement in the war.^[58]

Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street), Dublin, after the 1916 Easter Rising

The failed Easter Rising of 1916 was carried out by the latter group in alliance with a smaller socialist militia, the Irish Citizen Army. The British response, executing fifteen leaders of the Rising over a period of ten days and imprisoning or interning more than a thousand people, turned the mood of the country in favour of the rebels. The pro-independence republican party, Sinn Féin, received overwhelming endorsement in the general election of 1918, and in 1919 proclaimed an Irish Republic, setting up its own parliament (Dáil Éireann) and government. British authorities attempted to extinguish this challenge, sparking a guerilla war from 1919 to July 1921 which ended in a truce.^[59]

In 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded between the British Government and representatives of the First Dáil. It gave all of Ireland complete independence in their home affairs and practical independence for foreign policy. However, an oath of allegiance to the British Crown had to be exercised, and Northern Ireland was given an opt-out clause, which it exercised immediately as expected.^[60] Disagreements over these provisions led to a split in the nationalist movement and a subsequent civil war between the new government of the Irish Free State and those opposed to the treaty, led by Éamon de Valera. The civil war officially ended in May 1923 when de Valera issued a cease-fire order.^[61]

Partition[link]

Independent Ireland[link]

Annotated page from the Anglo-Irish Treaty that established the Irish Free State and independence for 26 out of 32 Irish counties.

During its first decade the newly formed Irish Free State was governed by the victors of the civil war. When de Valera achieved power, he took advantage of the Statute of Westminster and political circumstances to build upon inroads to greater sovereignty made by the previous government. The oath was abolished and in 1937 a new constitution was adopted.^[59] This completed a process of gradual separation from the British Empire that governments had pursued since independence. However, it was not until 1949 that the state was declared, officially, to be the Republic of Ireland.

The state was neutral during World War II, but offered clandestine assistance to the Allies, particularly in the potential defence of Northern Ireland. Despite being neutral, approximately 50,000^[62] volunteers from independent Ireland joined the British forces during the war, four being awarded Victoria Crosses.

German Intelligence was also active in Ireland, with both the Abwehr ([ˈapveːɐ̯], German for Defence; the German military intelligence service) and the SD (the Sicherheitsdienst, English: Security Service, the intelligence service of the SS) sending agents there.^[63] German intelligence operations effectively ended in September 1941 when police made arrests on the basis of surveillance carried out on the key diplomatic legations in Ireland, including that of the United States. To the authorities counterintelligence was a fundamental line of defence. With a regular army of only slightly over seven thousand men at the start of the war, and with limited supplies of modern weapons, the state would have had great difficulty in defending itself from invasion from either side of the conflict.^[63][64]

Large-scale emigration marked the 1950s and 1980s, but beginning in 1987 the economy improved, and the 1990s saw the beginning of substantial economic growth. This period of growth became known as the Celtic Tiger.^[65] The Republic's real GDP grew by an average of 9.6% per annum between 1995 and 1999,^[66] in which year the Republic joined the euro. In 2000 Ireland was the sixth-richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.^[67] Social changes followed quickly on the heels of economic prosperity, ranging from the 'modernisation' of the annual parade in Dublin to mark the principal national holiday of Saint Patrick's Day (17 March), to the decline in authority of the Catholic Church. The financial crisis of 2008–2010 dramatically ended this period of boom. GDP fell by 3% in 2008 and by 7.1% in 2009, the worst year since records began (although earnings by foreign-owned businesses continued to grow).^[68] The state has since experienced deep recession, with unemployment, which doubled during 2009, remaining above 14% in 2012.^[69]

Northern Ireland[link]

Northern Ireland was created as a division of the United Kingdom by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and until 1972 it was a self-governing jurisdiction within the United Kingdom with its own parliament and prime minister. Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, was not neutral during the Second World War and Belfast suffered four bombing raids in 1941. Conscription was not extended to Northern Ireland and roughly an equal number volunteered from Northern Ireland as volunteered from the south. One, James Joseph Magennis, received the Victoria Cross for valour.

Although Northern Ireland was largely spared the strife of the civil war, in decades that followed partition there were sporadic episodes of inter-communal violence. Nationalists, mainly Roman Catholic, wanted to unite Ireland as an independent republic, whereas unionists, mainly Protestant, wanted Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom. The Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland voted largely along sectarian lines, meaning that the Government of Northern Ireland (elected by "first-past-the-post" from 1929) was controlled by the Ulster Unionist Party. Over time, the minority Catholic community felt increasingly alienated with further disaffection fueled by practices such as gerrymandering and discrimination in housing and employment.^[70][71][72]

In the late 1960s, nationalist grievances were aired publicly in mass civil rights protests, which were often confronted by loyalist counter-protests.^[73] The government's reaction to confrontations was seen to be one-sided and heavy-handed in favour of unionists. Law and order broke down as unrest and inter-communal violence increased.^[74] The Northern Ireland government requested the British Army to aid the police, who were exhausted after several nights of serious rioting. In 1969, the paramilitary Provisional IRA, which favoured the creation of a united Ireland, emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army and began a campaign against what it called the "British occupation of the six counties".

Other groups, on both the unionist side and the nationalist side, participated in violence and a period known as the Troubles began. Over 3,600 deaths resulted over the subsequent three decades of conflict.^[75] Owing to the civil unrest during the Troubles, the British government suspended home rule in 1972 and imposed direct rule. There were several unsuccessful attempts to end the Troubles politically, such as the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973. In 1998, following a ceasefire by the Provisional IRA and multi-party talks, the Good Friday Agreement was concluded as a treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, annexing the text agreed in the multi-party talks. The substance of the Agreement (formally referred to as the Belfast Agreement) was later endorsed by referendums in both parts of Ireland. The Agreement restored self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of power-sharing in a regional Executive drawn from the major parties in a new Northern Ireland Assembly, with entrenched protections for the two main communities. The Executive is jointly headed by a First Minister and deputy First Minister drawn from the unionist and nationalist parties. Violence had decreased greatly after the Provisional IRA and loyalist ceasefires in 1994 and in 2005 the Provisional IRA announced the end of its armed campaign and an independent commission supervised its disarmament and that of other nationalist and unionist paramilitary organisations.^[76] The Assembly and power-sharing Executive were suspended several times but were restored again in 2007. In that year the British government officially ended its military support of the police in Northern Ireland (Operation Banner) and began withdrawing troops.

All-island institutions[link]

The former offices of the North/South Ministerial Council on Abbey Street, Armagh. The council moved into a new building in April 2010.

Since 1922, Ireland has been partitioned between two political entities:

• The Republic of Ireland, formed as the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922, a sovereign state that covers five-sixths of the island. Its capital is Dublin.
• Northern Ireland, established on 3 May 1921, a part of the United Kingdom that covers the remaining portion of the island. Its capital is Belfast, with the capital of the United Kingdom being at London, England.

The 1998 Belfast Agreement provides for political co-operation between the two jurisdictions through a number of institutions and bodies. The North/South Ministerial Council, established under the agreement, is an institution through which ministers from the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive can formulate all-island policies in twelve "areas of co-operation" such as agriculture, the environment and transport. Six of these policy areas have associated all-island "implementation bodies." For example, food safety is managed by the Food Safety Promotion Board and Tourism Ireland markets the island as a whole.

Three major political parties, Sinn Féin, the Irish Green Party and, most recently, Fianna Fáil, are organised on an all-island basis. However, only the former two of these have contested elections and have held legislative seats in both jurisdictions. The two jurisdictions share transport, telecommunications, energy and water systems. With a few notable exceptions, the island is the main organisational unit for major religious, cultural and sporting organisations.

Single energy market[link]

Despite the two jurisdictions using two distinct currencies (the Euro and Pound Sterling), a growing amount of commercial activity is carried out on an all-island basis. This has been facilitated by the two jurisdictions' shared membership of the European Union, and there have been calls from members of the business community and policymakers for the creation of an "all-island economy" to take advantage of economies of scale and boost competitiveness.^[77] One area in which the island already operates as a single market is electricity^[78] and there are plans for the creation of an all-island gas market.^[79]

For much of their existence electricity networks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were entirely separate. Both networks were designed and constructed independently post partition. However, as a result of changes over recent years they are now connected with three interlinks^[80] and also connected through Great Britain to mainland Europe. The situation in Northern Ireland is complicated by the issue of private companies not supplying Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) with enough power. In the Republic of Ireland, the ESB has failed to modernise its power stations and the availability of power plants has recently averaged only 66%, one of the worst such rates in Western Europe. EirGrid is building a HVDC transmission line between Ireland and Great Britain with a capacity of 500 MW, about 10% of Ireland's peak demand.^[81]

As with electricity, the natural gas distribution network is also now all-island, with a pipeline linking Gormanston, County Meath, and Ballyclare, County Antrim.^[82] Most of Ireland's gas comes through interconnectors between Twynholm in Scotland and Ballylumford, County Antrim and Loughshinny, County Dublin. A decreasing supply is coming from the Kinsale gas field off the County Cork coast^[83][84] and the Corrib Gas Field off the coast of County Mayo has yet to come on-line. The County Mayo field is facing some localised opposition over a controversial decision to refine the gas onshore.

There have been recent efforts in Ireland to use renewable energy such as wind power. Large wind farms are being constructed in coastal counties such as Cork, Donegal, Mayo and Antrim. The construction of wind farms has in some cases been delayed by opposition from local communities, some of whom consider the wind turbines to be unsightly. The Republic of Ireland is also hindered by an ageing network that was not designed to handle the varying availability of power that comes from wind farms. The ESB's Turlough Hill facility is the only power-storage facility in the state.^[85]

Geography[link]

Physical features of Ireland.

The island of Ireland is located in the north-west of Europe, between latitudes 51° and 56° N, and longitudes 11° and 5° W. It is separated from the neighbouring island of Great Britain by the Irish Sea and the North Channel, which has a width of 23 kilometres (14 mi)^[86] at its narrowest point. To the west is the northern Atlantic Ocean and to the south is the Celtic Sea, which lies between Ireland and Brittany, in France. Ireland and Great Britain, together with nearby islands, are known collectively as the British Isles. As the term British Isles is controversial in relation to Ireland, the alternate term "Ireland and Britain" (or "Britain and Ireland") is often used as a neutral term for the islands.

A ring of coastal mountains surround low plains at the centre of the island. The highest of these is Carrauntoohil (Irish: Corrán Tuathail) in County Kerry, which rises to 1,038 m (3,406 ft) above sea level.^[87] The most arable land lies in the province of Leinster.^[88] Western areas can be mountainous and rocky with green panoramic vistas. The River Shannon, the island's longest river at 386 km (240 mi) long, rises in County Cavan in the north west and flows 113 kilometres (70 mi) to Limerick city in the mid west.^[89]

The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent rainfall, earns it the sobriquet the Emerald Isle. Overall, Ireland has a mild but changeable oceanic climate with few extremes. The climate is typically insular and is temperate avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other areas in the world at similar latitudes.^[90] This is a result of the moderating moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the South-Western Atlantic.

The rugged hills of Connemara, County Galway.

Precipitation falls throughout the year but is light overall, particularly in the east. The west tends to be wetter on average and prone to Atlantic storms, especially in the late autumn and winter months. These occasionally bring destructive winds and higher total rainfall to these areas, as well as sometimes snow and hail. The regions of north County Galway and east County Mayo have the highest incidents of recorded lightning annually for the island, with lightening occurring approximately five to ten days per year in these areas.^[91] Munster, in the south, records the least snow whereas Ulster, in the north, records the most.

Inland areas are warmer in summer and colder in winter. Usually around 40 days of the year are below freezing 0 °C (32 °F) at inland weather stations, compared to 10 days at coastal stations. Ireland is sometimes affected by heat waves, most recently in 1995, 2003 and 2006. In common with the rest of Europe, Ireland experienced unusually cold weather during the winter of 2009/10. Temperatures fell as low as −17.2 °C (1 °F) in County Mayo on December 20^[92] and up to a metre (3 ft) of snow in mountainous areas.

Green pasture in County Down, with the Mountains of Mourne in the background.

The island consists of varied geological provinces. In the far west, around County Galway and County Donegal, is a medium to high grade metamorphic and igneous complex of Caledonide affinity, similar to the Scottish Highlands. Across southeast Ulster and extending southwest to Longford and south to Navan is a province of Ordovician and Silurian rocks, with similarities to the Southern Uplands province of Scotland. Further south, along the County Wexford coastline, is an area of granite intrusives into more Ordovician and Silurian rocks, like that found in Wales.^[93][94] In the southwest, around Bantry Bay and the mountains of Macgillicuddy's Reeks, is an area of substantially deformed, but only lightly metamorphosed, Devonian-aged rocks.^[95] This partial ring of "hard rock" geology is covered by a blanket of Carboniferous limestone over the centre of the country, giving rise to a comparatively fertile and lush landscape. The west-coast district of the Burren around Lisdoonvarna has well-developed karst features.^[96] Significant stratiform lead-zinc mineralisation is found in the limestones around Silvermines and Tynagh.

Hydrocarbon exploration is ongoing following the first major find at the Kinsale Head gas field off Cork in the mid-1970s.^[97][98] More recently, in 1999, economically significant finds of natural gas were made in the Corrib Gas Field off the County Mayo coast. This has increased activity off the west coast in parallel with the "West of Shetland" step-out development from the North Sea hydrocarbon province. The Helvick oil field, estimated to contain over 28 million barrels (4,500,000 m³) of oil, is another recent discovery.^[99]

Places of interest[link]

There are three World Heritage Sites on the island: the Brú na Boinne, Skellig Michael and the Giant's Causeway.^[100] A number of other places are on the tentative list, for example the Burren and Mount Stewart.^[101]

Some of the most visited sites in Ireland include Bunratty Castle, the Rock of Cashel, the Cliffs of Moher, Holy Cross Abbey and Blarney Castle.^[102] Historically important monastic sites include Glendalough and Clonmacnoise, which are maintained as national monuments in the Republic of Ireland.^[103]

Dublin is the most heavily touristed region^[102] and home to several of the most popular attractions such as the Guinness Storehouse and Book of Kells.^[102] The west and south west, which includes the Lakes of Killarney and the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry and Connemara and the Aran Islands in County Galway, are also popular tourist destinations.^[102] Achill Island lies off the coast of County Mayo and is Ireland's largest island. It is a popular tourist destination for surfing and contains 5 Blue Flag beaches and Croaghaun one of the worlds highest sea cliffs. Stately homes, built during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries in Palladian, Neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles, such as, Castle Ward, Castletown House, Bantry House, are also of interest to tourists. Some have been converted into hotels, such as Ashford Castle, Castle Leslie and Dromoland Castle.

Flora and fauna[link]

The red deer (Cervus elaphus) Ireland's largest wild mammal in Killarney National Park.

As Ireland was isolated from mainland Europe by rising sea levels after the ice age, it has less diverse animal and plant species than either Great Britain or mainland Europe. There are 55 mammal species in Ireland and of them only 26 land mammal species are considered native to Ireland.^[104] Some species, such as, the red fox, hedgehog and badger, are very common, whereas others, like the Irish hare, red deer and pine marten are less so. Aquatic wildlife, such as species of sea turtle, shark, seal, whale, and dolphin, are common off the coast. About 400 species of birds have been recorded in Ireland. Many of these are migratory, including the Barn Swallow. Most of Ireland's bird species come from Iceland, Greenland and Africa.

Several different habitat types are found in Ireland, including farmland, open woodland, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, conifer plantations, peat bogs and a variety of coastal habitats. However, agriculture drives current land use patterns in Ireland, limiting natural habitat preserves,^[105] particularly for larger wild mammals with greater territorial needs. With no top predator in Ireland, populations of animals, such as semi-wild deer, that cannot be controlled by smaller predators, such as the fox, are controlled by annual culling.

There are no snakes in Ireland and only one reptile (the common lizard) is native to the island. Extinct species include the Irish elk, the great auk and the wolf. Some previously extinct birds, such as, the Golden Eagle, have recently been reintroduced after decades of extirpation.

Until medieval times Ireland was heavily forested with oak, pine and birch. Forests today cover about 12.6% of Ireland,^[106] of which 4,450 km² or one million acres is owned by Coillte, the Republic's forestry service.^[107] The Republic lies in 42nd place (out of 55) in a list of the most forested countries in Europe.^[108] Much of the land is now covered with pasture and there are many species of wild-flower. Gorse (Ulex europaeus), a wild furze, is commonly found growing in the uplands and ferns are plentiful in the more moist regions, especially in the western parts. It is home to hundreds of plant species, some of them unique to the island, and has been "invaded" by some grasses, such as Spartina anglica.^[109]

Furze (Ulex europaeus)

The algal and seaweed flora is that of the cold-temperate variety. The total number of species is 574 ^[110] and is distributed as follows:

• 264 Rhodophyta (red algae)
• 152 Phaeophyceae (brown algae including kelps)
• 114 Chloropyta (green algae)
• 31 Cyanophyta (Blue-green algae)

Rarer species include:^[110]

• Itonoa marginifera (J.Agardh) Masuda & Guiry
• Schmitzia hiscockiana Maggs & Guiry
• Gelidiella calcicola Maggs & Guiry
• Gelidium maggsiae Rico & Guiry
• Halymenia latifolia P.L.Crouan & H.M.Crouan ex Kützing.

The island has been invaded by some algae, some of which are now well established. For example:^[111]

• Asparagopsis armara Harvey, which originated in Australia and was first recorded by M. De Valera in 1939
• Colpomenia peregrina Sauvageau, which is now locally abundant and first recorded in the 1930s
• Sargassum muticum (Yendo) Fensholt, now well established in a number of localities on the south, west, and north-east coasts
• Codium fragile ssp. fragile (formerly reported as ssp. tomentosum), now well established.

Codium fragile ssp. atlanticum has recently been established to be native, although for many years it was regarded as an alien species.

Because of its mild climate, many species, including sub-tropical species such as palm trees, are grown in Ireland. Phytogeographically, Ireland belongs to the Atlantic European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island itself can be subdivided into two ecoregions: the Celtic broadleaf forests and North Atlantic moist mixed forests.

Impact of agriculture[link]

Rolling green pastures near Bantry, County Cork.

The long history of agricultural production, coupled with modern intensive agricultural methods such as pesticide and fertiliser use and runoff from contaminants into streams, rivers and lakes, impact the natural fresh-water ecosystems and have placed pressure on biodiversity in Ireland.^[112][113]

A land of green fields for crop cultivation and cattle rearing limits the space available for the establishment of native wild species. Hedgerows, however, traditionally used for maintaining and demarcating land boundaries, act as a refuge for native wild flora. This ecosystem stretches across the countryside and acts as a network of connections to preserve remnants of the ecosystem that once covered the island. Subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy, which supported agricultural practices that preserved hedgerow environments, are undergoing reforms. The Common Agricultural Policy had in the past subsidised potentially destructive agricultural practices, for example by emphasising production without placing limits on indiscriminate use of fertilisers and pesticides; but recent reforms have gradually decoupled subsidies from production levels and introduced environmental and other requirements.^[114]

Forest covers about 12.6% of the country, most of it designated for commercial production.^[105] Forested areas typically consist of monoculture plantations of non-native species, which may result in habitats that are not suitable for supporting native species of invertebrates. Remnants of native forest can be found scattered around the island, in particular in the Killarney National Park. Natural areas require fencing to prevent over-grazing by deer and sheep that roam over uncultivated areas. Grazing in this manner is one of the main factors preventing the natural regeneration of forests across many regions of the country.^[115]

Demography[link]

Population density map of Ireland 2002 showing the heavily weighted eastern seaboard and Ulster.

People have lived in Ireland for over 9,000 years, although only a limited amount is known about the palaeolithic, neolithic and Bronze Age inhabitants of the island. Early historical and genealogical records note the existence of dozens of different peoples that may or may not be mythological, for example the Cruithne, Attacotti, Conmaicne, Eóganachta, Érainn, and Soghain, to name but a few. Over the past 1000 years or so, Vikings, Normans, Scots and English have all added to the Gaelic population and have had significant influences on Irish Culture.

Ireland's largest religious group is Christianity. The largest denomination is Roman Catholicism representing over 73% for the island (and about 87%^[116] of the Republic of Ireland). Most of the rest of the population adhere to one of the various Protestant denominations (about 53% of Northern Ireland).^[117] The largest is the Anglican Church of Ireland. The Muslim community is growing in Ireland, mostly through increased immigration. The island has a small Jewish community. About 4% of the Republic's population^[116] and about 14% of the Northern Ireland population^[117] describe themselves as of no religion. In a 2010 survey conducted on behalf of the Irish Times, 32% of respondents said they went to a religious service more than once a week.^{[citation needed]}

The population of Ireland rose rapidly from the 16th century until the mid-19th century, but a devastating famine in the 1840s caused one million deaths and forced over one million more to emigrate in its immediate wake. Over the following century the population was reduced by over half, at a time when the general trend in European countries was for populations to rise by an average of three-fold.

Divisions and settlements[link]

Traditionally, Ireland is subdivided into four provinces: Connacht (west), Leinster (east), Munster (south), and Ulster (north). In a system that developed between the 13th and 17th centuries,^[118] Ireland has 32 traditional counties. Twenty-six of these counties are in the Republic of Ireland and six are in Northern Ireland. The six counties that constitute Northern Ireland are all in the province of Ulster (which has nine counties in total). As such, Ulster is often used as a synonym for Northern Ireland, although the two are not coterminous.

In the Republic of Ireland, counties form the basis of the system of local government. Counties Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Tipperary have been broken up into smaller administrative areas. However, they are still treated as counties for cultural and some official purposes, for example postal addresses and by the Ordnance Survey Ireland. Counties in Northern Ireland are no longer used for local governmental purposes,^[119] but, as in the Republic, their traditional boundaries are still used for informal purposes such as sports leagues and in cultural or tourism contexts.^[120]

City status in Ireland is decided by legislative or royal charter. Dublin, with over 1 million residents in the Greater Dublin Area, is the largest city on the island. Belfast, with 276,459 residents, is the largest city in Northern Ireland. City status does not directly equate with population size. For example, Armagh, with 14,590 is the seat of the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Primate of All Ireland and was re-granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 (having lost that status in local government reforms of1840). In the Republic of Ireland, Kilkenny, seat of the Butler dynasty, while no longer a city for administrative purposes (since the 2001 Local Government Act), is entitled by law to continue to use the description.