Ulster (Irish: Ulaidh or Cúige Uladh, Ulster Scots: Ulstèr or Ulster) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" Irish: rí ruirech. In modern times, clusters of counties have been attributed to certain provinces but these clusters have no legal status. The province itself, while enjoying common usage and forming a strong part of local identity, has no official function for local government purposes.

Ulster is composed of nine counties. Six of these (almost 57% of the land area) make up Northern Ireland: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone. The three remaining counties (about 43% of the land area) are in the Republic of Ireland: Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan.

The name Ulster derives from the Irish Cúige Uladh (IPA: [ˈkuːɟ ˈʌlˠu, ˈʌlˠi]) meaning "The fifth of Uladh", a reference to the five regions into which ancient Ireland was divided. In the English language, the first part of the name ("Ul")refers to the Ulaidh tribes inhabiting this northernmost region. The latter part of the name ("ster") derives either from the Irish tír or the Old Norse staðr, both of which translate as "land" or "territory".

Ross James Belshaw Kemp (born 21 July 1964) is a BAFTA award-winning English actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Since 2006, Kemp has received international recognition as an investigative journalist for his critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary series Ross Kemp on Gangs.

Before becoming publicly known, Kemp made a TV commercial for Kellogg's Fruit 'n Fibre breakfast cereal. His first credited television appearance was in 1986, playing Graham Lodsworth in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm (now Emmerdale). He was infamously thrown off set of Emmerdale after reportedly stubbing his toe on a prop and proceeding to violently attack the prop and claim that all props should be 'burnt alive' . He then ironically made guest appearances in episodes of London's Burning where he was seen throwing numerous props into the on-set fire, and Birds of a Feather. He was in a film called Playing Away in 1986 in a minor role alongside Neil Morrissey.

Bruce Anstey (born 21 August 1969 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is now signed to race for Padgett's Honda, having previously ridden for Relentless Suzuki which is based in Ireland. He made his Isle of Man TT debut in 1999, he completed his first race in the Lightweight 250 class, finishing 7th. His first podium came a year later in the same race, where he finished 2nd behind Joey Dunlop. He achieved his first victory in the 250 cc class in 2002, finishing 3 minutes ahead of Simon Smith. In 2003 he had a win in the Junior 600 aboard the Valmoto Triumph Daytona, giving Triumph its first TT win in twenty seven years. In 2004 he finished on the podium in all the races he entered, including a win in the Production 1000 (now Superstock) class. He won the Superstock class in 2005 ahead of Ian Lougher, and in 2006 ahead of Ian Hutchinson. In 2007 he dominated the same race, winning by 40 seconds over John McGuinness, a feat in itself.

At the North West 200, Bruce has gathered up 9 wins from 2002 to 2007. In 2002 he won the Production race, and in 2004 he won the 600 Supersport race and the Production race. He was leading the Superbike race until the final lap when he crashed. In 2005 he won the rain affected Superbike event, and in 2006 he won the first Supersport race and the Superstock race. In 2007 he had his best year to date, winning a hat-trick of races that could have been more, had he not crashed out of the first Superbike event. While running in 2nd on the third lap, Bruce "highsided" at York Corner, and he was placed 2nd in the results because they were taken from the last completed lap. He went on to win the two Supersport events, and the Superstock event as well. He may well have increased his tally, but was unable to race in the main Superbike event, as his bike was damaged from the previous crash.

Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC (born 6 April 1926) is a politician and former church minister from Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007. Paisley retired from religious ministry on 27 January 2012.

In addition to co-founding the DUP and leading it from 1971 to 2008, he is a founding member and was Moderator for 57 years of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. In 2005, Paisley's political party became the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland, displacing his long-term rivals, the Ulster Unionists (UUP), who had dominated unionist politics in Northern Ireland since before the partition of Ireland.

On 4 March 2008 Paisley announced that he would step down as First Minister and leader of the DUP after the US-Northern Ireland Investment Conference in May 2008.Peter Robinson took over as DUP leader on 31 May 2008, and replaced Paisley as First Minister on 5 June 2008. Paisley was made a life peer in the Dissolution Honours List of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ennobled on 18 June 2010 as Baron Bannside, of North Antrim in the County of Antrim.