Northern Ireland

While a plurality of the present-day population (38%) define themelves as Unionist, 24% as Nationalist and 35% define themselves as neither,[Ark survey, 2003. Answer to the question "Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a unionist, a nationalist or neither?"] 59% express long term preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland's membership of the United Kingdom, while 22% express a preference for membership of a united Ireland.[http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2004/Political_Attitudes/NIRELAND.html Ark survey, 2004. Answers to the question "Do you think the long-term policy for Northern Ireland should be for it to [one of the following]" The discrepancy may be explained by existence of middle ground parties like the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and others, who support the Union but only so long as that is the preference of the majority of the people of northern Ireland. (See demographics and politics of Northern Ireland) Official voting figures, which reflect both views on the "national question" along with issues of candidate, geography, personal loyalty and historic voting patterns show 54% of Northern Ireland voters vote for Pro-Unionist parties, and 42% voting for Pro-Nationalist parties and 4% vote "other". Opinion polls consistently show that the election results are not necessarily an indication of the electorate's stance regarding the constitutional status of Northern Ireland.

Most of the population of Northern Ireland is at least nominally Christian. The ethno-political loyalties are allied, though not absolutely, to the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations and these are the labels used to categorise the opposing views. This is however, becoming increasingly irrelevant, as the Irish Question is very complicated. Many voters (regardless of religious affiliation) are attracted to Unionism's conservative policies, while other voters are instead attracted to the traditionally leftist, nationalist SDLP and its party platform for Social Democracy. A majority of Protestants feel a strong connection with the United Kingdom and wish for Northern Ireland to remain a part of it. Many Catholics desire a greater connection with the Republic of Ireland, with 42% of Catholics, according to a 2004 survey, supporting a united Ireland. According to the same 2004 survey, 24% of Northern Irish Catholics support Northern Ireland remaining a part of the United Kingdom (see Catholic Unionist). Official voting figures, again, have these figures much higher.[Ark survey]

There have been moves to make Northern Ireland's political scene more in keeping with other parts of the United Kingdom - with some local voters frustrated by the endemically sectarian nature of local political parties. The British Conservative Party now accepts members from Northern Ireland and has contested elections - and has a strong presence in the parliamentary constituency of North Down. The Labour Party, because of a claimed affiliation to the (Irish Nationalist) SDLP, has been reluctant to contest elections locally. The Alliance Party is loosely aligned with the UK Liberal Democrat Party.

Protestants have a slight majority in Northern Ireland, according to the latest Northern Ireland Census[2001 Census Cultural Profile for Northern Ireland]. The make-up of the Northern Ireland Assembly reflects the appeals of the various parties within the population. Of the 108 members, 59 are Unionists and 42 are Nationalist (the remaining seven are classified as "other"). Although the Protestant population is the majority, the largest religious denomination is the Roman Catholic Church, followed by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland (Anglican), and the Methodist Church.

The two opposing views of British unionism and Irish nationalism are linked to deeper cultural divisions. Unionists are predominantly Protestant and often descendants of mainly Scottish, English, Welsh and Huguenot settlers and indigenous Irishmen who had converted to one of the Protestant denominations.

Nationalists are predominantly Catholic and usually descend from the population predating the settlement. Discrimination against nationalists under the Stormont government (1921–1972) gave rise to the nationalist civil rights movement in the 1960s.[Professor John H. Whyte paper on discrmination in Northern Ireland] Some Unionists argue that any discrimination was not just because of religious or political bigotry, but also the result of more complex socio-economic, socio-political and geographical factors.[CAIN website key issues discrimination summary] Whatever the cause, the existence of discrmination, and the manner in which Nationalist anger at it was handled, was a major contributing factor which led to the long-running conflict known as The Troubles. The political unrest has gone through its most violent phase in recent times between 1968–1994.Lord Scarman, "Violence and Civil Disturbances in Northern Ireland in 1969: Report of Tribunal of Inquiry" Belfast: HMSO, Cmd 566. (known as the Scarman Report)

The main actors have been the Provisional IRA and other republican groups determined to end the union with Great Britain, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, British army and various loyalist paramilitary groups who were defending it. As a consequence of the worsening security situation, self-government for Northern Ireland was suspended in 1972. Since the mid 1990s, the main paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA, has observed an uneasy ceasefire. Following negotiations, the Belfast Agreement of 1998 provides for an elected Northern Ireland Assembly, and a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive comprising representatives of all the main parties. These institutions have been suspended since 2002 because of unionist impatience at the pace of Sinn Féin's movement away from its associations with the Provisional IRA, which reached breaking point after PSNI allegations of spying by people working for Sinn Féin at the Assembly (Stormontgate).

On 28 July 2005, the Provisional IRA declared an end to its campaign and have since decommissioned what is thought to be all of their arsenal. This final act of decommissioning was performed in accordance with the Belfast Agreement 1998, and under the watch of the International Decommissioning Body and two external church witnesses. Many unionists, however, remain skeptical. Many Loyalist paramilitaries also remain skeptical and have refused to decommission their arsenals. See main article.

Northern Irish nationality

In addition to UK citizenship, people who were born in Northern Ireland on or before 31 December 2004 (and most persons born after this date) are entitled to claim citizenship of the Republic of Ireland. This is as a result of the Republic of Ireland extending its nationality law on an extra-territorial basis in 2001 as a result of the Belfast Agreement of 1998, which stated that:

The two governments recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.

This was subsequently qualified by the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland, which stated that, "notwithstanding any other provision of [the] Constitution," no-one would be automatically entitled to Irish citizenship unless they had at least one parent who was (or was entitled to be) an Irish citizen. The subsequent legislation (Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004) brought Irish nationality law into line with British citizenship laws with regard to parentage and ended the anomalous Northern Ireland situation.

Symbols

Today, Northern Ireland comprises a diverse patchwork of communities, whose national loyalties are represented in some areas by flags flown from lamp posts. The Union Flag and former governmental Flag of Northern Ireland therefore appear in some loyalist areas, with the Irish national flag, the tricolour appearing in some republican areas. Even kerbstones in some areas are painted red-white-blue or green-white-orange, depending on whether local people express unionist/loyalist or nationalist/republican sympathies.

The only "official" flag of Northern Ireland is the Union Flag. The Northern Ireland Flag (also known as the 'Ulster Banner' or 'Red Hand Flag') is no longer used officially by government, due to the abolition of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1973. The Ulster Banner, however, still remains the main de facto flag used to uniquely represent Northern Ireland. The Ulster Banner is based on the flag of Ulster.

Some unionists tend to use the Union flag, the Ulster Banner, while some nationalists typically use the Irish Tricolour. Many people, however, prefer to avoid flags due to their divisive nature. Violent paramilitary groups on both sides have also developed their own flags. Some unionists also occasionally use the flags of secular and religious organizations to which they belong.

Some groups, including the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Church of Ireland have used the Flag of St. Patrick as a symbol of Ireland which lacks nationalist or unionist connotations. However, this is felt by some to be a loyalist flag, as it was used to represent Ireland when the whole island was part of the UK and is used by some British army regiments. Foreign flags are also found, such as the Palestinian flags in some Nationalist areas and Israeli flags in some Unionist areas, which represent general comparisons made by both sides with conflicts in the wider world.

The national anthem played at state events in Northern Ireland is God Save The Queen. At some cross-community events, however, the Londonderry Air, also known as the tune of Danny Boy, may be played as a neutral, though unofficial, substitute.

At the Commonwealth Games, the Northern Ireland team uses the Ulster Banner as its flag and Danny Boy is used as its National Anthem. The Northern Ireland football team also uses the Ulster Banner as its flag.

Geography and climate

Map of Northern Ireland

Main article: Geography of Ireland, Geography of the United Kingdom

There are substantial uplands in the Sperrin Mountains (an extension of the Caledonian fold mountains) with extensive gold deposits, granite Mourne Mountains and basalt Antrim Plateau, as well as smaller ranges in South Armagh and along the Fermanagh–Tyrone border. None of the hills are especially high, with Slieve Donard in the dramatic Mournes reaching 848 m (2782 feet), Northern Ireland's highest point. The volcanic activity which created the Antrim Plateau also formed the eerily geometric pillars of the Giant's Causeway.

The Lower and Upper River Bann, River Foyle and River Blackwater form extensive fertile lowlands, with excellent arable land also found in North and East Down, although much of the hill country is marginal and suitable largely for animal husbandry.

The valley of the River Lagan is dominated by Belfast, whose metropolitan area includes over a third of the population of Northern Ireland, with heavy urbanisation and industrialisation along the Lagan Valley and both shores of Belfast Lough.

The whole of Northern Ireland has a temperate maritime climate, rather wetter in the west than the east, although cloud cover is persistent across the region. The weather is unpredictable at all times of the year, and although the seasons are distinct, they are considerably less pronounced than in interior Europe or the eastern seaboard of North America. Average daytime maximums in Belfast are 6.5°C (43.7°F) in January and 17.5°C (63.5°F) in July. The damp climate and extensive deforestation in the 16^th and 17^th centuries resulted in much of the region being covered in rich green grassland.

Highest maximum temperature: 30.8°C (87.4°F) at Knockarevan, near Belleek, County Fermanagh on 30 June 1976 and at Belfast on 12 July 1983.

Lowest minimum temperature: -17.5°C (0.5°F) at Magherally, near Banbridge, County Down on 1 January 1979. [British Metrological Office figures]

Counties in Northern Ireland

Mussenden Temple in County Londonderry

Northern Ireland consists of six counties:

• County Antrim
• County Armagh
• County Down
• County Fermanagh
• County Londonderry Many Nationalists use the name County Derry. :Wikipedia policy is to use the official name for the county. The name usage does not indicate an endorsement for either community's opinions.
• County Tyrone

Cities in Northern Ireland

• Belfast
• DerryMost Nationalists use the name Derry, while Unionists often use Londonderry. :Wikipedia policy is to use the name as designated by the elected council. The name usage does not indicate an endorsement for either community's opinions.
• Newry
• Armagh
• Lisburn

Towns and villages

• Ahoghill, Antrim
• Ballycastle, Ballyclare, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Ballynahinch, Banbridge, Bangor, Bushmills
• Carnmoney, Carrickfergus, Castlerock, Comber, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Crumlin
• Donaghadee, Downpatrick, Dromore, Dundonald, Dungannon, Dungiven
• Enniskillen
• Glengormley, Garvagh
• Hillsborough, Holywood
• Kilkeel
• Larne, Limavady, Lurgan
• Magherafelt, Macosquin
• Newcastle, Newtownards, Newtownstewart
• Omagh
• Portrush, Portstewart, Portadown, Portaferry, Poyntzpass
• Strabane
• Warrenpoint

Places of interest

Giants Causeway

• Belfast City
• Derry City
• Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
• The Giant's Causeway
• The Glens of Antrim
• Portstewart
• The Sperrin Mountains
• Rathlin Island
• Lough Erne
• The Mountains of Mourne
• Carlingford Lough
• National parks of Northern Ireland
• National Trust Properties in Northern Ireland

Variations in geographic nomenclature

Many people inside and outside Northern Ireland use other names for Northern Ireland, depending on their point of view:

The most common names used are

• Ulster - to suggest that Northern Ireland has an older ancestry that predates its founding in 1921, dating back both to the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century and to the millennium-old province of Ulster, one of four provinces on the island of Ireland. The province of Ulster covers a greater landmass than Northern Ireland: six of its counties are in Northern Ireland, three in the Republic of Ireland. Examples of Unionist and Loyalist usage of this term include the political parties like the Ulster Unionist Party, paramilitary organisations like Ulster Resistance, Ulster Constitution Defence Committee, the Ulster Protestant Volunteers and the Ulster Volunteer Force. Ulster was also used political campaigns such as Ulster Says No and Save Ulster from Sodomy.

• The Province - to again link to the historic Irish province of Ulster, with its mythology. Also refers to the fact that NI is a province of the UK.[Example of DUP usage in a press statement]

• North of Ireland - to link Northern Ireland to the rest of the island, by describing it as being in the 'north of Ireland' and so by implication playing down Northern Ireland's links with Great Britain. (The northernmost point in Ireland, in County Donegal, is in fact in the Republic.)[Example of "North of Ireland"]

• The Six Counties - language used by republicans e.g. Sinn Féin, which avoids using the name given by the British-enacted Government of Ireland Act, 1920. (The Republic is similarly described as the Twenty-Six Counties.) [Sinn Féin usage of "Six Counties"] Some of the users of these terms contend that using the official name of the region would imply acceptance of the legitimacy of the Government of Ireland Act.

• The Occupied Six Counties. The Republic, whose legitimacy is not recognised by republicans opposed to the Belfast Agreement, is described as being "The Free State", referring to the Irish Free State, the Republic's old name.[Examples of usage by the United States-based extreme republican "Irish Freedom Committee"]

• British Occupied Ireland. Similar in tone to the Occupied Six Counties this term is used by more dogmatic anti-Belfast Agreement republicans who still hold that the First Dáil was the last legitimate government of Ireland and that all governments since have been foreign imposed usurpations of Irish national self-determination. [Usage on "Gaelmail.com", a republican website]

Other

• The Black North - a term sometimes used in different ways - either pejoratively or ironically, depending on one's political affiliation / sympathies. Often used by people from the Republic of Ireland.

• Norn Iron - a joke term used by both nationalists and unionists.Usually refers to the Northern Ireland national football team.

The use of language for Northern Ireland geography

Nationalist graffiti, Derry 1986

Notwithstanding the ancient realm of Dal Riata which extended into Scotland, disagreement on names, and the reading of political symbolism into the use or non-use of a word, also attaches itself to some urban centres. The most famous example is whether Northern Ireland's second city should be called Derry or Londonderry.

Choice of language and nomenclature in Northern Ireland often reveals the cultural, ethnic and religious identity of the speaker. The first Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Seamus Mallon, was criticised by unionist politicians for calling the region the "North of Ireland" while Sinn Féin has been criticised in some newspapers in the Republic for still referring to the "Six Counties". [Sunday Independent article on Mallon and the use of "Six Counties".]

Those who do not belong to any group but lean towards one side often tend to use the language of that group. Supporters of unionism in the British media (notably the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express) regularly call Northern Ireland "Ulster".[Example of Daily Telegraph use of "Ulster" in text of an article, having used "Northern Ireland" in the opening paragraph.] Some nationalist and republican-leaning media outlets in Ireland (such as Daily Ireland) almost always use "North of Ireland" or the "Six Counties".[Daily Ireland usage of "The North" and the "Six Counties".]

Government and cultural organisations in Northern Ireland, particularly those pre-dating the 1980s, often use the word "Ulster" in their title; for example, the University of Ulster, the Ulster Museum the Ulster Orchestra, and BBC Radio Ulster.

Many news bulletins since the 1990s have opted to avoid all contentious terms and use the official name, Northern Ireland. The North is still used by some news bulletins in the Republic of Ireland, to the annoyance of some Unionists. For Northern Ireland's second largest city, broadcasting outlets which are unaligned to either community and broadcast to both use both names interchangeably, often starting a report with "Londonderry" and then using "Derry" in the rest of the report. However within Northern Ireland, print media which are aligned to either community (the News Letter is aligned to the unionist community while the Irish News is aligned to the nationalist community) generally use their community's preferred term. British newspapers with unionist leanings, such as the Daily Telegraph, usually use the language of the unionist community[Daily Telegraph usage], while others, such as the Guardian use the terms interchangeably.[The Guardian example] The media in the Republic of Ireland use the names preferred by nationalists.[RTÉ News usage] Whether this is an official editorial policy or a personal preference by the writers is unknown.

The division in nomenclature is seen particularly in sports and religions associated with one of the communities. Gaelic games use Derry, for example. Nor is there clear agreement on how to decide on a name. When the nationalist-controlled local council voted to re-name the city "Derry" unionists objected, stating that as it owed its city status to a Royal Charter, only a charter issued by the Queen could change the name. The Queen refused to intervene on the matter and thus the council is now called "Derry City Council" while the city is still officially "Londonderry". Nevertheless, the council has printed two sets of stationery - one for each term - and their policy is to reply to correspondence using whichever term the original sender used.

At times of high communal tension, each side regularly complains of the use of the nomenclature associated with the other community by a third party such as a media organisation, claiming such usage indicates evident "bias" against their community.

Economy

The Northern Ireland economy is the smallest of the four economies making up the United Kingdom.

History

The area now known as Northern Ireland has had a diverse history. From serving as the bedrock of Irish resistance in the era of the plantations of Queen Elizabeth and James I in other parts of Ireland, it became itself the subject of major planting of Scottish and English settlers after the Flight of the Earls in 1607 (when the native Gaelic aristocracy fled to Catholic Europe).

The all-island Kingdom of Ireland (1541-1800) merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 under the terms of the Act of Union, under which the kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain merged under a central parliament, government and monarchy based in London. In the early 20th century Unionists, led by Sir Edward Carson, opposed the introduction of Home Rule in Ireland. Unionists were in a minority on the island of Ireland as a whole, but were a majority in the northern province of Ulster, and a very large majority in the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down and Londonderry, with substantial numbers also concentrated in the nationalist-majority counties of Fermanagh and Tyrone. These six counties, containing an overall unionist majority, would later form Northern Ireland.

The clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords of the controversial budget of Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd-George, produced the Parliament Act 1911 which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. Given that the Lords had been the unionists' main guarantee that a home rule act would not be enacted, because of the majority of pro-unionist peers in the House, the Parliament Act made Home Rule a likely prospect in Ireland. Opponents to Home Rule, from Conservative Party leaders like Andrew Bonar Law and Lord Randolph Churchill to militant unionists in Ireland threatened the use of violence, producing the Larne Gun Running incident in 1912, when they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for the Ulster Volunteer Force. Randolph Churchill famously told a unionist audience in Ulster that "Ulster will fight, and Ulster will be right".

Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland

The prospect of civil war in Ireland was seen by some as likely. In 1914 the Third Home Rule Act, which contained provision for a temporary partition, received the Royal Assent. However its implementation was suspended for the duration of the intervening First World War, which was only expected to last a few weeks but lasted four years. But by the time it concluded, the Act was seen as dead in the water, with public opinion in the majority nationalist community having moved from a demand for home rule to something more substantial, independence. Lloyd-George proposed in 1919 a new bill which would divide Ireland into two Home Rule areas, twenty-six counties being ruled from Dublin, six being ruled from Belfast, with a shared Lord Lieutenant of Ireland appointing both executives and a Council of Ireland, which Lloyd-George believed would evolve into an all-island parliament.

Partition of Ireland, partition of Ulster

Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Northern Ireland was provisionally scheduled to be included in the Irish Free State, though it could opt out should the Parliament of Northern Ireland elect so to do.[Anglo-Irish Treaty, sections 11, 12] As expected it did so immediately. Once that happened, as provided for, an Irish Boundary Commission came into being, to decide on the territorial boundaries between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Though leaders in Dublin expected a substantial reduction in the territory of Northern Ireland, with nationalist areas like south Armagh, Tyrone and urban territories like Londonderry and Newry moving to the Free State, it appears that the Boundary Commission decided against this. The British and Irish governments agreed to leave the boundaries as they were defined in the 1920 Act. The Council of Ireland provided for in the Treaty, to link Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State, did not come into being.Anglo-Irish Treaty. Section 13.

1925 to the present

The Ireland Act 1949 gave the first legal guarantee to the Parliament and Government that Northern Ireland would not cease to be part of the United Kingdom without consent of the majority of its citizens, and this was most recently reaffirmed by the Northern Ireland Act 1998. This status was echoed in the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, which was signed by the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Bunreacht na hÉireann, the constitution of the Republic, was amended in 1999 to remove a claim of the "Irish nation" to sovereignty over the whole of Ireland (in Article 2), a claim qualified by an acknowledgement that the southern state only could exercise legal control over the territory formerly known as the Irish Free State. The new Articles 2 and 3, added to the Bunreacht to replace the earlier articles, implicitly acknowledge that the status of Northern Ireland, and its relationships with the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, would only be changed with the agreement of a majority of voters in Northern Ireland. An acknowledgement that a decision on whether to remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland rests with the people of Northern Ireland was also central to the Belfast Agreement, which was signed in 1998 and ratified by plebiscites held simultaneously in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. However, many unionist leaders equivocate when asked if they would peacefully accept a reunited Ireland if a majority in Northern Ireland sought it.

A plebiscite within Northern Ireland on whether it should remain in the United Kingdom, or join the Republic, was held in 1973. The vote went heavily in favour (98.9%) of maintaining the status quo with approximately 57.5% of the total electorate voting in support, but most nationalists boycotted the poll (see Northern Ireland referendum, 1973 for more). Though legal provision remains for holding another plebiscite, and former Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble some years ago advocated the holding of such a vote, no plans for such a vote have been adopted as of 2006.

Lives lost in the “Troubles”

Culture

See Culture of Northern Ireland, Culture of Ulster, Culture of Ireland, Culture of the United Kingdom

Languages

Under the Good Friday Agreement, Irish and Ulster Scots (one of the dialects of the Scots language), sometimes known as Ullans, have recognition as "part of the cultural wealth of Northern Ireland"http://www.nio.gov.uk/agreement.pdf. Often the use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland has met with the considerable suspicion of Unionists, who have associated it with the largely Catholic Republic of Ireland, and more recently, with the republican movement in Northern Ireland itself.

Ulster Scots comprises varieties of the Scots language spoken in Northern Ireland. Mac Póilin (1999: 116)[BBC] states that "While most argue that Ulster-Scots is a dialect or variant of Scots, some have argued or implied that Ulster-Scots is a separate language from Scots. The case for Ulster-Scots being a distinct language, made at a time when the status of Scots itself was insecure, is so bizarre that it is unlikely to have been a linguistic argument."

Chinese and Urdu are also spoken by Northern Ireland's Asian communities. Though the Chinese community is often referred to as the "third largest" community in Northern Ireland — it is tiny by international standards.

The most common sign language in Northern Ireland is British Sign Language (BSL), but as Catholics tended to send their deaf children to schools in Dublin (St Joseph's Institute for Deaf Boys and St Mary's Institute for Deaf Girls, in Cabra)#redirect [[Template:Fact]], Irish Sign Language (ISL) is commonly used in the Nationalist community. The two languages are not related: BSL is in the British family (which also includes Auslan), and ISL is in the French family (which also includes ASL/Amerislan). A third language, Northern Ireland Sign Language, is also attested by some.

See also

1. redirect[[Template:Portal]]

• List of topics related to Northern Ireland
• List of Ireland-related topics
• List of United Kingdom-related topics
• Ulster Scots
• Church of Ireland
• Catholic Unionist
• Ulster Unionist
• Democratic Unionist Party
• Republic of Ireland-United Kingdom border
• Common Travel Area
• British nationality law
• Irish nationality law
• Boundary Commission (Ireland)
• Northern Irish murals

External links

General

• [BBC Northern Ireland News] The Northern Ireland news from BBC News Online
• [Online NI] Local Government Portal
• [ni-photos.jmcwd.com] Photos From Around Northern Ireland

Geography

• [Geography in Action] The geology of Northern Ireland

History

• [Northern Ireland Elections]
• [BBC Nations] History of Ireland on bbc.co.uk
• [Conflict Archive on the Internet] from the University of Ulster
• [Inconvenient Peripheries : Ethnic Identity and the United Kingdom Estate] by Prof. Philip Payton

Tourism

• [Discover Northern Ireland] Northern Ireland Tourist Board
• [The Northern Ireland Guide] - a travel guide to Northern Ireland for tourists and residents alike
• [Art gallery featuring artists and scenes from Northern Ireland]
• [Armagh Down Tourism]
• [Go To Belfast]
• [Fermanagh Lakelands]
• [Mourne Mountains]

Directory

Traditional Civic Divisions of Northern Ireland

Cities Armagh | Belfast | Lisburn | Derry/Londonderry | Newry

Counties Antrim | Armagh | Down | Fermanagh | Londonderry/Derry | Tyrone

Constituencies in Northern Ireland
DUP	Belfast East | Belfast North | East Antrim | East Londonderry | Lagan Valley | North Antrim | South Antrim | Strangford | Upper Bann
Sinn Féin	Belfast West | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | Mid Ulster | Newry and Armagh | West Tyrone
SDLP	Belfast South | Foyle | South Down
UUP	North Down
Northern Ireland European constituency: DUP (1) | Sinn Féin (1) | UUP (1)

Constituent countries and affiliations of the United Kingdom
Constituent countries: | | |
Overseas territories: Akrotiri and Dhekelia | Anguilla | Bermuda | British Antarctic Territory | British Indian Ocean Territory | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Falkland Islands | Gibraltar | Montserrat | Pitcairn Islands | Saint Helena (Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha) | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | Turks and Caicos Islands
Crown dependencies: Guernsey | Isle of Man | Jersey

Footnotes