Northern Ireland

I

Introduction

Northern Ireland, administrative division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, situated in the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. The remaining portion of the island is part of the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland constitutes about 17 percent of the land area of Ireland and has 31 percent of the island’s population. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast. Northern Ireland’s population is deeply divided along religious and political lines. The schism between the Protestant majority and the Roman Catholic minority extends deep into Northern Ireland’s past and has strongly influenced the region’s culture, settlement patterns, and politics.

By the 17th century, Protestant British settlers had subjugated the region’s Catholic, Gaelic inhabitants. The whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom until 1920, as the British government—faced with growing violent resistance—offered limited local government to Ireland. The island was divided into two regions, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, both under the control of the United Kingdom. Each region was granted the right to elect a local parliament while maintaining representation in the British Parliament.

When local parliamentary elections were held in 1921, the southern Irish parliament refused to recognize British control. As a result, of the original 32 counties of Ireland, the 6 northeasterly counties became a British province officially known as Northern Ireland. The remaining 26 counties became independent in 1922 as the Irish Free State (later Eire, and subsequently the Republic of Ireland). Since then, most of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland has identified with independent Ireland, and most of the Protestant majority with Britain. Catholics seeking integration with Ireland are often referred to as republicans or nationalists, while Protestants who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom are often called unionists or loyalists.

From 1921 to 1972 Northern Ireland had its own regional parliament that exercised considerable authority over local affairs. The Protestant, unionist majority dominated the parliament, which made the government unpopular with the Catholic, nationalist minority. Northern Ireland experienced a nearly continuous period of violent conflict between these two groups from the late 1960s through the mid-1990s. The violence extended beyond Ireland, as republican paramilitary groups—in particular the Irish Republican Army (IRA)—also struck targets in London and elsewhere in England. The clashes, bombings, and assassinations in this period were often referred to as “the troubles.” In 1972 the British government shut down Northern Ireland’s regional parliament and governed the region directly from London. A 1998 accord known as the Good Friday Agreement restored some powers to a new provincial government. See also Northern Ireland Conflict.

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The Protestant community often refers to Northern Ireland as Ulster. Catholics seldom use this name. For most Catholics the term Ulster is used only to refer to the historic Irish province of Ulster, which consisted of the current six counties and three other counties that are now in the Republic of Ireland. Catholics tend to refer to the territory as “the north of Ireland,” and those of strongly nationalist views also use the term “the six counties.”

II

Land and Resources

The total area of Northern Ireland is 14,160 sq km (5,467 sq mi), of which 628 sq km (242 sq mi) is inland water. The maximum distance from north to south is 137 km (85 mi); from east to west it is 177 km (110 mi). Northern Ireland is bounded on the north and northeast by the North Channel, on the southeast by the Irish Sea, and on the south and west by Ireland. The border with Ireland is 360 km (220 mi) long. The region’s coastline consists of wide, sandy beaches, broken by steep cliffs in the north, northeast, and southeast. Near the northernmost point of Northern Ireland is Giant’s Causeway, an unusual formation of basalt columns created by the cooling of an ancient lava flow. Rathlin Island and several smaller islands lie off the northern coast.

The different regions of Northern Ireland are frequently referred to by the names of the province’s six traditional Irish counties, even though they are no longer the units of local government. These are—clockwise from the northeast—Antrim, Down, Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Londonderry (Derry).

The region’s topography is often described as saucer-shaped: A low-lying central area is surrounded by the Antrim Mountains and Glens of Antrim to the north and northeast, the Mourne Mountains to the southeast, the uplands of south Armagh to the south, and the Sperrin Mountains to the northwest. A number of broad river valleys run from the central region to the sea. The highest mountain is Slieve Donard (852 m/2,795 ft), located at the eastern end of the Mourne Mountains in Down.

A

Rivers and Lakes

Lough Neagh, in the center of Northern Ireland, is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, with an area of 396 sq km (153 sq mi). All the region’s counties border it except Fermanagh. Upper and Lower Lough Erne, in Fermanagh, are the only other major freshwater lakes. Belfast Lough, Carlingford Lough, Strangford Lough, and Lough Foyle are the largest sea inlets. The major river of Northern Ireland is the Bann, which rises in the Mourne Mountains and flows northward through Lough Neagh to become a wide and navigable waterway to the sea. The Foyle flows north to the sea at the port city of Londonderry (Derry), forming the border with Ireland for part of its length. The Lagan flows northeast to the sea at Belfast.

B

Plant and Animal Life

Wild plant and animal life is similar to that found in the northern and western parts of Britain. Sedges, rushes, ferns, and grasses are the principal plants, and rhododendrons flourish in many areas. Winters are mild and there are no regular sharp frosts, so it is also possible to grow decorative shrubs such as fuchsia and exotic imports such as those of the genus Escallonia. Wild mammals are limited to small rodents of the woods and fields, such as rabbits and stoats. There are many species of small birds. Salmon and trout thrive in Northern Ireland’s rivers and lakes, and the province is also known for a distinctive type of whitefish called the pollan, found in Lough Neagh and Upper and Lower Lough Erne.

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