Northern Ireland (Irish: Tuaisceart Éireann [ˈtÌªË uəʃcÉ™É¾Ë t̪Ë
ˈeË É¾Ê²É™nÌªË ] (listen); Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlann) is variously
described as a country, province or region which is part of the United
Kingdom. Located in the northeast of the island of Ireland, Northern
Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of
Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30%
of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population.
Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good
Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly (colloquially referred
to as Stormont after its location) holds responsibility for a range of
devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the
British government. Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of
Ireland in several areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the
ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts
to resolve disagreements between the two governments".Northern Ireland
was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern
Ireland and Southern Ireland by the Government of Ireland Act 1920.
Unlike Southern Ireland, which would become the Irish Free State in
1922, the majority of Northern Ireland's population were unionists,
who wanted to remain within the United Kingdom. Most of these were the
Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain. However, a
significant minority, mostly Catholics, were nationalists who wanted a
united Ireland independent of British rule. Today, the former
generally see themselves as British and the latter generally see
themselves as Irish, while a distinct Northern Irish or Ulster
identity is claimed both by a large minority of Catholics and
Protestants and by many of those who are non-aligned.For most of the
20th century, when it came into existence, Northern Ireland was marked
by discrimination and hostility between these two sides in what First
Minister of Northern Ireland, David Trimble, called a "cold house" for
Catholics. In the late 1960s, conflict between state forces and
chiefly Protestant unionists on the one hand, and chiefly Catholic
nationalists on the other, erupted into three decades of violence
known as the Troubles, which claimed over 3,500 lives and injured over
50,000 others. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement was a major step in the
peace process, including the decommissioning of weapons and security
normalisation, although sectarianism and religious segregation still
remain major social problems, and sporadic violence has continued.
ˈeË É¾Ê²É™nÌªË ] (listen); Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlann) is variously
described as a country, province or region which is part of the United
Kingdom. Located in the northeast of the island of Ireland, Northern
Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of
Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30%
of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population.
Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good
Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly (colloquially referred
to as Stormont after its location) holds responsibility for a range of
devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the
British government. Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of
Ireland in several areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the
ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts
to resolve disagreements between the two governments".Northern Ireland
was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern
Ireland and Southern Ireland by the Government of Ireland Act 1920.
Unlike Southern Ireland, which would become the Irish Free State in
1922, the majority of Northern Ireland's population were unionists,
who wanted to remain within the United Kingdom. Most of these were the
Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain. However, a
significant minority, mostly Catholics, were nationalists who wanted a
united Ireland independent of British rule. Today, the former
generally see themselves as British and the latter generally see
themselves as Irish, while a distinct Northern Irish or Ulster
identity is claimed both by a large minority of Catholics and
Protestants and by many of those who are non-aligned.For most of the
20th century, when it came into existence, Northern Ireland was marked
by discrimination and hostility between these two sides in what First
Minister of Northern Ireland, David Trimble, called a "cold house" for
Catholics. In the late 1960s, conflict between state forces and
chiefly Protestant unionists on the one hand, and chiefly Catholic
nationalists on the other, erupted into three decades of violence
known as the Troubles, which claimed over 3,500 lives and injured over
50,000 others. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement was a major step in the
peace process, including the decommissioning of weapons and security
normalisation, although sectarianism and religious segregation still
remain major social problems, and sporadic violence has continued.
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