NORTHERN IRELAND

country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland bounds it on the south and west, the Irish Sea and the North Channel on the east, and the Atlantic Ocean on the north. Northern Ireland is often referred to as the province of Ulster, though it includes only part of the historic Ulster. For current history and for statistics on society and economy, see Britannica Book Of The Year. part of the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, on the western continental periphery often characterized as Atlantic Europe. Northern Ireland is sometimes referred to as Ulster, although it includes only six of the nine counties which made up that historic Irish province. Northern Ireland occupies about one-sixth of the island and is separated on the east from Scotland, another part of the United Kingdom, by the narrow North Channel, which is at one point only 13 miles (21 kilometres) wide. The Irish Sea separates Northern Ireland from England and Wales on the east and southeast, respectively, and the Atlantic Ocean lies to the north. The southern border is with the republic of Ireland. The North Channel has historically been a link rather than a barrier, and from the earliest times it witnessed a constant coming and going of peoples. This interchange gave the northern part of the island a distinctive regional character, which was confirmed during the Industrial Revolution when the province emerged as a linen-manufacturing region and which later was strengthened when a shipbuilding and engineering industry, based on imported raw materials, made Belfast, now the capital, a major city. The external influences that brought about this cultural and economic transformation were attenuated in the west and south, and the political border with the republic of Ireland is more of a compromise conveniently based on long-existing county borders than a clear-cut regional boundary. The geographic position of Northern Ireland thus holds the key to much of its unique social, economic, and political developmenta process beset by deep-seated religious and political antagonisms that periodically have flared into civil disorder. The political separation of Northern Ireland and its creation as a self-governing state by the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 confirmed its economic position as a region existing within the framework of the United Kingdom as a whole, serving as an extension of the larger unit's industrial resources. Area 5,452 square miles (14,120 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 1,663,200. Additional reading Geography The geomorphological background of the island of Ireland as a whole is found in G.L. Herries Davies and Nicholas Stephens, Ireland (1978); and A.R. Orme, Ireland (1970); and the social and economic conditions in James H. Johnson, The Human Geography of Ireland (1994). Treatment of Northern Ireland in particular is found in R.H. Buchanan and B.M. Walker (eds.), Province, City & People: Belfast and Its Region (1987). Emrys Jones, A Social Geography of Belfast (1960, reissued 1965), discusses the historical and environmental background. The character of another part of Northern Ireland is admirably portrayed in E. Estyn Evans, Mourne Country: Landscape and Life in South Down, 4th ed. (1989). An introduction to the economy is provided in Paul Bew, Henry Patterson, and Paul Teague, Northern IrelandBetween War and Peace: The Political Future of Northern Ireland (1997). Denis P. Barritt and Charles F. Carter, The Northern Ireland Problem: A Study in Group Relations, 2nd ed. (1972), deals with the social and political prelude to the current situation. The contemporary political situation is treated in Arthur Aughey and Duncan Morrow (eds.), Northern Ireland Politics (1996); Brendan O'Leary and John McGarry, The Politics of Antagonism: Understanding Northern Ireland, 2nd ed. (1996); Joseph Ruane and Jennifer Todd, The Dynamics of Conflict in Northern Ireland: Power, Conflict, and Emancipation (1996); and Colin Coulter, Contemporary Northern Irish Society: An Introduction (1999). Emrys Jones The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica History General historical surveys include Patrick Buckland, A History of Northern Ireland (1981); A.T.Q. Stewart, The Narrow Ground: The Roots of Conflict in Ulster, rev. ed. (1989, reissued 1993); T.W. Moody, The Ulster Question, 16031973, 4th ed. (1980); Sean Cronin, Irish Nationalism: A History of Its Roots and Ideology (1980); Maurice Irvine, Northern Ireland: Faith and Faction (1991); and Jonathan Bardon, A History of Ulster (1992, reprinted with corrections, 1994). The following studies of specific historical events and periods can be recommended: M. Perceval-Maxwell, The Scottish Migration to Ulster in the Reign of James I (1973, reissued 1999); Philip S. Robinson, The Plantation of Ulster: British Settlement in an Irish Landscape, 16001670 (1984, reprinted 1994); Raymond Gillespie, Colonial Ulster: The Settlement of East Ulster, 16001641 (1985); Brian Mac Cuarta (ed.), Ulster 1641: Aspects of the Rising, rev. ed. (1997); Patrick Macrory, The Siege of Derry (1980, reprinted 1988); J.C. Beckett and R.E. Glasscock (eds.), Belfast: The Origin and Growth of an Industrial City (1967); David W. Miller, Queen's Rebels: Ulster Loyalism in Historical Perspective (1978); A.T.Q. Stewart, A Deeper Silence: The Hidden Origins of the United Irish Movement (1993, reissued as A Deeper Silence: The Hidden Origins of the United Irishmen, 1998); Paul Arthur, Government and Politics of Northern Ireland, 2nd ed., updated (1987, reissued 1989); and Nicholas Mansergh, The Unresolved Question: The Anglo-Irish Settlement and Its Undoing, 191272 (1991). Extensive discussion of the problems of the 20th century include R.J. Lawrence, The Government of Northern Ireland: Public Finance and Public Services, 19211964 (1965); Paul Arthur and Keith Jeffery, Northern Ireland Since 1968, 2nd ed. (1996); Padraig O'Malley, The Uncivil Wars: Ireland Today, 3rd ed. (1997); J. Bowyer Bell, The Irish Troubles: A Generation of Violence, 19671992 (1993); and Paul Bew, Peter Gibbon, and Henry Patterson, Northern Ireland, 19211996: Political Forces and Social Classes, rev. and updated new ed. (1996). The historical roots of the conflict in Northern Ireland are discussed in Jack Holland, Hope Against History: The Course of Conflict in Northern Ireland (1999). An international mediator's account of the peace negotiations that led to the Belfast Agreement is George J. Mitchell, Making Peace (1999). Provocative views of the role of Britain's intelligence services in Northern Ireland can be found in Tony Geraghty, The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence (1998, reissued 2000); and Martin Dillon, The Dirty War: Covert Strategies and Tactics Used in Political Conflicts (1999). Karl S. Bottigheimer Administration and social conditions Government Although the 1920 Government of Ireland Act envisaged separate parliaments exercising jurisdiction over southern and northern Ireland, the architects of the partition anticipated that the new constitutional entity to be known as Northern Ireland would prove too small to be viable and would be rapidly absorbed into a united Ireland. However, because the northern Protestants staunchly opposed the idea of being governed from Dublin, the Irish border has persisted into the 21st century. The political powers devolved to the new legislature in Belfast by the act of 1920 were considerable (including control of housing, education, and policing); but the new government had little fiscal autonomy and became increasingly reliant upon subsidies from the sovereign Parliament in London. The form and practice of the new parliament in Belfast mirrored that of Westminster in many respects; e.g., the legislature consisted of a Senate and a House of Commons. Under the terms of the partition settlement, London retained control in matters relating to the crown, war and peace, the armed forces, and foreign powers, as well as trade, navigation, and coinage. When the Irish Free State formally seceded from the British Empire and constituted itself as an independent state in 1949, Westminster sought to allay the fears of Protestants in the north by passing legislation stating that Northern Ireland was and would remain an integral part of the United Kingdom. The region had always sent political representatives to Westminster, and over the years the number of members of Parliament (MPs) elected in Northern Ireland has grown to 18. The region also elects three delegates to the European Parliament (the legislative branch of the European Union). In March 1972, in response to a deteriorating political climate in Northern Ireland and to years of horrific levels of communal violence, Westminster suspended the Belfast parliament and began governing the region directly through the secretary of state for Northern Ireland. From the outset the British government sought political settlements that would foster stability and enable the restoration of a revised version of devolved power in the region; however, over nearly 30 years a series of attempts to introduce either a power-sharing executive or a new assembly proved unsuccessful. Nevertheless, political settlements continue to be proffered. On April 10, 1998, the Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement) was signed by representatives of various political factions in Northern Ireland, paving the way, many thought, for the end to the theretofore intractable Troubles. Moreover, referenda based on the agreement were overwhelmingly passed on both sides of the Irish border. While the Belfast Agreement envisaged changes on many fronts, its central concern was political accommodation between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Under the terms of the initiative, the 108-member assembly established in Belfast would be obliged to operate along consociational lines, and the executive would include both Protestants and Catholics. Legislation could be passed in the assembly only if it had the support of a minimum proportion of both unionist and nationalist members. Initially at least, the powers exercised by the new assembly would be relatively minor. Control over key issues such as taxation, policing, and criminal justice would be retained by Westminster. However, if the initiative were successful, further authority would likely devolve to the region. While opposition to the agreement existed on both sides through the turn of the century, it was especially strong among unionists. The future success of the peace process depended heavily upon whether the issue of decommissioning of paramilitary weapons could be resolved. Political parties From the outset the political culture of Northern Ireland has been dominated by the border question, with political aspirations in the region often closely associated with ethnoreligious background. The overwhelming majority of Protestants prefer that the union with Great Britain continue; often described as unionists, they vote for those parties dedicated to that end. Political attitudes within the Catholic community tend to be more complex. Opinion polls conducted in Northern Ireland indicate that a substantial minority of Catholics are essentially indifferent to the constitutional future of the region, and it seems likely that those Catholics who have secured significant material gains since the introduction of direct rule from Westminster tend to be disinterested in the border question. Most Catholics, however, aspire to a united Ireland and vote accordingly. As a result, the Catholic community as a whole is generally characterized as nationalist. Cultural life The cultural life of Northern Ireland is closely connected to that of the rest of the English-speaking world, and football (soccer), Hollywood films, and pop music are all popular; Belfast native Van Morrison is one of rock music's major figures. Nevertheless, there are some cultural traits that might be considered particular to Northern Ireland. Notably, the region's political divisions are partly reflected through language. While English is spoken by everyone in the six counties, Irish also is spoken by a small but significant and growing proportion of the population and is an important element of the cultural identity for many northern nationalistseven those with limited knowledge of the language. Unionists, on the other hand, tend to distrust and dismiss Irish as a cultural expression of political divisiveness. One of the cultural practices of Northern Ireland that often intrigues outsiders is the tradition of public parades. Typically intended to advance religious and political interests, the thousands of processions that take place each year, mainly during the marching season, overwhelmingly involve members of the unionist community. The Orange Order and other organizations take to the streets with great regularity to mark key moments in the history of Ulster Protestants, such as the annual July 12 commemoration of the victory of the Protestant king William III at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, which is the climax of the Orange marching season. These processions are often boisterous and colorful affairs, but they also frequently nurture political division and encourage sectarian hatred. In recent years the issue of public parades moved to the centre of the political agenda in Northern Ireland when nationalist communities sought to prevent the Orange Order from marching through their neighborhoods. In many respects, the cultural milieu mirrors that of both Ireland and Great Britain, with few distinctive regional characteristics. Notwithstanding a few country mansionsa legacy of 18th-century English architectsthe buildings of Northern Ireland are undistinguished, though the English influence also has lent a dignity of proportion and urbanity to some larger farmhouses and to the occasional terrace of houses in the towns. Generally, however, the industrial growth of the 19th century completely overshadowed the previous planned phase of growth. Northern Ireland's Arts Council is officially charged with encouraging all aspects of the arts. The reopening of the Grand Opera House in 1980 marked an important moment in the revival of the performing arts in Belfast. The city has a number of other theatres, and there is also a touring company based at the University of Ulster at Coleraine. Classical music is mainly imported, but Belfast has a symphony orchestra and a youth orchestra and has fostered one of the largest festivals (ranging from classical to pop music) in the United Kingdom. The council also sponsors art exhibitions. There was little development in the visual arts in the 19th century, but a new interest in landscape painting emerged briefly at the beginning of the 20th century. There also was evidence of other emerging art movements at the turn of the 21st century; however, in general, Northern Ireland has only slowly shaken off the utilitarian, no-nonsense approach to life that underlay its growth during the Victorian period. Belfast is the site of the Ulster Museum, the national museum and art gallery. Londonderry and Armagh also have galleries with permanent collections. The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra provides a particularly interesting link with peasant origins of Northern Ireland and includes an open-air folk museum. Of other cultural institutions, perhaps the most notable is the observatory at Armagh. Founded by Archbishop Richard Robinson (Lord Rokeby) in 1790, it has remained an independently governed institution, though it now receives considerable state aid. It has links with observatories in South Africa and also has one of the few astronomy libraries in Britain and Ireland. Northern Ireland is serviced by both state and commercial broadcasting. In addition to relaying its national programming, the British Broadcasting Corporation operates two regional radio services (Radio Foyle and Radio Ulster) and has television studios in Belfast. There are numerous independent radio stations and an independent television service (Ulster Television PLC). Northern Ireland shares the British press, but several daily newspapers are also published in Belfast. The people of Northern Ireland participate in the same sports that are played throughout the United Kingdom. In addition to football (soccer), Rugby Union football is especially popular, and players from the Ulster team join the Irish team for international matches. Moreover, the Gaelic gamesincluding such traditional sports as Gaelic football, hurling, and handballare gaining popularity. Sport fishing is among the most popular recreations, and the region's plentiful bream, roach, salmon, and trout attract fishing enthusiasts from throughout Europe. Northern Ireland's hill walking courses and excellent beaches might also attract much greater numbers of tourists were it not for the region's political instability. Emrys Jones Colin Coulter