THIS SCEPTRED ISLE



Why do Unionists use the term Ulster to describe Northern Ireland when part of Ulster is in the Republic of Ireland ? Ieuan Phillips, Derry, N Ireland Basically, from a Unionist perspective, "Ulster" suggests a greater level of distinctiveness from the Republic of Ireland than "Northern Ireland" does. Antony, Reading, England As an Ulsterman myself I am duty bound to lend my offerings to this. Whilst it is true that the 9 counties of Ulster do not form Northern Ireland (3 are in the republic), historically, Ulster was a province of Ireland and when Northern Ireland became a country and part of the UK in 1922, it was agreed that this province would be split as it is today; the 6 counties of Ulster that form Northern Ireland (Londonderry, Antrim, Down, Tyrone, Armagh and Fermanagh) and the 3 retained by the republic; Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal. On this basis the protestant or unionist collective term Ulster, is deliberately provocative to nationalists as the British 'stole' and retained part of their country. Not to mention the 1 syllable is easier than 4! Incidently, the author of the question has likely demonstrated which faith he belongs to when he says he is from 'Derry' it is common knowledge in Northern Ireland that catholics drop 'london' in order to disassociate themselves with the country and true nationality, you will never hear Northern Ireland or Ulster from jerry adams and co! Darren Jones, Bristol, UK Ulster is a province with 9 counties. When Ireland became independent from Britain, and Northern Ireland was added to create the UK, it comprised 6 of the Ulster counties. The other three counties are part of Ireland. Andy Thomas, Calgary Canada On the downside, it can hint at a desire to annex Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan into the United Kingom, in certain contexts. Damian, Clydebank In 1920, the Unionists would have actually preferred full integration into the UK, but the best that the British government offered them was the devolved Stormont regime, so they had to make do with Northern Ireland. In order to make their Protestant statelet viable, i.e. in possession of a Protestant majority, however, they were forced to jettison the three majority-Catholic counties of Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan, but naturally continued to think of their patch of Ireland as Ulster, while nationalists became politically correct in refusing to use the term to refer to Northern Ireland. John Adams, Querétaro, Mexico When Ireland was partitioned the plan was to separate Ulster from the rest of the the island of Ireland for the Unionists, but three counties were considered 'too Republican'. It serves the petty-mindedness of these people to still call it Ulster, partly so they don't have to say Ireland, and partly to wind up Nationalists. Republicans also don't like the name Northern Ireland, preferring instead the North of Ireland (implying Ireland is still one entity) or sometimes even 'the Six Counties'. Simon King, London, UK It is an interesting one this, the term: "Ulster" or "The Province" refers to one of the old presidencies set up in Ireland by Elizabeth I, Ulster was finally controlled after the defeat of Chieftain O'Neill, though after Elizabeths reign (she knew Ireland was defeated by the time of her death, thanks to Lord Mountjoys deafeat of ONeills Clan forces (and Spanish allies) (ONeill was an Ulster Chief), Provincial presidencies were set up in Leinster, Connacht, Munster and finally Ulster. It is an irony that Ulster was the last part of Ireland to be defeated and now remains the last part of Ireland in the United Kingdom (there are good reasons why this happened, Ulster was set up differently to the rest of Ireland up to that point 1601 and by 1610, the plantation of Ulster). Northern Ireland set up after the Anglo-Irish Treaty, agreed by Lloyd George and Eamon DeValera, was set up by partition; using the boundary commission to separate the six-counties with the rest of Ulster, leaving three Ulster counties in the south. However it is not true to say that the term Ulster is offensive, indeed it is still referred to in the Republic or the South as just the name of the Province of Ulster, just as they would for Connacht or Leinster. Peter , Manchester I fear Peter is quite wrong in his statement that the term 'Ulster' is not regarded as pejorative in the Republic. It is only used there to refer to the ancient province of nine counties, and never, but never, used to refer to Northern Ireland. The title 'Ulster' was adopted mainly to give the suggestion that the statelet had some form of historical or territorial integrity, which, of course, it does not. Philip Foxe, London, UK Sorry, Darren, but Ulster has two syllables. Says it all, really. Pete Wigens, Stroud, Glos UK Thousand's of Volunteers left what they knew as "the 9 Counties of Ulster" to fight in the battle of the Somme and elsewhere in WW1. They bravely went off to fight and die for King and country. What happened when they returned?. The country became Northern Ireland consisting of 6 counties. The 9 when they left was reduced to 6 by a government who over looked all they fought for. That was the repayment for sacrifice. I still call it Ulster in respect of all the fallen hero's of the Somme who fought for Ulster. I would imagine a majority of Unionists would agree. Darren, Belfast Northern Ireland Darren (Jones, Bristol UK) Your suggestion that the person who posted the original question gave away their political leanings is true to a certain extent, however you did the exact same. Whether you call it one or the other, you are making a statement and identifying yourself. The fact that the majority of people in that area refer to it as Derry (Nationalists now form a majority in Derry as a whole, due to their demographic dominance of the city) is quite a statement in itself. Should it not be the people of the area who decide? In any case I believe in democracy and freedom of speech (google it and see what it means, Darren) and at the end of the day, people should be able to call it what they want, as long as they expect that and respect that there are others who chose to call it differently. You obviously cannot do that. From my experiences, any of my friends from the North/Northern Ireland/whatever/Ulster/the six counties all call it Derry, whether they are my very good friend who is a Catholic from Newry, or my even better friend who is a Protestant from Newtownards, or my very similar friend who's a Heathen like me from south Belfast. Oisin, Wexford, Ireland Darren, what about the men who fought and died in the Great War for the cause of freedom who came back to Ulster to find that six of their counties were taken by a foreign power? Mike. Mike Docherty, Charteralley, England I am a protestant from Co Down, and I am proud to say I am Irish. I was Born in Down which is one of the nine counties in the Province of Ulster. I love my Rugby and, when it is Ruby Season, I wear my Ulster shirt. When it comes down to my country I wear my Ireland shirt. I think Irish history should be taught to all children in the schools. I never knew anything about Irish History until I was older, and boy oh boy did it open my eyes. When I was at school it was always rammed down my throat by my peers that I was British not Irish - and it always confused me, as people in other countries would always say I was Irish. You grow up with a sense of not knowing what bloody nationality you are, being a protestant! Scotland is part of the UK and they class themselves as Scottish. I am Irish and very proud to say it. Julie, Wales Agreed there is a lot of confusion regarding Ulster and Northern Ireland. Even those that should know (newscasters, for example, frequently mistaken refer to something which happened in Northern Ireland as having happened in Ulster. It is not incorrect geographically, but misleading, nonetheless. Ulster is one of four provinces of Ireland and lies to the north. The remaining 3 provinces are Leinster to the east, Munster to the south and Connaucht to the west. Ulster is comprised of 9 counties (Londonderry(Derry), Antrim, Down, Tyrone, Armagh, Fermanagh, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal. Northern Ireland was created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from 22 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended. It was subsequently abolished under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. In 1921the 6 counties of Northern Ireland were partitioned (separated politically from the other 26 counties of Ireland). The 6 of Northern Ireland are: Londonderry, Antrim, Down, Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh. Some people refer to Londonderry as Derry for political reasons. Ireland is now made up of two separate countries: 1) The Republic of Ireland Republic and 2)Northern Ireland. Most people whether in Northern Ireland or The Republic of Ireland refer to themselves as Irish, some people in Northern Ireland refer to themselves as British. The roots/history of some organizations go back to before partition and have Ulster in their name. The parliament of Northern Ireland is based in Stormont and the parliament of The Republic of Ireland (or Irish Republic) is based in Dublin. Jeane Hannigan nee Sproule, Fintona Tyrone Great to see a sensible post from Julie. Just because a person is British in outlook, does not mean he/she is any less Irish. There is plenty of Irish people south of the border who are of a British line, they just don't see the need to prove that by taping union jacks to estate lamp posts. Paul, Dublin Ireland The identity of Ulster is even more complicated than stated. First the word for a province in Irish is cuige meaning a fifth. The fifth province was Meath which contained Meath, Westmeath and parts of Cavan, Dublin ,Kildare, Longford Louth and Offaly. Also part of Louth was in the ancient province of Ulster. Kevin Chaffey, Enniskillen, Norther Ireland I completely agree with Julie. Although granted, I am a Catholic from NI and so think of myself as Irish, I don't shy away from the realisation that I'm British. There's a bit of both in all of us, whether Catholic or Protestant. I do Irish dancing and there's just as many Protestants that do it if not more than Catholics. We all live on the island of Ireland and as such have an Irish identity, whether it be Northern Irish or from the Republic. It's all still Irish. Mathew, Belfast, UK Ulster is and always will be the land of No Surrender. John Knox, Edinburgh Scotland Ta Mr. Darren Jones of Bristol. A syllable, is a part of a word containing a single sound. So, while Ireland as two syllables, and Mom, only 1, Ulster, also, ..listen closely...has TWO!!!! It is comforting to see how many of the answers come from human beings, Irish and otherwise, than can see past the idiotic tribalism of the conflict, even with the VERY OBVIOUS history of British Genocide in Ireland. Jordi Capalett, Barcalona Catalunya Ulster to me means bigotry and hatred. I am Welsh and British same as you can be English and British or Scottish and British - so if you're from Ulster then you're Irish and British. In fact you can be from Pakistan and British if you were born before their independence. I'm never been to NI and no wish to but I have been to ROI being neighbours and guess what - none of them that I met have not the slightest interest in Ulster. Nerys Williams, Pembroke Dock Wales Modern Ulster as it exists today does so because of the prevarications of the likes of Asquith and Lloyd George, and their failure to address the problems arising from (and before) the Easter Uprising in Dublin in 1916. Typical of politicians of all eras, the wrong decisions,and conclusions are decided. Kevan Hurst, Bolton Lancashire



Add your answer













