Above: Shamrock is the national plant

By O. Zabolotnyi symbol of the Irish people.

Northern Ireland is the smallest part of the United Kingdom occupying just one sixth of
its territory. It is situated on the northeast of the Island of Ireland. Sometimes it is called
“Ulster”, because its six counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry,
and Tyrone) used to be the part of the historic province of Ulster, which consisted of
nine counties. Its capital is Belfast where as many as one third of the population of 1.6
million people live. Belfast is also a very important sea port, a major industrial and
commercial centre. Its main industries are textile, clothing, shipbuilding and engineering.
The rest of the territory remains chiefly rural.

Left: The panorama of

the city of Belfast.

Poets call Ireland the

“Emerald Isle”
obviously due to its
green grass. The
winds blowing from
the Atlantic Ocean
make the air and the
soil warm and damp. Grass grows well in such a climate. For centuries cattle farming
has been the main agricultural activity in Ireland, and has made it famous for its dairy
products.

There are low hills and peaks of rock in the northwest of the island, while the northeast
part is a plateau. The Mourne Mountains in the southeast slope down to Lough Neagh,
the largest lake on the British Isles. The rivers of Ireland are not long, but quite deep.
The largest river is the Shannon. The Giant’s Causeway on the north-east coast is the
area of about 40, 000 interlocking basalt columns, which are the result of a prehistoric
volcanic eruption. It is considered to be one of the greatest natural wonders of the
world.

Right: Engraving of A View of the Giant’s

Causeway (by Susanna Drury, 1768)

For many centuries Ireland was a British

colony. As a result of the long and
painful struggle of the Irish people for
independence, the larger part of Ireland
comprising 26 counties obtained the
status of a British dominion in 1921. In
1949 it was officially proclaimed an
independent state, the Irish Free State
of Eire. The capital of Eire is Dublin. The
northeast of Ireland remained under the British rule as the smallest component of the
UK.
Northern Ireland Page 2.

Above: The Ulster Banner was used officially from

1953 till 1972. It is still used by some local
governments and sports teams.

Right: A march of the members of the Orange Order,

a Unionist Protestant organization.

The population of the Northern Ireland is divided into two main religious groups: the
Protestants and the Catholics. The Protestants are generally of British origin. They are
descendants of British settlers who came to Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries, during
and after the Reformation. In 1795 a Protestant political organization of Orangemen (the
Orange Order) was founded. It was named after King William III of England, Prince of
Orange. The Catholics are mostly natives of Ireland. The Protestants constitute just a bit
more than a half of the population (about 55 per cent), and they used to dominate the
Catholics severely discriminating them. In 1968 the Catholics began their movement for
equal civil rights. That year violent clashes between civil rights marchers and Unionist
extremists (those who support the idea of the Ulster’s union with Great Britain) took
place. Acts of terror commenced by the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Army) and Protestant
extremists became more frequent and violent. In 1969 the British Army was dispatched
to Northern Ireland as a peacekeeping force.

Above left: the I.R.A. political poster from the 1980s.

Above right: A British Army soldier on combat guard duty in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Page 3.

In 1994 the I.R.A. and its political wing Sinn Fein both agreed to stop fighting. Since
then a gradual process of demilitarization took place, although it was interrupted
sometimes by separate acts of terror and clashes between the Catholics and the
Protestants. Since mid-1997 the majority of the I.R.A. units have observed a ceasefire.
The Northern Ireland Assembly (local parliament) and the government have been
restored through free democratic elections in 2007. Northern Ireland is peaceful land
now.