Alternative Names For Northern Ireland

Alternative Names For Northern Ireland

There are a number of alternative names used for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland consists of six historic counties of Ireland, and remains part of the United Kingdom following the secession of the other twenty-six counties to form the Irish Free State in 1922 (now the "Republic of Ireland", officially named "Ireland"). In addition to, and sometimes instead of, its official name, several other names are used for the region. Significant differences in political views between unionists, nationalists and republicans are reflected in the variations of names they use for the region. A proposal to change Northern Ireland's name was seriously considered by the UK and Northern Ireland Governments in 1949 but in the end the name "Northern Ireland" was retained.

Read more about Alternative Names For Northern Ireland:  Government Proposals To Rename Northern Ireland As Ulster

Famous quotes containing the words northern ireland, alternative, names, northern and/or ireland:

    “For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
    —Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)

    “If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “Nor youth, nor strength, nor wisdom spring again,
    Nor habitations long their names retain,
    But in oblivion to the final day remain.”
    —Anne Bradstreet (c. 1612–1672)

    “Sophocles long ago
    Heard it on the Aegaean, and it brought
    Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
    Of human misery; we
    Find also in the sound a thought,
    Hearing it by this distant northern sea.”
    —Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)

    “The tragedy of Northern Ireland is that it is now a society in which the dead console the living.”
    —Jack Holland (b. 1947)