| Alternative Names For Northern Ireland |
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NAMES Legal name The official and legal name of the region is "Northern Ireland". This is despite the fact that Malin Head in the Republic Of Ireland actually extends further north than any of Northern Ireland. The legal name is used by both the British and Irish governments, internationally by governments around the world, and by most of its inhabitants. Some nationalists, however, reject the name "Northern Ireland", as they believe it distinguishes the region from the rest of Ireland. Political names Unionist associated names Colloquially, " Ulster " has often been used. This is the Anglo-Norse form of the Province of ''Uladh'' (pronounced "Ull-oo") (Irish ''Uladh'' and Old Norse ''ster'', meaning "province," yields "Uladh Ster" or, in English , "Ulster"). This term is disliked by some nationalists because the whole of the Province of Ulster consists of nine counties - three of which are in the Republic Of Ireland . Some unionists argue that because Ulster's size has changed much over the centuries, ''Ulster'' can be applied to Northern Ireland alone. Indeed, the Government Of Northern Ireland once tried to change the official name of the country to Ulster, but this was vetoed by the UK Government . Nevertheless, the term was used officially in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (since superseded by the Police Service Of Northern Ireland ), and is also used in the names of the Ulster Unionist Party , the University Of Ulster , BBC Radio Ulster and other organisations. ''The Province'' is also sometimes used, referring directly to the status of Northern Ireland as a province of the United Kingdom. This also, however, could be obliquely used to refer to the Province of Ulster. Nationalist associated names Nationalists in the region and their supporters abroad commonly refer to it as ''The North of Ireland''. This can be used to implicitly deny British sovereignty by placing it into the rest of Ireland, at least linguistically. It does, however, contain the same geographic anomaly as it does not contain Ireland's most northerly point. ''The Six Counties'' is another popular name among republicans, as it can portray the region as a mere collection of Irish counties, rather than a legal political entity. Some also reject the claim of the Republic of Ireland to have inherited the tradition of the Irish Republic of the Anglo-Irish War , because it excludes the northeast, and refer to the Republic variously as "the Free State " or "The Twenty-Six Counties". ''The Occupied Six Counties'' is a phrase sometimes used by more extreme Republicans , especially since the arrival of British Troops , but originally employed simply to suggest the illegitimacy of the British presence. Other names In the Republic of Ireland, people typically refer to the region simply as "the North", though ''Northern Ireland'' is becoming more popular in the media, by politicians and by the general public. ''The North'' isn't usually meant in any political sense, however, but is merely a statement of the geographic reality in respect of the ''island'' of Ireland as a whole. Similarly, and more commonly, in Northern Ireland, "the South" is sometimes used as a shorthand term for the Republic of Ireland. Sometimes people from Northern Ireland jokingly refer to people from the Republic of Ireland as "Mexicans", referring to them being to the south of the border. Obviously this explanation does not hold for parts of the Republic such as County Donegal giving rise to the joke that while further out in a boat on Lough Foyle , "the South is north, and the North is south". A colloquial name for Northern Ireland which has grown in popularity in recent years is Norn Iron , particularly when talking about the Football Team . Northern Ireland is called ''Tuaisceart Éireann'' or ''Tuaisceart na hÉireann'' in Irish and ''Norlin Airlann'' in Ulster Scots . SEE ALSO People also refer to it as the "Sick Counties", in a jokingly way of course.. |
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