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Northern Ireland
NorthernIrelandMap
Country
Continent: Europe
Capital: Belfast
National Language: English, Irish, Ulster-Scots
Government: Consociational devolved legislature within unitary constitutional monarchy
Status in OTL: Active

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. Northern Ireland consists of six of the traditional nine counties of the historic Irish province of Ulster, and its largest city is Belfast. It was created as a distinct division of the United Kingdom in 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. For over 50 years it had its own devolved government and parliament. These institutions were suspended in 1972 and abolished in 1973. Repeated attempts to restore self-government finally resulted in the establishment of the present-day Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly. The Assembly operates on consociational democracy principles requiring cross-community support.

Due to its unique history, the issue of the symbolism, name and description of Northern Ireland is complex, and similarly the issue of citizenship and identity. In general, Unionists consider themselves British and Nationalists see themselves as Irish, though these identities are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Northern Ireland in Southern Victory[]

The whole of Ireland was given its independence after Britain lost the Great War. The north-eastern Irish counties turned out to be a restive area, as many of the citizens were Protestants whose loyalty lay with Britain rather than to the newly created, predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland. In 1924, a British-backed insurgency in Belfast was put down by the navies of the United States and Germany, who ruthlessly shelled the city.

Northern Ireland in Worldwar[]

Northern Ireland was the only substantial part of the British Empire that was not invaded by the Race in 1944. As such, it remained a British possession after the Peace of Cairo, when the rest of the Empire fell under the rule of the Race.

In Northern Ireland, Catholics opposed the presence of British occupying authorities and were often involved in violent episodes with their pro-British Protestant neighbors.

David Goldfarb, a Jewish radar operator stationed at the RAF's Belfast installation, Northern Ireland was one of the safest places to be in the increasingly anti-Semitic United Kingdom, as the Catholics and Protestants were too busy fighting each other to care about Jews.

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