Northern Ireland

C

Principal Cities

The port of Belfast (population, 2001 estimate, 277,200) is Northern Ireland’s largest city and cultural, commercial, and industrial centre, as well as its capital. The only other major city is Londonderry (also known as Derry; population, 2002, 105,066), located at the head of Lough Foyle near the north-western border with Donegal. Lisburn and Newry were given city status as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s golden jubilee celebrations. Important towns include Coleraine, Cookstown, Downpatrick, Enniskillen, Larne, Omagh, and Portadown.

D

Religion

Religion, or rather religious affiliation, has been the key determinant in Northern Ireland’s history, politics, and social life since the 17th century. At various times it has determined access to the franchise and jobs, standards of living, and education. In modern times it has come to symbolize the differing political aspirations of the descendants of the original Irish inhabitants and those of the settler community, differences which in the 1970s escalated into sectarian violence and terrorism.

The descendants of the Scottish and English settlers are predominantly Protestant; those of the original Irish inhabitants are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. According to the 2001 census, 53.1 per cent of the population regarded itself as Protestant, and 43.7 per cent as Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism is the largest single denomination. The largest Protestant denominations are Presbyterian (21 per cent), the Church of Ireland (almost 17 per cent), and Methodist (4 per cent). Unlike England and Scotland, Northern Ireland has no established, or state, Church. The Church of Ireland, at one time a branch of the Church of England, was disassociated from it in 1871.

E

Language

English is the sole official language. Unlike in the Republic of Ireland, there has been no official encouragement of the use of the Irish language (see Celtic Languages: Irish) in Northern Ireland until recent years, when there has been a cultural revival of it in several areas, including Belfast.

F

Education

Education in Northern Ireland is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 16, but most children stay on at school or college to 18. Although the curriculum is essentially the same as in England and Wales, the types of school attended by children generally reflect the religious divide. Schools are open to pupils of all religions, but Roman Catholic children have traditionally attended maintained schools owned by the Roman Catholic Church and largely financed by public funds; most Protestant children are enrolled at state schools. These are either controlled schools, entirely financed by the education and library boards, or voluntary schools owned by denominational or non-denominational bodies and publicly funded. In an effort to break down barriers a number of integrated state-funded schools have been established, taking 1 per cent of enrolled pupils.

In 1999/2000 Northern Ireland had around 900 primary schools, with approximately 172,600 pupils enrolled in any one year, and staffed by more than 8,800 teachers. There were 213 secondary schools taking students after age 11, of which 72 were selective grammar schools. They had more than 155,000 pupils enrolled in 1999/2000 and more than 10,500 staff. The country has two universities: Queen’s University of Belfast, founded in 1849 as a college of the Queen’s University of Ireland, and reconstituted as a separate university in 1908; and the University of Ulster (1984), with campuses in Coleraine, Belfast, Jordanstown, and Londonderry (Derry). In 1999/2000, 29,000 students were enrolled on a full-time basis. Two colleges, the Belfast College of Technology (1901) and the Union Theological College (1978), are based in Belfast. At least 44 per cent of pupils went on to higher education in 1999/2000, the highest rate in the United Kingdom.

G

Culture

Originally Northern Ireland was culturally indistinguishable from the remainder of Ireland. However, with the waves of colonization from England and, especially, Scotland after 1607, the north-eastern province of Ulster evolved a distinctive cultural identity. The settlers, who came to form a majority in the region, were British in culture and tradition, and Protestant in religion; their descendants are largely committed to keeping the province constitutionally part of the United Kingdom. The Irish inhabitants, in a minority and for centuries politically and economically marginalized, have as their goal the reunification of the island of Ireland. In addition, Northern Ireland has traditionally been considerably more urbanized and industrialized than the Republic of Ireland.

Northern Ireland shares the early cultural glories of all Ireland. To Ulster belongs one of the two great cycles of Irish myths that contain the exploits of Cú Chulainn and the tragic story of Deirdre (see Gaelic Literature). There is a thriving theatrical movement in Belfast and much literary activity. Belfast is the base of Opera Northern Ireland, which presents seasons at the Grand Opera House in the city, and also tours the province. A ballet company is based in the capital, as is the Belfast Philharmonic Society, one of Britain’s leading choral societies. The Ulster Symphony Orchestra is among the leading orchestras of Britain. Queen’s University hosts the annual Belfast Festival. The poet Seamus Heaney, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995, was born in County Londonderry.

Northern Ireland has two national museums: the Ulster Museum in Belfast, which houses a collection of Irish antiquities; and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Holywood, County Down.