Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is the smallest component of the United Kingdom. It occupies the northeast of the island of Ireland, only one-sixth of its territory. Northern Ireland contains six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster and that’s why the name ‘Ulster’ is sometimes used as equivalent to Northern Ireland. Its capital city is Belfast.

For seven centuries Ireland was a colony of Britain. Due to the colonial policy of Great Britain the Irish nation was forcefully partitioned. As a result of the hard struggle of the Irish people for independence the larger part of Ireland (26 counties) gained the status of a British dominion in 1921. Much later, in 1949 it was officially proclaimed an independent state, the Irish Free State of Eire. The industrial northeast was retained by Great Britain as its smallest component.

But certain forces of both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are for the reunification of the country, against social deprivation which is at its worst among Catholics.

If one asks an Irishman away from home what he misses most about Ireland, he will probably say ‘the greenness’. Irish poets put it in a different way when they call Ireland ‘the Emerald Isle’.

Is the grass really greener in this country? The fact is that the winds usually blow in from the Atlantic Ocean and make the air and soil warm and damp. Grass grows well in such a climate and it makes the island look so beautiful.

There are low hills and peaks of rocks in the northwest, while the northeast sector of the island is a plateau. The Mourne Mountains in the southeast slope down to Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles. The rivers of Ireland are short, but deep. The largest river is the Shannon. The population of Northern Ireland is over 1,5 million people. 53 per cent of the total population live in urban areas. The whole economy of Northern Ireland is closely integrated with that of Great Britain. It has its roots in three basic industries – agriculture, textiles and shipbuilding. The largest industry is agriculture conducted for the most part on small family farms. It occupies about 72 per cent of the land area.

Belfast is the leading industrial center and a large port. Its chief industries are the production of linen and other textiles, clothing, engineering.

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