Northern Ireland... the pisshole of the UK

The only flag that should be flying is the Tricolour.

The article did not mention that in the past 30 years over 3,500 people have been killed. Northern Ireland is not Ireland- do not blame the Brits since in achieving Independence Northern Ireland was ceded by the Irish to United Kingdom. All this flag war (since the Sinn Fein and their allies) voted to have Union Jack flown only on certain dates instead of having 2 flags flown and instigating violence is a sign of unemployment- sectarian discord and the police pay for this by being attacked with Molotov cocktails,fireworks,stones. See that now HRC ois claiming her family roots in Northern Ireland- gee whiz- so many family roots all over the map.

Poor Ireland. There will be no peace for you with the Sinn Fein, and there will be no peace for us with the Democrats.

mimi, you need to read your history and get the f*** over it. the north was not ceded, it was the piece of ireland that england would not give up when they agreed to give most of ireland back to the irish. a civil war broke out when the deal was accepted- that's how strongly people felt about that "deal". the deal states that the north can vote itself back into the republic of ireland and the demographics indicate that will be happening very soon. you brit's will never get it through your thick f***ing heads- the irish do not give up. ever. ireland is internationally recognized as the blackest mark on britain's colonial history. ireland has fought for her survival every inch of the way for nearly one thousand years. all that is wanted is ireland, whole,and belonging to the irish. you and your ilk are pathetic.

It's only the Union Jack when flown at sea. Union Flag.
... Dr. Who

Let me get this straight. Babies and children are literally dying in the dirt in the Sudan and THIS is what they are all throwing a hissy fit about? A flag? Northern Ireland and Ireland both need to grow the F up and when they do they can come join the human race and we can move forward dealing with the REAL problems in the world. Oh, and if you start your "troubles" up again: go screw yourselves. You know how to stop the fighting? Stop. It's that easy. Of course, I'm sure there's some sort of "pride" thing I'm not understanding. Don't. Care. I tried reading through the history of whom was angry with whom and I got a headache! It's just an endless cycle of violence and idiocy: "No we're the REAL army", "NO! We're the REAL REAL! IRA", "STFU We're the REAL REAL REAL IRA". "Your grandfather once looked cross-eyed at my grandfather so I'm going to blow up a street with innocent people because we're the REAL REAL REAL REAL REEEEAAAALLLLL IRA". British Imperialism sucks and I get that and there have been many injustices that I would never want to deal with in a million years. Those who have overcome such things are to be admired. This flag thing though? If this is the kind of thing that gets rioted over (vs. unlawful jailing, etc.) and fought about? Ireland and N. Ireland: You deserve whatever you get out of this. You're making your own bed so don't cry for help when you have to sleep in it. Sorry for the rant, but this is getting right up there with Palestine and Israel: give me a call when you stop acting like tards.

If there are aliens observing this planet. I wonder if they are laughing or crying.

@mill7887...Here's my take on it...they're mad at each other and fighting because...well, because they're mad and fighting. See?...That way it can go on forever...it's sort of like football with bombs.

It seems a bit of a mis-nomer calling it the United Kingdom, doesn't it?

Why is msnbc once again refusing to allow people to comment on the Lindsay
Lohan case? I have pertinenant information that could turn the tide of the
public’s opposition to this hard-working and very misunderstood starlet but
once again the editors of this website refuse to allow the people’s voices to
be heard because it may go against their anti-lindsay agenda which they push
without end on a daily basis. Either let the people clear the record about what
really happened at that night-club or stop reporting lies because the current
state-of-affairs here is quite shameful and lindsey deserves better after all
she’s done for this country.

What on earth does Lindsay Lohan have to do with N. Ireland!!!? You and Annita need to find some other place to post non-relevant material.

Where can I send my check to the Repubs???

If Assad wipes out his own country with nerve gas, maybe the UN can relocate the Northern Irish to Syria. Then most of the world's lunatics will be in one area killing each other.

There is no real good answer for Northern Ireland. One could say the "majority" of Northern Ireland as it stands now support staying UK. But like everything, "Northern Ireland" is an artificial construct. (Can't say it is really Ulster, as it excludes some Catholic-majority areas of traditional Ulster that are part of the Republic of Ireland)

This group or that group will be in the majority, depending on where you draw the lines. The British did their own version of "Gerrymandering".

Ironically, a lot of the Protestant colonists from the United Kingdom came from Scotland, which may end up eventually voting for independence. Its also ironic, since Scotland is named after the Scoti, who were a Celtic tribe that lived in northern Ireland and crossed the water to settle in Scotland. So oddly enough, some of the Protestants living in Northern Ireland are probably descendents of the Scoti who originally lived there!

I'm a fairly independent observer; I am neither Catholic nor Protestant, and if I have practiced any religion, it has been as a reconstructionalist Druid. Personally, I think the Irish should just give up on Christianity and go back to Druidism. A lot of my ancestry is from Ireland and I stayed 10 days in nearly all parts of Ireland (including 2 in Northern Ireland)... got to see quite a bit and it wasn't that hard to stay above the politics.

It is one island and it should be one country, just perhaps not now.

Maybe a Celtic Federation as a government, consisting of Ulster, Munster, Leinster, Connacht, Wales, Britanny, Mann and the Isles (including the Hebrides), Northern Scotland and Southern Scotland, with each region being mostly self-governing.

Make Douglas (on the Isle of Mann) the seat of government.

Having been born and raised in Belfast in 1974 I have read all the comments on here and the majority of you simply do not have a clue, I grew up on the Falls road in West belfast and moved to the US in 2004.

Here is the history:

The island or Ireland, some 89,000 sq. km (32,000 sq. mi.) is
comprised of the Republic of Ireland (Eire) which occupies almost 85% of the
total land-mass, and Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom.
Within the traditional four ecclesiastical provinces of Ulster (north-east),
Leinster (south-eastern Ireland including the ancient kingdom of Meath), Munster
(south-west), and Connaught (or Connacht, north-west) there are 32 counties, 26
of which are within the Republic. The partition of the island dates from
1920-22, before which the whole island was under British rule.

The first settlement of Ireland took place sometime around 6000 BC
by hunters and fishers along the island's eastern coast. The Gaels, a
Celtic-speaking people from western Europe, found their way to the island
sometime between about 600 and 150 BC and subdued the previous inhabitants.

About the time of Christ the island was organised into five
kingdoms, the traditional "Five Fifths of Ireland". By AD 400 seven independent
kingdoms had evolved. The kings of these kingdoms often allied their armies to
raid neighbouring Roman Britain and the Continent. On one of these raids a lad
of 16 was captured, returned to Ireland and sold into slavery. During his
enslavement the boy turned to religion and some six years later at the age of 22
escaped. The young man studied theology in the Roman church and in 432 returned
to Ireland, and began a lifelong quest of converting the Irish to Christianity.
This was none other than Ireland's patron, Saint Patrick.

In the 9th and 10th centuries, Ireland came under fierce attacks
from the Vikings. Monasteries suffered great atrocities at the hands of these
aggressors. In 853 the Danes invaded the island and were followed by Danish
settlers who gradually assimilated with the local population and adopted
Christianity. When the four ecclesiastical provinces (Ulster - north-east,
Leinster - south-eastern Ireland including the ancient kingdom of Meath, Munster
-southwest, and Connaught, or Connacht - north-west) were created in 1152, both
Gaelic and Danish elements helped form a united Church. This reform, and others
advocated by the Irish church were frowned on by some, including Pope Adrian IV,
an Englishman. In 1155 he conferred on Henry II of England the lordship of
Ireland with hopes of curing some of Ireland's perceived ecclesiastical ills. In
1168 the English invaded the island and soon thereafter began invoking reforms,
many dealing with the granting of land, and many of which violated the
traditional political and social structure.

From the latter twelfth century to about 1400, many Norman's from
England moved to Ireland and settled the eastern areas, particularly around
Dublin. Some assimilated but strife persisted between the native Irish and the
colonists. In 1367 a law was enacted to keep the two populations separate.

In 1495 Henry VII extended English law over the entirety of
Ireland, and assumed supremacy over the existing Irish parliament. When Henry
VIII became king, he tried to separate the Irish Church from the Papacy much as
he had done in England. Instead he intensified Irish resolve toward the English.
By the time that Queen Elizabeth ascended to the English thrown, Roman
Catholicism became linked with Irish sentiment and the Irish refused to accept
English imposed ecclesiastical change. Mounting English domination was also
being met with greater Irish resistance. In the 1560s the English suppressed a
revolt in Ulster and Queen Elizabeth took the opportunity to expropriate all
lands and settle the province with Englishmen. By 1660 they had become well
seated and English law prevailed throughout the land.

During the reign of James I (ruled 1603-1625), Catholic schools
were closed and children were taught in Protestant institutions. Soon the old
distinctions of Irish, Anglo-Irish, and English became realigned to Catholic and
Protestant, although the island remained overwhelmingly Catholic. It was about
this period that the emigration trend began.

When Cromwell took firm control of England, he also invoked strict
rule over Ireland and confiscated all Catholic holdings. Following his death,
however, the Irish renewed their claims on their historic lands. After some
successes, in 1690 they defeated the English at Londonderry and signed a treaty
with London that granted them a number of rights, only to see it rejected by the
Protestant dominated Irish parliament.

The rift between adherents of the two religions broadened. In
1727, Catholics were excluded from all public office and denied the right to
vote. Although some measured attempts at reconciliation were made nearing the
end of the century, for the most part relations between the two factions
remained poor.

In 1798, a revolt in Ireland set in motion a series of events that
led the Irish to relinquish their own parliament. On 1 Jan 1801, the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland came into existence. Not surprisingly, the
union in Ireland was highly unpopular and relations continued to deteriorate
between the Catholic and Protestant populations. In the 1830s, a movement began
to repeal the union. It found little favour in Protestant Ulster, though, where
growing prosperity kept many committed to the legislative union with Britain.
Catholic areas of Ireland fared less well and when the potato crops of the 1840s
failed, a devastating famine resulted. Between 1841 and 1851, Ireland's
population fell from 8.2 million to 6.6 million through starvation, disease, and
emigration, particularly to the United States.

Following the famine, Catholic Ireland slowly increased in
prosperity but there became a growing awareness of the greater affluence enjoyed
by the industrialised Ulster and British people. Demand for national
self-government came to the fore. The Catholics gradually gained parliamentary
power and "home rule", a separate Irish parliament within the Union, gained
popularity. Using their leverage in the British parliament, a home rule bill was
enacted in 1914, but not put in effect until the end of World War I.

In the twentieth century, Ireland's situation has remained
unsettled. In 1920, the "Government of Ireland Act" set up separate parliaments
for both the north and south, although only the former ever functioned. In 1921
a treaty between southern Ireland and Britain established the Irish Free State,
a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations. This
allowed the Northern Ireland Parliament to take the six northern counties out of
the dominion. A subsequent civil war broke out between pro-treaty and
anti-treaty factions but ultimately the treaty stood.

In 1937 southern Ireland drafted and adopted a new constitution
creating the new state of Eire. A republic in all but name, it remained formally
within the British Commonwealth. It lasted only eleven years until 1948 when the
ties with the Commonwealth were severed completely and the Republic of Ireland
was born. In the north, the Protestants and Catholics continued their unsettled
relationship with one another. In 1972, the Republic of Ireland joined the
European Economic Community (EEC) along with the United Kingdom and Denmark.
That same year, the Northern Irish State was dissolved and the six counties were
put under direct rule from London.

I'm curious.

Do you consider yourself Irish or British?

Is your ancestry Irish or British?

Do you think Northern Ireland should or should not be returned to the Republic of Ireland?

thank you for this.

God save the queen ! and may Northen Ireland remain part of her domain as long as the majority want to....

Long before anyone considered Arab Muslims to be crazy and violent, there were the Irish.