It is also deeply unpopular in Scotland, where it has renewed calls for a second referendum on independence. Before Brexit, I would have said, yes. There was a kind of momentum and there seemed to be a will for reunification. As was intended by unionists and their supporters in Westminster, Northern Ireland had a unionist majority, who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom;[18] they were generally the Protestant descendants of colonists from Britain. Northern Ireland glossary L-Z Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, reform of local government in Northern Ireland, List of districts in Northern Ireland by population, List of districts in Northern Ireland by area, List of districts in Northern Ireland by national identity, "Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_districts_in_Northern_Ireland_by_religion_or_religion_brought_up_in&oldid=1116199491, This page was last edited on 15 October 2022, at 10:07. Choice of language and nomenclature in Northern Ireland often reveals the cultural, ethnic, and religious identity of the speaker. Patsy McGarry, Orthodox Christians of all shades now have a significant presence in Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed in 1801 and governed from London. The population density is 135 inhabitants / km2. The volcanic activity which created the Antrim Plateau also formed the geometric pillars of the Giant's Causeway on the north Antrim coast. The region that is now Northern Ireland was long inhabited by native Gaels who were Irish-speaking and predominantly Catholic. [95], Official voting figures, which reflect views on the "national question" along with issues of the candidate, geography, personal loyalty, and historic voting patterns, show 54% of Northern Ireland voters vote for unionist parties, 42% vote for nationalist parties, and 4% vote "other". Richard Dawson Bates, the Minister for Home Affairs, had prepared too late, assuming that Belfast was far enough away to be safe. Approximately 57.5% of the total electorate voted in support, but only 1% of Catholics voted following a boycott organised by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). At the same time, even though the north of Ireland was majority Protestant, they too had come to think of themselves as Irish. [150] At the 2011 census, 41.5% of the population identified as Protestant/other Christian, 41% as Roman Catholic, 0.8% as other religions, while 17% identified with no religion or did not state one. The only preserved line of this gauge on the island is the Downpatrick and County Down Railway, which operates heritage steam and diesel locomotives. Protestants are no longer a clear majority in Northern Ireland. In March 2018, The Sunday Times published its list of Best Places to Live in Britain, including the following places in Northern Ireland: Ballyhackamore near Belfast (overall best for Northern Ireland), Holywood, County Down, Newcastle, County Down, Portrush, County Antrim, Strangford, County Down.[140]. 356 species of marine algae have been recorded in the northeast of Ireland. [69], The UUP governments, and some UUP-dominated local authorities, discriminated against the Catholic and Irish nationalist minority; especially over gerrymandering of electoral boundaries, the allocation of public housing, public sector employment, and policing, showing "a consistent and irrefutable pattern of deliberate discrimination against Catholics". The Irish Language Act officially repealed legislation from 1737 that banned the use of Irish in courts.