another name for Northern Ireland. The name Ulster is often used in news reports, and it is also the name preferred by the mainly Protestant political parties and groups who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. Historical province, northern Ireland. It now forms Northern Ireland and Ulster province of Ireland. The ancient province was home to the Roman Catholic O'Neills (earls of Tyrone), who rebelled against English rule 1600. After they fled, most of the land was confiscated by British King James I and settled with Protestant Scots, Welsh, and English. It was further colonized after Cromwellian settlement in the mid-17th century. In the early 20th century its opposition to Irish Home Rule led to the formation of Northern Ireland
Province in the north of the island of Ireland Now divided between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Some people prefer to use the term 'Ulster' rather than 'Northern Ireland', as the latter could be seen to imply a united Ireland
In 1920 Ireland was petitioned into two states The Irish Free State, which later became known as the Republic of Ireland, had a Catholic majority Northern Ireland, generally used interchangeably with the term Ulster, has a Protestant majority but a significant Catholic minority Protestants want the boundry between Ireland and Ulster to remain permanent and to continue their association with Britain Protestants in Ulster outnumber Catholics by almost two to one Catholics envision the unification of the Irelands into one nation in which Catholics would then outnumber Protestants by three and a half to one However the roots of the Protestant-Catholic animosity date back to the early 17th Century
The name commonly applied to Northern Ireland, but strictly the designation of the historic nine-county province of Ireland that includes not only the six in Northern Ireland but also three counties in the Republic as well: Monaghan, Cavan, and Donegal
loose long overcoat of heavy fabric; usually belted a historic division of Ireland located in the northeastern part of the island; six of Ulster's nine counties are in Northern Ireland