Is Northern Ireland part of the UK anymore?

LordSutch

Is Northern Ireland part of the UK anymore in the eyes of the local Irish media/ local advertising/ Local Government?

I ask this because; nearly every day on Irish Radio, on Irish TV, in the Dail, or on 'Irish websites' there is reference to "the UK & Northern Ireland" or references to . . .
"Northern Ireland or the UK", or maybe you would like to Sail to the UK, etc, etc.

(Vodafone.ie/ 02.ie/ Meteor.ie are the main culprits) & so is Dermot Ahearn.

And this confuses me, as I thought that one of the Net results of the Good Friday agreement was that the the current status of the North was agreed upon by all and sundry that; Northern Ireland was an integral part of the United Kingdom as long as the majority of people living there wanted ~ but maybe Not?

Is it not the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland anymore? or is it now the United Kingdom of the UK & Northern Ireland?

I know what the story really is myself, but if I were a foreigner or a tourist or a newcomer to these shores, I might be forgiven for thinking that Northern Ireland was definately NOT part of the UK (specially if I were to listen to Irish sourced media/ advertising).

Any ideas posters as to whats going on with this new Irish the definition of the term "UK" or have I missed something in the last few years?

ie; has the definition of the UK of GN+NI changed again since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998?

A Dub in Glasgo

Is Northern Ireland part of the UK anymore?

Yes

Is Northern Ireland part of the UK anymore in the eyes of the local Irish media/ local advertising/ Local Government?

Maybees aye, maybees naw.

Most people do not probably think that NI is foreign therefore they consider the UK to be Britain (normally England though). I do not think it is new. You will be amazed at what British people think constitutes the UK if you are scratching your head onIrish peoples interpretation!

billy the squid

lumping the republic and northern Ireland together makes economical sense for business. It makes things simpler for the likes of O2/Vodafone/meteor, especially for their customers living in the border.

Is it a part of the UK. Yes. People in the north still use 0800 and 0345 numbers to call our radio stations down here. They have their own BBC region etc.

The only media outlet that takes advantage of the proximity of Northern Ireland and the Republic really is UTV. They sometimes have 1550 numbers for down here with their competitions.

Kaiser_Sma

ArthurF wrote:

Is Northern Ireland part of the UK anymore in the eyes of the local Irish media/ local advertising/ Local Government?

I ask this because; nearly every day on Irish Radio, on Irish TV, in the Dail, or on 'Irish websites' there is reference to "the UK & Northern Ireland" or references to . . .
"Northern Ireland or the UK", or maybe you would like to Sail to the UK, etc, etc.

These differentiations are cultural more than political. But if you think about the term UK, people in great britain don't see it as a patriotic title at all i found, not compared to other words such as Britain, England, Scotland, Wales etc. The reason travel companies make the differerentiation is because you can sail to the UK but also drive there from ireland. The sea inbetween makes a logisticla difference even if a cultural one doesn't exsist. I suppose anything saying "UK and northern ireland" is technically incorrect.

vodalink

By law Yes.

In reality no.

But I dont thinks its part of Ireland either.

I beleive it is a country in its own right.

Does anyone no if it has a economy that could substain itself?

A Dub in Glasgo

It is a massive drain on the taxpayers of the UK. It has no economy to sustain itself.

vodalink

So would it be of any benefit it it rejoined the republic? And if Britain gave it freedom would the country go bankrupt? (THe North as a seperate country and not part of the south.)

Maskhadov

the problem with northern ireland is that there is no ulster scots word for entrepreneur

murphaph

Maskhadov wrote:

the problem with northern ireland is that there is no ulster scots word for entrepreneur

You're kidding me right? By all means it's fair game to be critial of the current economic situation in Northern Ireland, all the time bearing in mind that the IRA did try to destroy the place for 30 years, destroying confidence in the economy at the same time, but please do recall who were the entrepeneurs of the times before the 'troubles'. The north-eastern part of the island was the economic heart of the land. It's a nonsense to suggest that the protestants up north have no entrepreneurial spirit in them.

mike65

ArthurF wrote:

Is Northern Ireland part of the UK anymore in the eyes of the local Irish media/ local advertising/ Local Government?

I ask this because; nearly every day on Irish Radio, on Irish TV, in the Dail, or on 'Irish websites' there is reference to "the UK & Northern Ireland" etc...

This is just poor lazy use of terms by people who should know better but are so sloppy/badly educated don't. The standard of journalism both written and spoken is pretty wretched.

Mike.

Maskhadov

murphaph wrote:

You're kidding me right? By all means it's fair game to be critial of the current economic situation in Northern Ireland, all the time bearing in mind that the IRA did try to destroy the place for 30 years, destroying confidence in the economy at the same time, but please do recall who were the entrepeneurs of the times before the 'troubles'. The north-eastern part of the island was the economic heart of the land. It's a nonsense to suggest that the protestants up north have no entrepreneurial spirit in them.

Rubbish. That was all government spending from the oil. Northern Ireland never did anything on its own. They lost all their industry and ship building long before any campaign by the provos.

mike65

Norn Iron was the only industrialsed part of the island and thats why it suffered ironicly. What it once did well others started to do better and cheaper. The government of NI was'nt in a position to fund bail-outs or seed new industry then under direct rule London was helpless to encouage investment thanks to the violence. They only ocassionaly snagged something of any scale like Fruit of the Loom and rather more infamously DeLorean.

Mike.

murphaph

Indeed the shipbuilding was dying long before the troubles is true but they actually had one of the largest, if not the largest shipyard in the world! You don't get there without an enterprising spirit. We don't have a long history of economic success down here so I wouldn't be so arrogant as to wave it in the faces of a people who were building million tonne ships while we were still arsing about.

Now, most NI heavy industry has died, but as Mike points out-who would invest in NI (including NI citizens!) given the civil disorder that went on for 30 years. You build a factory and some nutter bombs it. You'd be insane to put your money into such a volatile place.

Anyway, some NI companies remain successful and innovative. Check out a certain Wrightbus, based in Ballymena. I'm not deluding myself that the current state of the Northern economy is in any way rosy, it isn't, but it could be given the right circumstances.

baztard

Everyone know NI is technically part of the UK. But in the hearts and minds of most Irish people NI is part of Ireland. You can't draw a border through a peoples culture. The media know this, and they reflect it in their actions.

LordSutch

Have just been the Vodafone website which claims that:
"There are no more UK & NI roaming charges ..............
(and this is what I am on about)!

Shouldnt that be no more UK roaming charges? (This covers NI automatically) or maybe No more GB & NI roaming charges?

O2 is just as bad if not worse, they show roaming charges for N.Ireland and then on a seperate page they have roaming charges for the UK (when they actually mean Britain)!

This is just the tip of the (UK ignorance iceberg), everyday on Irish radio you will hear reference to the UK &/or Northern Ireland, and the funny thing is you very rarely hear England mentioned, and come to think of it, I get the destinct impression that (many Irish people equate England with the UK) and vice versa ......................

Am I wrong?

baztard

ArthurF wrote:

... I get the destinct impression that (many Irish people equate England with the UK) and vice versa ......................

Am I wrong?

No I think your right. A lot of people will shoot me down for saying this but I think, deep down the United Kingdom is really just an English Kingdom. [Gotta run... I'm late...]

Flex

murphaph wrote:

Indeed the shipbuilding was dying long before the troubles is true but they actually had one of the largest, if not the largest shipyard in the world! You don't get there without an enterprising spirit.

Indeed, an enterprising Irish spirit

murphaph

Flex wrote:

Indeed, an enterprising Irish spirit

The point was being made that NI protestants don't have a spirit of enterprise. I think the fact that Belfast was the largest and by far the most industrialised place in Ireland for much of it's history blows that theory out of the water. The population of NI as a whole has been subdued by 30 years of bombs. It's not surprising their economy hasn't sprung back into life just because P O'Neill declares it's all over. You are clearly insinuating that the NI protestants are Irish and of course, they are Irish. They are also Ulstermen and British at the same time.

DMC

The usage of Great Britain, GB and British certainly has become more sidelined in recent years. Some could say this is the result of devolution, as UK more correctly describes laws and governance that affects the whole country.

A Dub in Glasgo

ArthurF wrote:

I get the destinct impression that (many Irish people equate England with the UK) and vice versa ......................

Am I wrong?

2nd post

therefore they consider the UK to be Britain (normally England though).

philologos

vodalink wrote:

Does anyone no if it has a economy that could substain itself?

Montenegro is about the size of Northern Ireland and it has been able to cope economically so far

Attractive Nun

'Tis hardly a big deal, it's just the companies clarifying their offers. Were Vodafone or anyone to offer, say, "reduced roaming charges in the UK", there would be a fair proportion of Irish people who wouldn't realise Northern Ireland was included. Not out of ignorance - everyone knows the north is part of the United Kingdom - but advertising flashes by you so quickly that you might not make the connection. Then Vodafone lose the opportunity to get customers who might travel to Northern Ireland often, but not to Great Britain.

The science of advertising.

Flex

murphaph wrote:

The point was being made that NI protestants don't have a spirit of enterprise. I think the fact that Belfast was the largest and by far the most industrialised place in Ireland for much of it's history blows that theory out of the water. The population of NI as a whole has been subdued by 30 years of bombs. It's not surprising their economy hasn't sprung back into life just because P O'Neill declares it's all over. You are clearly insinuating that the NI protestants are Irish and of course, they are Irish. They are also Ulstermen and British at the same time.

Yes, they had an enterprising and hard working Irish spirit. Back when Belfast was the largest city in Ireland, the north-east area was the economic heart of Ireland and prior to partition (which is the time/era I thought was being talked about with regards the H&W ship building and industrialisation of the north east, etc.), NI protestants wouldve considered themselves Irishmen/women who were happy also being UK citizens. AFAIK, the 'Ulsterman' and 'Ulster-Scot' thing is a more recent by-product of the neutrality of 'Eire' in WW2 and (to a far greater extent) the Troubles. Anyway, Im not disagreeing with your point that Protestants were hard working and enterprising.

spanner

it is a grey area, I certainly never feel that I am in the UK when I am there, nothing political just what I feel there. When I see signs of the UK there it reminds me that it is part of the UK otherwise I just think it is part of us.
A person from Northern Ireland is entitlied to an Irish passport and other Privileges.
To answer the question, Northern is definately still part of the UK, however it astounds me how many Britions and Irish do not know the status of the Northern Ireland, A English girl who was training to be a primary school teacher once asked me is the whole of ireland part of the UK

murphaph

VPN wrote:

are we all just part of europe? why bother with the titles of UK, britain, blah blah blah

So can a non-EU national use his/her visa for the RoI to wander all across the EU? NO-not even good for a trip to Newry! We haven't quite reached your EU superstate just yet

Glenbhoy

Jakkass wrote:

Montenegro is about the size of Northern Ireland and it has been able to cope economically so far

I can't see too many nordies being too happy with their new GDP per capita figures of $3,800!!
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mj.html