Let's us learn

I decided I wanted to do an educational post because I have gotten a lot of comments about being in Ireland when in fact I am not in Ireland. 

Being in Belfast means I am in Northern Ireland which is on the island of Ireland. However, it remains part of the United Kingdom. And it's only fair to educate everyone on Northern Ireland since that is where I am at for a year.

Here is a brief video to help explain.

Now the video goes really fast but Great Britain is a geographical term referring to the island which hosts Scotland, England, and Wales. The United Kingdom refers to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The full name of UK is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I thought the map below gives a good visual to how Northern Ireland is part of the UK. 

This divide is where much of the conflict stems from here. Some people like that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK and others want it to become one with the Republic of Ireland.  

Due to the history of this region it happens that most of the people wanting to be in the UK are Protestant and those wishing to unite with the Republic are Catholic. Also, another good point to make is that those liking the UK would state their nationality as British and those wanting to be a joined island would state their nationality as Irish.  

A good way to look at it comes from a conversation I had with someone about how I get very confused about Irish vs. British and so on. 

I was stating how people keep asking me how's Ireland and my frustration at that question. She then told a story about going to California for a wedding and being introduced as the Irish cousins which was incredibly frustrating for one of the kids with her. He kept telling everyone he's not Irish but British but most people just thought he was Irish because they only heard the Ireland in Northern Ireland. 

The woman then explained how it's like being an American who gets called Canadian because you're on the same piece of land as Canada. I immediately realized what she meant because I have had someone tell me here Canada is basically America which I was quick to say it wasn't. But that is how it is here in Northern Ireland. To say it is the same as Ireland is a very incorrect statement but people would still make it. 

I will admit I was under false pretenses before coming over here. I thought that I would be experiencing a lot of Irish culture and I'm not. I am experiencing British culture. I knew Northern Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom before arriving here and that was where the conflict stems from, but I think I was a bit under the haze of only hearing Ireland in Northern Ireland. So I understand how it is hard for those in the States to not be able to fully comprehend it all because I'm still understanding it all. 

But I think it is important for us to understand that just because Ireland is in the name Northern Ireland is not 100% Irish. Which leads me to my next point about politics here. I am finally really understanding the difference between political groups here. Below is a document that was given to all the YAVS by Doug, our site coordinator, to help us understand the differences. If you click it, the image will get bigger, so it will be hopefully easier to read. 

It shows though the two main political parties in Northern Ireland: Unionist and Nationalist. If you are a Unionist you see yourself as British and wish to remain part of the United Kingdom (think of the U in Unionist standing for United Kingdom in order to remember.) Now you can probably guess that Nationalists would see themselves as Irish and because of that want to become one with the Republic of Ireland. 

From these political groups stem the sub-groups of Loyalist and Republican. Now a confusing thought is that all Loyalists would be Unionist but not every Unionist would be Loyalist. All Republicans would be Nationalist but not all Nationalists would be Republican. 

And from those two sub-groups stem the other political groups and from there the paramilitary groups. Unfortunately due to the violence in the past, the paramilitary groups such as the IRA and Ulster Defense Association is what people in America and around the world would probably have heard of first before the actual political groups. 

Sidenote: Ulster is a province in the island of Ireland. The island is divided into Ulster (northern),  Connacht (western), Munster (southern), and Leinster (eastern.) In Belfast and in Northern Ireland, you will see and hear many references to Ulster. The tricky thing about Ulster is that County Donegal is part of Ulster but is a county in the Republic of Ireland. And the rest of Ulster creates Northern Ireland.  So despite being in Ulster, Donegal is not part of Northern Ireland and remains with the Republic of Ireland. 

The maps below show the division of Belfast between Protestants and Catholics (keep in mind Protestant and Catholic are used more as broad terms.) The large red lines (you will have to click it to enlarge it) represent the "Peace Lines" where physical walls are set up to keep violence at bay between the two groups. 

I have a previous post about going to see some of these walls and how it was an incredibly powerful experience. I live in East Belfast which is dominantly Protestant.  

I hope this post has been helpful in explaining that even though I live in Northern Ireland I am not actually in Ireland and I have been experiencing British culture and feel more British living here which makes sense because I am living in the United Kingdom. However, it is hard to wrap my mind around and understand how confusing it can be, but if there are any questions just ask.