I found this on the web. I would link it back and give it credit if I could remember where I found it
There is a border between the north-eastern part of the island (which is still united with and ruled from Britain) called Northern Ireland and the larger south-western part (which has been independent since December 1921 and is governed from the largest city on the island, Dublin) known as the Republic of Ireland. Unionists form the majority in Northern Ireland and nationalists form the (overwhelming) majority in the Republic.
Between Three-and-a-half and four million people live in the Republic (3.621 million at the time of the 1996 Census). It is divided into twenty six counties:
Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin*, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.
Dublin, with a population of over a million, is the most important city. The government has tried to slow emigration from rural areas to Dublin using measures ranging from grants to relocating government offices, but with limited success.
Irish is the official first language, but is spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard known as Gaeltachts. English is the language generally used. There are also a lot of Irish speakers in the cities (particularly Dublin), but they are less concentrated there than in the Gaeltachts.
Less than half the population is in the labour force -- the Republic has a very high proportion of children and young people. Unemployment has recently fallen below the European Union average but remains a social problem (one shared by most of the countries of western Europe.)
Ireland celebrates its national day on March 17th, the day of its patron saint, Patrick, who introduced Christianity to the country. The day is celebrated in the U.S. almost as much as in Ireland.
The republic has a bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consisting of an upper house or Senate (Seanad Éireann) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Dáil Éireann). Members of the Dáil (known as Teachtaí Dála or T.D.s) are elected directly and this house has the primary legislative role. The Seanad (whose members are not elected by the people at large) can only suggest changes to bills that have already passed the Dáil or delay their implementation.
Chief of State: Uachtarán (President) Mary McAleese
Head of Government: Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern
The national flag is divided into three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange. The green symbolises the nationalist culture, the orange the unionist culture, and white symbolises peace.
Between one-and-a-half and two million people live in the North (1 577 836 were counted during the last Census in 1991). It is divided into six counties:
Antrim, Armagh, Derry , Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone. These counties were
Belfast is the most important city in Northern Ireland and the second biggest city on the island. It has traditionally been the most industrially developed city in Ireland and is famous for its shipbuilding, particularly the Harland and Wolf shipyard. The shipyard has survived but is not nearly as important an employer as it once was. It is a city starkly divided between nationalists and unionists: victims of violence can (and are) often be identified merely by the area they come from: someone from Ballymurphy is nationalist; someone from the Shankhill is unionist. Divisions are at their worst in working class areas, where it's often possible to label areas on a street by street basis: middle-class suburbs are more integrated.
Unemployment is a serious problem just as it is in the south. It is also very unevenly distributed, as in the south: you will come across housing estates where the overwhelming majority of people are unemployed, often for more than one generation in the same family. Up until the late sixties there was open discrimination against nationalists and many claim that this discrimination continues today, although there are now strict laws against discrimination.
Northern Ireland is ruled from London: there is a Northern Ireland Secretary (currently Mo Mowlam) who is in charge of the Northern Ireland Office and hence the civil service. The parliament in Stormont has not been active since the start of the Troubles in the early seventies, when "direct rule" was established.
Currently 18 out of 647 constituencies represented in the House of Commons in London are in Northern Ireland.
Chief of State: Queen Elizabeth II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Tony Blair
The flag of Northern Ireland is that of the United Kingdom: the crosses of Saints Andrew, George and Patrick overlaid on each other. (There is also flag for Northern Ireland alone, a red hand superimposed on a cross of St George.)
There are two more important terms: "republican" and "loyalist". A republican believes in an extreme form of Nationalism, a loyalist believes in an extreme form of Unionism. Both terms are used to describe groups who advocate the use of violence to achieve political aims.
Unionists tend to call Northern Ireland Ulster, even tough this is technically incorrect (Ulster includes three extra counties: Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal). Republicans often call Northern Ireland "the Six Counties" and the Republic "the Twenty Six Counties"
Finally, you cannot tell someone's political allegiance reliably from what names they use: these are all generalisations. The safest terms are "Northern Ireland" and "Republic of Ireland".
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