Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland isaconstituent unitof the U.K., known for its friendliestofwelcomes, Norman castles, glacial valleys and mountains, Celtic and Christian monuments, and renowned coastal links golf courses. It isvariously describedas acountry,province,region, or "part" of the United Kingdom, amongst other terms.

Northern Ireland was created in 1921, whenIreland was partitionedbetween Northern Ireland andSouthern Irelandbyan actof theBritish parliament.It comprises six of the nine counties ofUlster(one of the four ancient Irish provinces), with the remaining three (Monaghan, Cavan and Donegal) staying in what is now the modern dayRepublic of Ireland. For this reason Ulster is a popular colloquial alternative name for Northern Ireland, even if it is not in the strictest sense historically accurate.