Why is there a republic of Ireland and a northern Ireland?

Answer 1

People from Scotland settled in the north east part of Ireland 400 years agoto try and colonise the island and make the people british. Ireland became part of the UK when a parliament that only protestants could join passed the act of union. only 10% of the population were protestant in Ireland.

Ireland fought for its Independence, which was granted but with one condition. that 6 counties in the north east of the island stay with the UK. So the country was split in two. Creating Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland, southern Ireland was to be a self governing territory of Britain with its King, Gerorge. But southern Ireland never took off, its rulers quickly declared it a republic. Meanwhile in Ni, these 6 counties were not 100% British and protestant, they were 45% Irish catholic. So the two groups started fighting and killing each other. Irish wanted the six counties (northern Ireland) to leave the UK and join the rest of the island as a republic, separate from the UK. But the British wanted it to stay with the UK.

there is peace now, with a shared government, no one party is allowed to have an overall rule. but people still regard themselves as British or Irish. most Irish people in Ni have Irish passports, even though they were born in a part of the UK which would make them British. but you can choose your nationality in Ni, a unique situation in the world.

simple solution, Ireland shouldn't have been taken over.

Answer 2

The island of Ireland had been under British rule since the middle ages, when people from Scotland settled in the northeastern part of Ireland to colonise the island.

Irish nationalists fought for their independence, which was eventually granted. However, the population of six of the counties in the northeast were Unionist (pro-British) and rejected independence. So the country was split in two. Creating Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland was to be a self governing territory of Britain. But Southern Ireland never took off and its rulers quickly declared it a republic.

Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, these 6 counties were not 100% British. Unionists (pro-British) outnumbered Nationalists (pro-Irish) by around 60 to 40 respectively. So the two groups began a bitter ethno-political conflict which lasted from the 1960s until the late 1990s. Nationalists wanted the six counties (Northern Ireland) to leave the UK and join with the Republic of Ireland. But the Unionists wanted it to stay with the UK.

There is considered to be peace now, with a shared government in which no one party is allowed to have an overall rule. But people still regard themselves as British or Irish, Unionist or Nationalist.

Most Irish people in NI have Irish passports, even though they were born in a part of the UK which would make them British. This is because the Republic of Ireland extends its citizenship laws to the entire island.

Answer 3

Because they are two different states/countries. The republic is an independent state (although, concerning its membership of the EU, some people people contest this fact. But, officially, it is an independent state), whereas the north is a part of the United Kingdom (along, with Wales, Scotland, etc.). The seperation (also known as partition) is similar to what happened with India and Pakistan when they too achieved independence from being a colony of Britain (but on a much smaller scale, obviously). It was a sort of long, slightly confusing process and there are many controversial issues and historical issues surrounding it (Plantations, famine, religious biggotry, Civil War, Rebellion, Martyrdom, the Commonwealth, Home Rule, politics, neutrality, The Troubles [terrorism from both sides], colonialism, etc.) and it can still be a sensitive topic in some parts of Ireland, to this day. Basically, most of the people in the Republic wanted to be indepent of Britain, and most people in the North didn't. That's very, very general and simplified, though. =) Hope it helped anyway!

Answer 4

It's the other way round ! Northern Ireland is part of the UK.