What do the Northern Ireland people call themselves?

Question

Don't laugh or tease. It's a serious question. No, I don't live in another planet. I just don't know.

For example a girl from Belfast, what does she say on internet while introducing herself? She says "I'm Irish but from Nothern Ireland" or "I'm Northern Irish"? How do you know a people is from Ireland or Northern Ireland when he or she says Irish??

Thanks (BTW, what is 'thanks' in Irish Gaelic?)

Answer 1

They could say "Irish", "British" or "Northern Irish".  If someone says they're Irish and you want to know if they're from Northern Ireland, just ask "where in Ireland are you from?".

Answer 2

Not sure about the Northern Ireland thing but ''Go raibh mile maith agat'' is how how you say thanks in Irish.

Answer 3

well 2 sets of people live in northern ireland-divided by religion,politics etc.

if you ask someone in N.I where they are from and they say Ireland this most likely means they are catholic,support sinn fein and play gaelic.

if they say they are from N.I or the UK or anything else then they are most likely protestant and support DUP,SDLP etc. etc.

Answer 4

Go raibh mile maith agat-Thank You in Irish.

Some people from Northern Ireland wouldn't call themselves Irish and some would, Northern Ireland is ruled by the UK, as you can see the Belfast section is in the United Kingdom category not the Ireland one.

It's up to the person what they call themselves.

= )

Answer 5

i say i live in Northern Ireland i not call my self Irish

Answer 6

I like the answer from tea Tea.

What grates on my nerves is when people (usually English) refer to Southern Ireland.

Having lived in West Cork when I first saw that I thought they meant County Waterford or County Cork.

Now I look for opportunity to say there is no Southern Ireland.

Cheers,

Answer 7

When I'm on my holidays I say I'm Irish and from Ireland, but I have a British passport.

As a rule of thumb, as someone else said, generally people calling themselves Irish, Northern Irish or British depends on religion, but this is not always the case. I know Protestants who call themselves Irish. It depends from person to person, and can get really confusing =]

Answer 8

I don't think this question is stupid at all. I doubt most people fully understand this actually, you just had the intelligence to ask!

It really depends on the individual. Some will say Irish (usually Nationalists -  those who want to see a united Ireland - traditionally Catholics). Some will say British (usually Unionists - those who want to maintain Northern Ireland's political Union - traditionally Protestants). Some, like me, chose to call themselves Northern Irish, this could just save you a bit of a debate, the feelings on this subject are just so mixed in our country. You can get both British and Irish nationality if you live in Northern Ireland, also. I've often thought about doing this...

I'm on the fence with this one, we're ruled by the UK yet we live on the Island of Ireland...

Answer 9

Im from Northern Ireland and i just tell people im Irish but if they ask fro  wherabouts i say From the North!

Answer 10

As an outsider, this is what I observed: Some call themselves Irish or Northern Irish and some call themselves British - depends on their backgrounds. It's politics in a way, but people have a right to choose what they name or see themselves as.

There is no one descriptive phrase that I have heard/read used universally. They could  be both Irish and a British/UK citizen. Similar to being both an American and Polish (of Polish background/a Polish-American) - you can be both, and both are accurate.

I ran into this question myself when visiting the region, good question, I doubt anyone will tease you:)