Ireland vs. northern ireland?

Northern Ireland, which is a piece of the Island of Ireland on the northeast corner, belongs to the UK. Ireland is a separate country.

Ireland used to belong to the UK, but in 1922 gained its independence. At the time, Northern Ireland was included provisionally, but had the right to return to British rule if they chose.

Immediately, Northern Ireland stated its desire to continue as part of the UK, and so it has been ever since.

What makes Northern Ireland different from the rest of the island is that a lot of British had settled there, and built factories and so forth; and the majority of the population of Northern Ireland was British. The UK is officially Church of England (called "Protestant" locally) and the majority of the Southern Irish are Roman Catholic. Thus the British and Irish populations are also referred to as Protestants and Catholics.

Although the majority in Northern Ireland identify themselves as "British" and "Protestant," the Irish minority felt very strongly, and wanted to be part of Ireland.

After many decades of terrorist conflict on both sides, in 1998, agreed to a power-sharing plan in 2007, thus making peace.

Northern Ireland is still part of the UK, but it is pretty much autonomous and has close relations with the Republic of Ireland.

Usually people mean the Republic of Ireland only when they refer to 'Ireland'. Otherwise they would specifically say 'Northern Ireland' or else 'the island of Ireland'. You do get a few staunch republican types who mean the entire island when they refer to 'Ireland', but that can lead to confusion amongst the more normal people.

Times when it is different is for example if somebody is taking a holiday to 'Ireland' - that can mean any part of the island of Ireland. But if somebody asks say 'what is the cost of living in Ireland', they would probably mean the Republic of Ireland as cost of living is something specific to a government/country and the Republic makes up the majority of the island so it would make more sense to be referring to ROI in that case.

It is a tricky one and can be confusing and a minefield even for people from Ireland!

The fact that Ireland (the island) and Ireland (the country) have the same name seems to be an amazing concept for some people, but it's really isn't THAT confusing, except where people try to make it so on purpose.

Ireland (the island) = Ireland (the country) and Northern Ireland (a constituent country of the UK).

Ireland (the country) might be a republic, but calling it "the Republic of Ireland" is only a description of the form of government (i.e. "Republic of..."), not of the country itself. It's like if you insisted that the United States of America shouldn't be called the United States of America but, rather, "the Federal Constitutional Republic of the United States of America"... which is a bit silly.

Depends completely on context.

If one is talking politics and is talking about a political state, Ireland refers to the republic of Ireland.

If one is talking about some sports such as Rugby or cricket, Ireland refers to the squad representing the whole Island.

If just talking about say tourism, its perfectly acceptable to say that you are spending a month travelling around Ireland, and for that to include the North and South, as the island geographically as a whole is Ireland.

basicallly, if you are talking politics, its the republic, anything else its the island as a whole.

It is not a dumb question! It's actually a good one...I find that, in addition to the factual explanations previously posted, in my experience, loosely and informally when talking about traveling from the States, I found myself referring to the whole island as Ireland at times and other times being more specific "I went to the Republic as well as to the North" or "Northern Ireland." In the North someone might ask "how do you find Ireland" referring to my whole visit, and in the ROI someone might refer to NI as the North. I didn't hear Northern Irish refer to themselves as 'from Northern Ireland" when I met them in Killarney. They said "North" and/or their town. In fact, I don't recall anyone referring to it as Northern Ireland so I probably wasn't talking to a lot of people where it came up...!?

After all that long-winded rambling, in answer to your question, some people may be including Northern Ireland when they say "Ireland," and other times may not mean to include Northern Ireland. Yes, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, partitioned from what is a separate independent country the Republic of Ireland. I find these variations part of the fun of getting to know about Ireland..:-)

In Northern Ireland 'Ireland' means the whole island, while in the Republic it usually means just the independent state, excluding Northern Ireland. Outside Ireland, 'Ireland' usually means the whole island (type 'Ireland' into wikipedia and you get the island), except when talking about international politics and the like. The 'Republic of Ireland' is a useful term for differentiating between Northern Ireland and independent Ireland, even though it's not its official name. Fifa for example, insisted that when the two soccer teams on the island called themselves 'Ireland' neither of them should have sole use of the word 'Ireland', so one is called 'Republic of Ireland' and the other is called 'Northern Ireland'.

It's funny that some nationalists from the Republic insist that the only correct name for the Republic is just 'Ireland' when that's pretty much the same view of narrow minded northern unionists, who like to insist Northern Ireland and Ireland are two completely different places.

In geographical terms the whole island is called Ireland.

In political terms the island is split into two completely separate States.

"Ireland" is the official name of the Republic of Ireland, also called "Éire" in gaeilge.

Northern Ireland is part of a country called the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"

So, when people say "Ireland", I would presume they are talking about just the Republic.

They mean the whole Island which is one country with no natural border and the original inhabitants are the same people and have been in Ireland for thousands of years .'ni' is a colony settled by people who came to Ireland a few hundred years ago and are governed by Britain. Most of the original inhabitants in 'ni' see Dublin as their capital.

Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are two completely different Countries.

Northern Ireland is part of the UK along with England, Wales and Scotland.

Some people refer to the countries as Ireland, but in fact this is two different countries. Its like refering to Canada and USA as America - In the sense Canada being in North America.

The Republic of Ireland is a separate Country given independence from the UK in around 1921. The North east of the Island of Ireland chose to remain part of the United Kingdom. Historically the Island of Ireland has only ever been united by a single governing body under british rule.

The majority of people in Northern Ireland wish to remain part of the United Kingdom. In the lastest survey by Northern Ireland life and times only 16% of the population wanted a united ireland.

Terms

UK - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The Island of Ireland - Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

British Isles - UK and Ireland.

It's just Ireland!!!! northern Ireland is a fake country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!