Airport B B Belfast City Ireland N Sources of airport b b belfast city ireland n resources from the Web

Political parties in Northern Ireland can be divided into three distinct categories: unionist parties, such as the Democratic Unionist Party, the Ulster Unionist Party, and other smaller parties such as the Progressive Unionist Party and the United Kingdom Unionist Party; nationalist parties, Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP); and cross-community parties such as the Alliance Party and the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.

A significant recent change to pub culture in Ireland has been the introduction of a smoking ban, in all workplaces, which includes pubs and restaurants. The ban was introduced on 29 March 2004. A majority of the population support the ban, including a significant percentage of smokers. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in pubs has changed greatly as a result, regardless of whether it has boosted or lowered sales, or whether it is a "good thing" or a "bad thing".

The Anglo-Irish Treaty was narrowly ratified by the Dáil in December 1921 but was rejected a large minority, resulting in the Irish Civil War which lasted until 1923. In 1922, in the middle of this war, the Irish Free State came into being. For its first years the new state was governed by the victors of the Civil War. However in the 1930s Fianna Fáil, the party of the opponents of the treaty, were elected into government. The party introduced a new constitution in 1937 which renamed the state to simply "Ireland".

The Constitution of Ireland guarantees the rights of the family and the institution of marriage. However, the reality is that social and economic change in recent years has brought about significant changes in family life in the Republic. According to figures published in September, 2004, 31% of all births in the Republic of Ireland occur outside marriage. This compares with 5% in 1980. The average of mothers having their first child was 30 and the fertility is an average of 1.98 children.

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a vigorous but unsuccessful campaign for Irish home rule, followed by the eclipse of moderate nationalism by militant separatism. In 1922, following the Anglo-Irish War, the twenty-six counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom as the Irish Free State. The remaining six, in the north-east, remained within the Union as Northern Ireland. Secession for southern Ireland led directly to the Civil War, as militant nationalists split into two factions and turned against one another.

There are many references to food and drink in early Irish literature. Honey seems to have been widely eaten and used in the making of mead. The old stories also contain many references to banquets, although these may well be greatly exaggerated and provide little insight to every diet. There are also many references to fulacht fiadh. These were sites for cooking deer, and consisted of holes in the ground which were filled with water. The meat was placed in the water and cooked by the introduction of hot stones. Many fulacht fiadh sites have been identified across the island of Ireland, and some of them appear to have been in use up to the 17th century.

A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central plains. The highest peak is Carrauntuohill (Irish: Corrán Tuathail), which is 1041 m (3414 feet). The island is bisected by the River Shannon, at 113 km (70 mi) the longest river in Ireland or Britain. The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but soft rainfall, earns it the sobriquet "Emerald Isle".

Northern Ireland currently has 18 seats in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The Northern Ireland Assembly has 108 MLAs, although this is currently in suspension. It is also represented in the European Parliament with 3 seats, and at local level by 26 district councils.

The culture of the people living on the island of Ireland is far from monolithic. Many notable cultural divides exist between the rural people and city dwellers, between the Catholic and Protestant people of Northern Ireland, between the Irish-speaking people within and without the Gaeltacht regions and the English-speaking majority population, between the settled people and the Travellers, and, increasingly, between new immigrants and the native population.