Ulster loyalism

Ulster loyalism is a political tradition that supports Northern Ireland’s union with the United Kingdom and seeks to preserve British identity and institutions.

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Plantation of Ulster: The organized settlement of English and Scottish Protestants in Ulster during the early seventeenth century. The settlement helped establish Protestant communities whose descendants became central to loyalist politics.
Edward Carson: An Irish unionist politician who led opposition to Irish Home Rule before the First World War. Carson became an emblematic leader of Ulster unionist resistance to Home Rule.
Unionism in Ireland: A political tradition supporting Ireland’s constitutional union with Great Britain. Ulster loyalism is a regional tradition within the broader politics of Irish unionism.
Irish nationalism: A political tradition seeking Irish self-government or national independence. Its goal of Irish sovereignty conflicts with loyalism’s commitment to the United Kingdom.
The Troubles: A conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998 involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries and state forces. Loyalist organizations and communities were participants in, and were transformed by, the conflict.
Home Rule crisis: The political conflict over proposals for Irish self-government within the United Kingdom, especially from 1912 to 1914. Unionist resistance to Home Rule shaped the organized politics from which loyalism developed.
James Craig: The first prime minister of Northern Ireland, serving from 1921 to 1940. Craig led the unionist government that established Northern Ireland’s early political institutions.
Democratic Unionist Party: A Northern Irish political party founded by Ian Paisley in 1971. The DUP is a major electoral vehicle for contemporary unionist and loyalist politics.
Irish republicanism: A political tradition seeking an independent Irish republic, historically including support for armed struggle. Republicanism’s pursuit of a united Irish republic is the clearest constitutional counterpoint to loyalism.
Good Friday Agreement: The 1998 agreement establishing a framework for power-sharing and constitutional change in Northern Ireland. Its consent principle protects the union unless a majority in Northern Ireland votes otherwise.