Unionism in Ireland

Unionism in Ireland is a political movement advocating the country’s union with Great Britain, especially Northern Ireland’s continued membership in the United Kingdom.

Act of Union 1800: Legislation that united the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1801. It created the United Kingdom union that Irish unionists sought to preserve.
Edward Carson: An Irish unionist politician who led opposition to Home Rule and became a central figure in Ulster unionism. He led the anti-Home Rule campaign and helped establish the Ulster Volunteer Force.
Unionism: A political position favoring the maintenance of a political union between territories. Irish unionism is a regional and historically specific form of this broader position.
Northern Ireland: A constituent country of the United Kingdom, established in 1921 from six counties in the northeast of Ireland. It is the territory where unionism has held its strongest electoral and institutional position.
Ulster nationalism: A political tradition advocating a distinct Ulster nation or independent Ulster state. It rejects both Irish unity and continued incorporation in the United Kingdom.
Home Rule: A movement for devolved self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom. Unionists organized against Home Rule proposals they believed threatened the union.
James Craig: A leading Ulster Unionist politician and the first prime minister of Northern Ireland. He built the unionist government that governed Northern Ireland from 1921.
Irish nationalism: A political tradition seeking Irish self-government or national independence. It has been unionism’s principal constitutional rival in Ireland.
The Troubles: An armed and political conflict in Northern Ireland and elsewhere from the late 1960s to 1998. Unionist opposition to Irish unity and conflict over state power formed part of its political context.
Ulster Unionist Party: A Northern Irish political party founded in 1905 and historically the dominant party of unionism. Its more moderate electoral tradition has often competed with the DUP.

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