The British Isles
British IslesExplaining the differences between the United Kingdom, Great Britain, the British Isles, the North and South of Ireland
There is often a great deal of disorientation - politically, culturally and socially - about what exactly is understood by the concepts of Great Britain (UK), Great Britain (UK) and the British Isles. In addition, there are the disparities between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and it is no wonder that these two relatively small island areas off the west of Europe cause so many difficulties, not only for distant tourists but also for their own people.
Who is the United Kingdom and which are it? There is a big reference in the full name of Great Britain - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. To clarify this, the United Kingdom is referring to the "political unity between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland".
Between 1801 and 1922, the United Kingdom also encompassed Ireland, but no more. "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established in 1801 by the Law of Unification with Ireland. In 1922, when the 26 Irish provinces became a free state, the name was again renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
" Our independency from Britain was quite a big thing, so the Irishmen have a tendency to get irritated when you call them British. How about Great Britain - what about it? The United Kingdom is the formal umbrella term for the land mass, which includes England, Scotland and Wales and the associated isles.
Notice - Great Britain does NOT cover Northern Ireland and should therefore "never be used as an interchangeable with'Great Britain'', as the OS crew all too often says. From a technical point of view, if you loose the "Great Britain", Great Britain only applies to England and Wales. It is helpful for Dr Nially to explain that Britain is not a confident nation, but a geographic name that identifies the whole continent and not just its parts.
The OS (and some of you won't like it, but continue reading....) says the British Isles is a "purely geographic term". This is a compilation of Atlantic to North West European archipelago - which includes the Republic of Ireland (it's okay to breath, breathe) and the 5000 or so smaller island communities dotted along our coastline.
The Isle of Man, Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands belong to these smaller islands. Returning to the British Isles - "Remember" is a warning by the OSC, "this relates only to geographical areas, not to nationalities, and while the Republic of Ireland is part of the British Isles, its peoples are not British - a very important differentiation.
"There are many Irishmen (though not all) who are bridging the name British Isles; they see the concept itself as an act of cultured imperialism. What do they see? For them it is a more impartial name than the political British Isles. Ireland consists of 32 County ('counties', see right if you want to know all their names).
Ireland (all parts in pale green) consists of 26 County. This division was caused in 1922, when Ireland was proclaimed a Free State. "It was 1937 when the Irish Republic was proclaimed, but it was not until 1949 that the Irish Republic was proclaimed. "So, the Republic of Ireland = 26 shireties.
All of us are speaking English (and some of us also know our mother language Irish), our money is Euro (not British Pounds) and we are a good lot, I promised. The north-eastern part of Ireland covers the six north-east of Ireland (see deep grid). Northern Ireland is a divide of the United Kingdom, so the six provinces use the word stereo (not euro) and English.
It was founded in 1921 when Ireland was divided between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by a law of the British Government. It is important that many northerners also endorse Unionism (for the EU with Britain), Republicans (want a unified Ireland) and Nazis (who believe that the people are a single country and generally, but not always, endorse the notion of a unified Ireland).
"Words like "educated", "explained" and "created" are used to describe how these units of politics and geography emerged when in fact they were often the result of war and conquest - fights whose origins and meanings are still being interpreted in different and often inimically. Let us take for example the fact that many members of the unionsist fellowship who live on the Isle of Ireland see themselves simultaneously as "British" and "Irish", or the fact that in recent years many Scottish fellowships have seen themselves more as Scottish than British.