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Updated, 18:48
THE CATHOLIC POPULATION of Northern Ireland has grown moderately in the last 10 years – while the Protestant population has fallen significantly in the same period, new figures have shown.
Census figures for Northern Ireland, published this morning, reveal that 45.14 per cent of the population of Northern Ireland identifies as Catholic, or as having been raised as a Catholic. This is up by about 1 per cent on the last census in 2001.
In the same period, however, the number of people who identify as Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Methodist or another Christian religion – collectively regarded by the census as Protestant faiths – has fallen by 5 per cent, to 48.36 per cent.
When including only those who claim to still uphold a faith, as opposed to those who were raised with one they may no longer hold, the numbers are closer: 41 per cent say they are Catholic, while 41.8 per cent claim to belong to the various Protestant religions.
Meanwhile, the gap between proportions of the population who identify as Irish, British, Northern Irish or a combination of those splits along significantly different lines.
Asked for the first time about their national identities, just under 40 per cent described themselves as ‘British only’, and just over 25 per cent described themselves as ‘Irish only’. Just under 21 per cent, meanwhile, described themselves as ‘Northern Irish only’.
A little over 6 per cent described themselves as ‘British and Northern Irish’ only, while 1.06 per cent (19,132 people) described themselves as ‘Irish and Northern Irish’ only. Almost as many, 18,406 (1.02 per cent) described themselves as ‘British, Irish and Northern Irish’ only.
The inclusion of a ‘national identity’ question on the census shows conclusively, for the first time, that the national identities of the people of Northern Ireland cannot be assumed to be a direct reflection of the religion a person was brought up in.
The Northern Ireland census was carried out on March 27 last year, and discerned that the North’s population stood at 1,810,863 on that date.
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Should be sanctioned just like Russia.
Occupation breeds resistance
Ireland
Palestine
Ukraine
@Liam Ó hAodha: Ireland isn’t occupied anymore though
@Ciaran: spoken like a true southerner.
@Brian MacCarthaigh: a true partitionist more like. They are a minority in south but highly vocal.
@Liam Ó hAodha: it only in Ukraine that resistance fighters are hailed. In Ireland and Palestine they are “ terrorists”.
@M Bowe: bombing civilians is pretty much terrorism in anyones book ..
@Ciaran:
Wow! Does your ignorance knows any bounds
@M Bowe: Provo criminals and Hamas are terrorists, only a few days ago marked the 50th Anniversary of one of the darkest days of the Troubles, when in a barbaric spree of hate & sectarianism, the Provos detonated 22 bombs inside 75 minutes, murdering 9 innocent people and injuring 130 more. Pure terrorism.
@Ciaran: and I’d say you think the Old IRA who freed this country are heroes. I think they were by the way. But how were they any better than the Provos?
@Sumsoar Khan: military targets v civilian targets. The provos always say it was a war. Ok if it’s considered a war then bombing civilians is a war crime. Puts them at the same level as isis and Russia right now..
@M Bowe: you’re massively mistaken if you think we are in the minority. Their are a lot of us that would rather it stay the same, than have to deal with the mess that would be left if the brits release control of the 6 counties. You lads think it’s going to be a great party when the day comes. Thousands up north will fight till their last breath before their will be peace. And this time it won’t be a conflict that will limit itself to the 6 counties.
@Ciaran: Name a conflict/war in which civilian populations weren’t bombed intentionally or unintentionally?
War is savage and brutal but mostly started by a select few international land grabbers
@Liam Ó hAodha: of course , bombs at shopping centres and highly populated civilian centres where there are no military targets or “the enemy” completely justified then…f00l
@M Bowe: let’s call a spade a spade and call it for it is. If you deliberately target civilians as the IRA did then that is terrorism.
hamas and the IRA fit that description.
@Martin O Connell: the people of the north and the Republic of Ireland had a vote. It’s called the good Friday agreement where the majority of the north wanted to stay with the uk until such time they want to join the south.
@Stephen Kearon:
Hamas is the democratically elected government in Gaza.
It was only designated as “terrorist” by Apartheid Israel after it won the election.
The terrorists are thrisraeli government and its henchmen.
@Stephen Kearon: your opinions are as relevant as my last fart,and that dissipated hours ago.
@Martin O Connell: so you are gonna stay on your knees in face of unionist/ British threats of immediate and terrible war, the same terrorist threat which gave birth to that failed sectarian state 100 years ago.
@Alan Richard Scott Jr.: as British did in Ballymurphy and Derry in previous 10 months of Black Friday. No one side of any war can claim the moral high ground on actions.
@M Bowe: I’m not on my knees to anyone. Thanks to Michael Collins and all that negotiated the treaty, I never will be on my knees.
@M Bowe: your last fart probably came out your mouth.
In context could you imagine the SAS going into Dublin to arrest “suspected terrorist’s” and murdering 2 people. It’s wrong ,it’s illegal and they should be sanctioned by the rest of the world.
Typical.
have your say