Catholic unionist

Catholic unionist is a term historically used for a Roman Catholic in Ireland who supported the Union which formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequently used to describe Roman Catholics who support the Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain or who supports the Republic of Ireland rejoining the United Kingdom.

The term Catholic unionist has become controversial since the start of the Troubles, due to the strong association of Irish Unionism with Protestantism. The most recent surveys suggest that, although a plurality of Catholics in Northern Ireland are technically unionists in that they support Northern Ireland remaining part of Britain, very few would self-identify as unionist or support an explicitly unionist political party. This has led to the nickname unicorns for self-identified Catholic unionists, by analogy with a non-existent creature.

Historically, after the enactment of Catholic Emancipation in 1829, a great number of Catholics served in senior positions in the British Empire of the 19th century.

Irish Roman Catholic unionists were a political minority group without their own representation in the House of Commons. They tended to support the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union and subsequent Irish Unionist Alliance.

Irish Roman Catholic unionists petitioned against the Government of Ireland Bill 1893 on the grounds that it would create a "revolutionary spirit disastrous to the true interests" of Roman Catholicism.

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