Unionists (Ireland)

Unionism in Ireland is a political ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. Since the partition of Ireland, unionism in Ireland has focused on maintaining and preserving the place of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. In this context, a distinction may be made between the unionism in the province of Ulster and unionism elsewhere in Ireland.

Today in Northern Ireland, Unionist ideology is expressed in a number of different ways: through preferences for particular newspapers or sports team, participation in unionist culture and by voting for political candidates who espouse unionism.

Irish nationalism is opposed to the ideology of unionism. Most unionists come from Protestant backgrounds; most nationalists come from a Roman Catholic background. Exceptions to these generalisations exist; there are Protestant nationalists and there are Catholic unionists.

The political relationship between England and Ireland dates from the 12th century with the establishment of the Lordship of Ireland. After almost four centuries of the Lordship, the declaration of the independence of the Church of England from papal supremacy and the rejection of the authority of the Holy See required the creation of a new basis to legitimise the continued rule of the English monarch in Ireland. In 1542, the Crown of Ireland Act was passed by both the English and Irish Parliaments. The Act established a sovereign Kingdom of Ireland with Henry VIII as King of Ireland. Both parliaments later passed the Act of Union 1800 by which a new state was created - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

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