People of Northern Ireland

People from Northern Ireland are those born in Northern Ireland who, at the time of their birth, have at least one parent who is a British citizen, an Irish citizen, or otherwise entitled to reside in Northern Ireland indefinitely under the Belfast Agreement.

Most Northern Irish people either identify as British, Northern Irish, Irish, or a combination thereof. The 20th century conflict known as The Troubles, which ended in effect in 1999, was primarily caused by tensions between people who had these different identites, and their connections to religion (Anglican protestants and Catholics).

In Northern Ireland, national identity is complex and diverse. The question of national identity was asked in the 2021 census with the three most common identities given being British, Irish and Northern Irish. Most people of Protestant background consider themselves British, while a majority of people of Catholic background self-describe as Irish. Many people from both communities consider themselves to have a distinct Northern Irish or Ulster identity. This has origins in the 17th-century Plantation of Ulster.

In the early 20th century, most Ulster Protestants and Catholics saw themselves as Irish, with Protestants mostly considering "Irish" to be a distinct category of "British", like Scottish or Welsh. Following the Home Rule Crisis and Irish War of Independence, Protestants gradually began to turn away from Irish identity, as Irish and British nationality came to be seen increasingly as mutually exclusive. In 1968 – just before the onset of the Troubles – 39% of Protestants described themselves as British and 20% of Protestants described themselves as Irish, while 32% chose an Ulster identity. By 1978, following the worst years of the conflict, there had been a large shift in identity amongst Protestants, with the majority (67%) now calling themselves British and only 8% calling themselves Irish. This shift has not been reversed. Meanwhile, the majority of Catholics have continued to see themselves as Irish.

From 1989, 'Northern Irish' began to be included as an identity choice in surveys, and its popularity has grown since then. Some organizations have promoted a distinct Northern Irish or Ulster identity as a way of overcoming sectarian division and recognizing the distinct culture and history of Northern Ireland. In a 1998 survey of students, this was one of the main reasons they gave for so identifying, along with a desire to appear 'neutral'. However, surveys show that Northern Ireland identity tends to have different meanings for Catholics and Protestants. Surveys also show that those choosing 'Northern Irish' alone regard their national identity as less important than those choosing British and Irish.

In recent Northern Ireland censuses, respondents could choose more than one national identity. In 2021:

The main national identities given in recent censuses were:

The numbers for each identity were as follows: