History of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom. It is located in the northern part of the island of Ireland. Throughout history, people have lived in this part of the world and this is where Northern Ireland got its name. Northern Ireland has a long and complicated history that goes back hundreds of years. At one time, Northern Ireland was part of the country of Ireland, just like the Republic of Ireland is today. Then, in the 1800s, the United Kingdom (which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) became a single country. This meant that Northern Ireland was now part of the United Kingdom. For many years, there were tensions between people who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and people who wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the Republic of Ireland. To help deal with this tension, Northern Ireland was given its own legislative assembly in 1998. This was called the Northern Ireland Assembly. This allowed people in Northern Ireland to have some say in decisions about how Northern Ireland is run. Today, Northern Ireland is still part of the United Kingdom but it has more autonomy than other regions of the UK.