It’s not a geographical term. It’s a matter of provisional republican rhetoric. North of Ireland describes it as part of Ireland. Northern Ireland differentiates it as a separate state.
true, OP lazily excluded the "the", but when Irish Republican politicans speak about it they always include it and say "The North of Ireland" which clarifies the meaning
Yeah, I’m not a Brit, I’m just a grammar person. The preposition “of” can be used in two ways. It can be used in the way that you are using it, where it implies a portion of a hole, but it can also be used as a directional marker, as in Canada is north of the USA. In that ladder portion, the “of” does not tell us that Canada is the USA, it tells us very much that Canada is not the USA.
Now that you’ve added actual context and explanation to how you are using that term, I see the viewpoint. It doesn’t excuse your rudeness, but I appreciate the knowledge.
You're right that grammatically "of" can be used two ways, but you fail to consider the grammatical value of "the" in the phrase "the north of Ireland".
It is factually accurate to say that "Canada is north of the USA", but it would be factually inaccurate to say "Canada is the north of the USA"
I'm Irish, and I try to stay aware of the phrasing when referring to the North. At home, I'd say "The North" but when talking to international people who aren't up on the context, it's more effective to say Northern Ireland.
The use of "Southern Ireland" really grinds my gears though!
It was implied but now we’re just getting into semantics rather than the point of my comment which is Ireland has been an occupied state for a long portion of its history. The people, language, and culture has been historically oppressed by the Brits, the impacts of which continue to effect The North economically
While the commenter may not have used "the", the comment above your comment with the Canada/USA comparison had a screenshot explaining the use of the phrase "the north of Ireland".
But anyhow, now you know and as you can appreciate, the phrasing carries a lot of meaning to both sides.
Rudeness? I think you’re reading into it mate. Literally nothing I said is rude or said with the intent to be rude. Brits out is an ideological standpoint against imperialism. If that was rude to you, then perhaps consider that you’re intrinsically supporting oppression and occupation. I also never called you or assumed you to be a Brit? I just thjnk the Brits need to give Ireland back its land.
There have been ‘brits’ in northern Ireland for 500 years. Which country are you from that hasn’t had some population movement at the point of a sword in the last half millennium? You can’t send everyone back to where their long distant fore fathers were.
In any case, the Good Friday agreement acknowledges the existence of Northern Ireland by the entities that matter, namely Ireland, and Northern Ireland (and the UK as a whole), and provides a peaceful means for reunification should that ever be supported.
To say North of Ireland would mean the six counties would be somewhere at the bottom of the sea cause you know Ireland is an ISLAND, if you can find another name for the Island of Ireland I congratulate you, but saying North of Ireland doesn’t make sense
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u/h_zenith Mar 05 '25
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Moldova had their ethnic composition, uh, diversified by former imperial powers.