Talk:Demography and politics of Northern Ireland

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Oh please! The claim that the term loyalist "has become less popular in recent years" is POV popycock. It was used 6 times on the RTÉ News tonight, 8 times in two reports on BBC Northern Ireland News tonight and featured two weeks ago in a report on CBS News. Some decline in popularity for the term! Be real! The claim is just a POV claim of patent dubiousness.

Contents

[edit] Examples from 15 August 2005 news coverage

FearÉIREANNImage:Ireland coa.png\(caint) 23:50, 15 August 2005 (UTC)


Wise up. Less popular is not the same as less common.

Lapsed Pacifist 06:43, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] 100%?

Why don't the religions add up to 100%? I dont know how Northern Ireland had 100.2% of its people accounted for in 2001.

Anyone familiar with statistics knows that percentage breakdowns don't always add up to 100% because of rounding. Duh. Camillustalk|contribs 01:51, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
Why don't the religions add up to 100%
Maybe because (shock horror) there might be people in Northern Ireland whom are niether Protestant nor Roman Catholic ?? 80.229.222.48 (talk) 18:55, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Proving a negative"

I'm not asking you to prove a negative; I'm asking you to provide a reputable source that backs up your claim that the DUP does not have one single Catholic member. Demiurge 17:59, 24 January 2006 (UTC)


As another user said, it's kind of a common-sense thing, Demiurge. You may as well ask me for a source that proves there are no Jews in the British National Party. I ask you for the name of one (just one) Catholic member of the DUP. They must have thousands of members; one Catholic shouldn't be too hard to find.

Lapsed Pacifist 13:56, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

  • Please read WP:CITE and WP:V. You're the one making the claim; it's up to you to provide evidence for it. (Anyway, it's not so inconceivable that the BNP would have a Jewish member -- there's at least one Jewish holocaust denier. See what happens when you make assumptions based on "common sense" and "everyone knows"?) Demiurge 14:11, 25 January 2006 (UTC)


You are claiming the DUP has Catholic members; can you provide evidence for it? I've never heard of a Roman Catholic DUP member. I don't believe you have either. Given the DUP's origins (the Protestant Unionist Party) and the strong views of its leader on Catholicism, I believe it's a fair comment to make. Even were our hypothetical Ulster Catholic so pro-Union they felt more comfortable with the DUP than the UUP, the DUP might not feel so comfortable with them. Ditto your hypothetical BNP-admiring Jew.

Lapsed Pacifist 12:24, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

  • "You are claiming the DUP has Catholic members" — no I am not. I am removing your claim, not inserting mine. I am making no claim whatsoever about the DUP's membership. Demiurge 12:39, 27 January 2006 (UTC)


I changed my edit from "no Catholic members" to "no known Catholic members". What's wrong now? Some are known to you, but no-one else on Wikipedia? Do fill us in.

Lapsed Pacifist 10:46, 31 January 2006 (UTC)


Not known to anyone, as far as I know. Unless you're going to surprise us all...?

Lapsed Pacifist 17:18, 31 January 2006 (UTC)


[edit] National Identity

I think the data from the polls may have been inacurately represented here or even tampered with. "over 60% of Catholics considered themselves Irish" "77% of Catholics considered themselves strongly Irish." So that "over 60%" is meant to indicate, at the very minimum, a good 17% over 60? or are there now catholics who do not identify as Irish but DO identify as "strongly Irish"? Have the two figures (60 and 77) just been switched? If not, then one of them has to be illegitimate. Fergus mac Róich 21:42, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

The results you quote are from different surveys.Kuifjeenbobbie 16:56, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
The Opinion Polls quoted are very old and should probably be deleted. Views on National Identity may have changed somewhat given the peace process etc. A new poll is needed, particularly as Gordon Brown continues to hype up Britishness, talk of a British Day, ID Cards, etc. Peter Clarke 21:45, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
Actually the data from the 2006 survey appears to confirm data in the surveys from the 90's, showing that Protestants consider themselves to be British and Catholics Irish, i.e. little change, if any, has occured. I have included a reference to the findings of a 2002-3 study Kuifjeenbobbie 16:59, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Irish Travellers

I am just wondering...are the Irish Traveller's similar to European gypsies or are they ethnically Irish? I am just wondering because I was reading the ethnicity section and I noticed that they were not considered white/European? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Galati (talk • contribs) 04:21, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

AFaIK They are generally (although not universally) regarded as being distinct from European Gypsies 80.229.222.48 (talk) 18:59, 9 March 2008 (UTC)