Norn Iron

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Norn Iron is an informal nickname for Northern Ireland, derived from the pronunciation of the words "Northern Ireland" in an exaggerated Ulster accent (particularly one from the Greater Belfast area). The phrase is seen as a light-hearted politically neutral way to refer to the country, based as it is on a commonly shared regional accent.

This is in contrast to names such as the official Northern Ireland - which is unpopular with many Republicans, who object to its inherent notion of Ireland being more than one country, Ulster, which again is objected to by Republicans on the grounds that the state of Northern Ireland does not constitute the entire ancient Irish province of Ulster - or, on the opposite side of the sectarian divide, names such as "the six counties", or the slightly less politically charged "North of Ireland", which are used by Republicans and objected to by Unionists, as they define Northern Ireland in geographical rather than political terms.

Although the phrase has been in use in Northern Ireland for a number of years, it only became widely used following the success of the Northern Ireland national football team, especially after victories over European footballing giants England and Spain.

A number of other phrases have been put in use in Northern Ireland because of their footballing achievements over the past three years, such as "We're not Brazil, we're Northern Ireland", and "Lawrie Sanchez (who has since left the job) green and white army".

[edit] External links

• norniron.TV - Web 2.0 media Site about Norn Iron
• Speak Norn Iron - Comical website about Northern Irish language and culture
• notbrazil - The online home of Happy Days Magazine - fanzine dedicated to Norn Iron National Football Team