More people happy with North tag

People in the North are increasingly abandoning the traditional national and religious identities which for decades underpinned the Troubles, it was revealed today.

Ten years after the Good Friday Agreement signalled a new dawn, an increasing number of people are choosing to describe themselves as 'Northern Irish' or “equally Irish and British”, according to a report published by Queen’s University.

The university based its findings on information from the 2007 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey conducted by Ark, a joint research initiative by Queen’s and the University of Ulster.

The research explored the extent to which people felt an attachment or loyalty to national and religious group labels – such as Irish, British, Catholic or Protestant.

It found that, while the national and religious identities which had underpinned difference and division in the North still remain, an increasing number of people are moving away from the traditional labels of Irish Catholic or British Protestant.

The author of the report, Professor Orla Muldoon, from the University of Limerick, said: “As you might expect, Catholics in the North are more likely to describe themselves as being Irish, while Protestants are more likely to describe themselves as British.”

Almost two-thirds of those who responded to the survey identified themselves as either British Protestants or Irish Catholics, she said.

But she added: “There was, however, an increase in the number of people who identified themselves as being Northern Irish, with around one in four opting for this label, compared to around one fifth in previous surveys.”

Within the 'Northern Irish' group, around a third described themselves as being equally British and Irish.

“They did not see Britishness or Irishness as being mutually exclusive and rejected the notion that these identities are opposites.

“That indicates a shift away from the traditional national and religious identities that underpinned the Troubles,” said Prof Muldoon.

Researchers also presented the 1,179 people who took part in the research with emblems or historical images that might be viewed differently by those with differing identities.

Prof Muldoon said emotional responses to images such as flags and emblems were stronger among those who stuck to traditional identities.

Those who identified themselves as Irish Catholic were more likely to feel uneasy or annoyed when presented with the image of a Union flag or a photograph of a news presenter wearing a poppy, she said.

Conversely, those sticking with the British Protestant identity were uneasy or annoyed by an Irish Tricolour or Irish language letterhead.

Prof Muldoon said: “While this research has confirmed that national and religious identity in Northern Ireland are often interlinked, it has highlighted that an increasing number of people are moving away from the traditional labels that have for so long been used by the majority of people here to describe themselves.”