Irish Examiner view: Numbers help to divine political future

Catholic majority in Northern Ireland for the first time since its foundation will have far-reaching political impact

Northern Ireland needs clarity in the debate about its future, and the starting place for that is the resumption of political and power-sharing activity at Stormont. 

While it is powerfully symbolic, it is possible to overestimate the political impact of the fact that, for the first time since the North’s foundation, a century ago, there are now more Catholics than Protestants there.

The census figures released this week showed 32% of the population defined themselves as British only, 29% as Irish, and 20% as Northern Irish.