Quote Originally Posted by skauwt View Post
my misses is from newtownabbey ireland and she considers herself irish , it just so happens the ulster part of ireland is part of the uk
Like so much in life, it's more complicated than that.

The British part is called Northern Ireland, and it is only six of the nine counties of the old kingdom of Ulster, not including Donegal, Cavan or Monaghan. There are traditionally four kingdoms, Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught/Connacht. Some would like to call the British part Ulster, but are often suspected of territorial ambitions against those three Ulster counties that are in the Republic. So it's never correct to call it Ulster, even if that doesn't stop some people who live there, but see above.

Those who are from NI have the option of taking either British or Irish citizenship, which is practical enough because we have freedom of movement between the UK and Ireland, and can vote in eachother's elections as long as we actually reside there. EU law allows EU citizens to vote in local elections in other EU states, but the agreement between the UK and Ireland lets you vote in national elections too.

So, anyone from NI is Irish in the sense that they are from the island of Ireland, but if they choose to have an Irish passport instead of a British one, then they are also Irish in the more strict sense of nationality. Likewise, choosing not to be British doesn't stop them from continuing to live and work there and to vote in all the elections. Mind you, an Irish citizen from NI who lives in Scotland has no absentee vote, although they could vote in Scotland. I won't ask if your wife's passport is British or Irish. That's up to her.

Now, the independent part of Ireland has had multiple names in English over its relatively short history, but in Irish only one, Saorstat Eireann, which means the Irish Freestate. When they changed the English name to the Irish Republic, they hurriedly withdrew from a Commonwealth conference, quitting the British Commonwealth. Since then, other countries have withdrawn recognition of the Queen (i.e. become a republic) without leaving this organisation, notably Australia. Next it became the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and then just Ireland. I find the latter confusing, and prefer the previous name as being more descriptive. If anyone objects, then I suppose I will just have to call it Saorstat Eireann.