Our supplement on the centenary of Northern Ireland is a celebration of a wonderful country

In the middle of this newspaper we have a supplement on the centenary of Northern Ireland

Some historians consider this day in 1921 to be the actual anniversary of NI’s creation.

It is the day when King George V sailed to Belfast, to the concern of his advisors given the backdrop of violent clashes over Partition, to open the new Northern Ireland Parliament.

Stormont would not be built until several years later.

For all the political turbulence now, Stormont remains the seat of government of Northern Ireland.

The province has survived longer than many observers at the time thought that it would.

There is a growing sense of a Northern Ireland identity in much of the population today.

Critics of NI say that it was created as a Protestant state, but this is nonsense.

Protestants overwhelming supported the UK link, Catholics overwhelmingly supported independence.

It made sense therefore to divide the island at the point where those differing communities became majorities. This could not be done perfectly, of course, but was done as closely as possible to the demographic divide, which meant the six north eastern counties closest to Scotland staying in the UK.

Our essays today in the supplement by the Francis Hutcheson Institute recap on some of the earlier history that led to that cultural and political divide.

We also have an essay by Gordon Lucy on the 100 years of NI, one by Lord Lexden on the king’s 1921 visit, and personal essays by Peter Robinson, for the former first minister of Northern Ireland, and Ben Lowry, News Letter deputy editor on their memories of the Northern Ireland that they love.

The British government has been reluctant to celebrate NI’s history but this supplement is part of the News Letter’s honouring of our wonderful country and its past as integral part of United Kingdom.

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor