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Protesting from the streets in the past now seen in present times.

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"The Ghosts of Northern Ireland's troubles are back" says New York Times as they report on the mayhem happening in the streets of Belfast. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Britain leaving the UK, old rivalries between the loyalists and the nationalists are sparked. Many police officers have been wounded due to rioters in the street, and even young rioters have been witnessed throwing bombs at police. There is still an obvious division between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, and while fighting is not expected to reach the level it once was, more riots and trouble have been predicted.

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Now, I don't know a ton about this Human Geography stuff, but what I do know is that this country is in stage 4 of the DTM. Characterized by the low birth rates because of family planning and no necessity for child workers, and the low death rates due to good diets and medicine, Northern Ireland (part of the UK) perfectly fits into stage 4. Northern Ireland, therefore, has a low-stationary population growth.

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This population pyramid shows Ireland as a whole in 2022. As you can tell there is slow to no growth in Ireland in 2022, so we can conclude that this is a stage 4 country. Working population is slightly smaller than elderly and youth so both of those dependency ratios might be little higher, but nothing a decade or two can't solve.

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Image depicting the Irish Potato Famine and the large amount of emigrants.

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I think that Ireland is the most perfect country in the world, I don't know why anybody would leave? I guess maybe because of the Irish Potato Famine that devastated many families as potato farming was their only source of income. They moved to places like America for a safer, more stable environment. Also, the war between Catholic and Protestant Christians in Belfast, Ireland lead to many people moving to places such as Scotland and America due to religious persecution from and to both sides.
Now on a much happier note, people move to Ireland because of the beautiful scenery and wildlife you can find here. There is also a very great schooling system, and industry because our country is very developed.

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Short Brothers/Shorts Aviation is one of the oldest aircraft builders in the world. Founded in the UK but based in Belfast, it paved the way for European and American air travel. From design to manufacturing to marketing, Shorts does it all and has been since World War II when they created "flying boats" to help the war efforts. Now they primarily work on cargo aircraft.

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Flag of Ireland: The orange color stands for Irish Protestants, the green color stands for Catholics and the Republican cause, the white represents peace within

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Hi, I am Conor McGregor and I am famous for my work in the boxing ring. This book will be all about Northern Ireland which is the country from which I am from.

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Hi, I am Conor McGregor and I am famous for my work in the boxing ring. This book will be all about Northern Ireland which is the country from which I am from.

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Street in Northern Ireland- shows older architecture and classic designs

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Portion of the Irish nation in the state Northern Ireland

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As I have mentioned before, my country has sadly had a lot of conflict and war which even resulted in the splitting of the country. From 1968-1998 the Troubles began which was conflict between the Protestant Unionists, and the Roman Catholic republicans who wanted Northern Ireland to rejoin the Republic of Ireland. Both the British army (fighting for Northern Ireland) and the Irish Republican army were involved in armed conflict. 3,600 people were killed and over 30,000 were wounded before they came to a peaceful resolution, where the Protestant majority came out on top.

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Dunluce castle on the coast of Northern Ireland

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I come from the magnificent country of Northern Ireland which is located on the northeast side of the island of Ireland. With a long history of immigrants including Vikings, Normans, and Anglo-Saxons, you would think this country has a diverse people group, but it in fact does not. Most of the people that I grew up with here are Irish protestants, and it is one of the least ethnically diverse countries in the UK. When Ireland comes to mind, you might think of one homogeneous country, but it actually has one ethnic people group split between two states, but we'll get more into that later.

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Map of Northern Ireland, shows different forms of transportation and boundaries between the Republic of Ireland

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Northern Ireland's exact location can be represented by the coordinates 54.5973° N, and 5.9301° W, but I always just say that it is in the UK north of the Republic of Ireland in the North Atlantic ocean. The capital of Northern Ireland is called Belfast, and it has a population of 638,717.

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When people think of us Irish people, they think of Saint Patrick's Day and Lerperachans, but there is a lot more to our folk culture than that. For example, much of our traditional music is a combination of many cultures including the Celts, Gaels, Normans, and Vikings. We make music for dancing, singing, and drinking, and it often includes many instrument accompaniments including the bagpipes (called uilleann pipes in Ireland), the fiddle, horns, harps, etc. We also do participate in pop culture like most other countries, one of the former One Direction members, Niall Horan, is from Ireland. I listen to his music while I warm up in the ring, he and I are good buds.

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In Ireland as a whole, people speak both English and Irish(Gaelic) which are the two official languages of the Republic of Ireland. English and Irish are both apart of the Indo-European family while English is in the West Germanic group while Irish is in the Celtic group. In Northern Ireland, we can hear strains of Ullans (Ulster-Scotts) which is also a part of the West-Germanic language group.

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Cross representing the religion Christianity 

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The original people to settle in my country Ireland include Celts, Vikings, and Anglo-Norms who now form the Roman Catholic Irish population. My country is also influenced by our neighbors Scotland and England a lot and because their protestant ways came and conflicted with the indigenous Roman Catholic Irish people in the 1630s, we now have two separate countries with different political ties. Specifically, in Northern Ireland, 93% of people identify as christian and its dominated by protestants who are 48% of the population while Catholics are 40%.

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In Northern Ireland, we are looking at how to make technology more efficient and green for the future. With reduced city planning budgets, we need to find new and lasting technology that is inexpensive and doesn't harm the environment. As I have mentioned before, Belfast was chosen as an area to introduce new technologies to then implement in the entire world. Furthermore, due to the pandemic created habits of cycling and walking to more places, we are also looking to increase green areas, side walks, and walking paths to make urban areas more commutable by foot. This will also create a more green-eco friendly environment that helps wiht other goals.

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Shape of the Country/Changes to Borders over time

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Shape of the Country/Changes to Borders over time

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Northern Ireland is a compact state in a circular shape, but it is physically connected to the Republic of Ireland making up an island. Originally, the whole of Ireland was one country but due to religious and political conflicts. The country was forced to split in two, one country with ties to the UK one without, and the protestant dominated Northern Ireland got the North Eastern tip of the island.

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The Royal Family, queen represents a constitutional monarchy.

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Northern Ireland is part of the UK and can be described as a constitutional monarchy. We also have a federal government system here with 11 local councils that came about due to the devolution of power from the UK.

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The climate that we mostly experience here in Northern Ireland is temperate and maritime. We get a lot of strong winds due to low pressure systems which also bring clouds and rain. Spring is our dry season with wet summers, but winters are the wettest. The lush and fertile landscape reflects our climate.

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Beef and Dairy account for 61% of total agricultural output of Northern Ireland

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Agriculture is one of Northern Ireland's most important industries. With producing 50% of the UK's agricultural needs, this industry is very impactful. Dairy farming is a large section of the industry along with beef and pig. More vegetables than fruits are produced here due to the climate. Some of the main crops that are grown include barley, wheat, oats, and of course potatoes. Pastoral or seasonal farming is also common due to the number of cows. I sure love a good burger after practice.

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My country is home to many delicious foods that account for the different animals and plants that reside here. For example, Boxty is a traditional food that we eat which is basically potato pancakes. Because of the food shortages my grandparents used to have, they would work with what they'd had to put food on the table, and these pancakes were quick and cheap. Another traditional but more popular food that we enjoy here is Shepherd's Pie. Of course, with a spread of potato on meat and veggies, this pie also reflects the different resources that people had access to in the past. Some more popular foods that you might have heard of that we enjoy include mashed potatoes, seafood chowder, potato soup, bread pudding, etc..

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Northern Ireland has cities that follow the rank-size rule for the most part. An exception would be my hometown of Belfast. With 333,000 people, it is a primate city to the rest. Although it cannot be defined as a megacity because of its lack of inhabitants, it definitely can be described as a world city due to the amount of influence it has. It can be defined as a world city because of its innovative use of new technology, and it along with 35 other cities are "pioneer" cities to model the use of smart technology. This along with the connections it has to other world cities displays the large significance of Belfast and the influence it has on the rest of the world.

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Map of gender inequality index per country

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Women in Northern Ireland have not been seen as equal to men for the longest time like in many other countries. To my surprise though, women actually get paid 3.4% more than men on average (I mean, not saying this is a bad thing or anything, um, I love women, yeah). This trend has been going on since 2010! Although women get paid more, 36% more women than men work part-time jobs to take care of their families. To continue, the HDI of Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK is 0.932 which has increased 19.3% from 1990. I am proud to say that we are ranked 13 out of 189 countries! That means that we have a good life expectancy, education, and GNI per capita ranking.

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different services potentially in Northern Ireland

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Northern Ireland was previously a highly industrialized economy, with large economic activity in shipbuilding, rope manufacture, and textiles. Now it is more active in the service or tertiary economic sector. 70% of the jobs in Northern Ireland are taken up by services, and 78% of employees work in this sector. I guess I would be a part of the 78% because I provide entertainment if you know what I mean. Tourism is a large part of the economy to be more specific. It is expected to be the highest growing part of the economy in the near future.

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Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK is considered a core country because of the influence this country has on others. It can be politically, economically, or even military influence. Northern Ireland is specifically a core country because of the high export oriented economy which relies on other people to purchase these exports. These countries would be the periphery or semi-periphery and these exports could have been forced on them which happens with former colonies in many instances.

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My beautiful country sadly has its fair share of environmental problems that need to be dealt with. For example, illegal dumping of waste is the main issue that is seen here followed by pollution in rivers and litter. Traffic congestion in big cities is also a concern due to large use of automobiles. My country has a very beautiful landscape and environment and it would be sad to see that get ruined by silly things like human waste.

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Not to toot my own horn or anything but I was born in the most beautiful country in the world. With lush rolling hills, and gorgeous coastlines and beaches, Northern Ireland is a beautiful place to visit. Also, with beautiful weather all year round, you won't have to worry about things like the Texas heat that never seems to give. Furthermore, having one of the highest HDI scores (.932) and ranking 13 out of 189 countries, we have to be doing something right and that includes providing long and quality lives for all citizens.

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Currently back home, this woman named Liz Truss in planning on scrapping a protocol between Northern Ireland and the UK that has been undermining their relationship. This protocol has made it so taxes can't be cut when trading goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and this is causing trade to becoming less efficient. The only problem with this though is that if the bill is passed to change the protocol, shots will be fired between the UK and the EU and conflict will begin. This is because the protocol was the only thing that was keeping trade between the EU and the UK beneficial to both parties.

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“UK to Table Bill to Scrap Northern Ireland Brexit Protocol, Liz Truss Says.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 May 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/17/northern-ireland-brexit-protocol-liz-truss-bill-scrap.

“Northern Ireland's Top Environmental Concerns Revealed.” DAERA, 16 Sept. 2019, https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/news/northern-irelands-top-environmental-concerns-revealed.

Written by Alex Gray, Senior Writer. “Northern Ireland Has a Reversed Gender Pay Gap.” World Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/12/northern-ireland-s-gender-pay-gap-where-women-earn-more-than-men/.

Pike, John. “Military.” Short Brothers / Shorts Aviation Company, https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/shorts.htm.

Jamie. “26 Most Popular Irish Foods That Will Fascinate You 2022.” Lacademie, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www.lacademie.com/irish-foods/.

Gladstone, Rick, and Peter Robins. “The Ghosts of Northern Ireland's Troubles Are Back. What's Going on?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Apr. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/world/europe/Northern-Ireland-Brexit-Covid-Troubles.html.

“Civil Rights Activism, the Battle of Bogside, and the Arrival of the British Army.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Troubles-Northern-Ireland-history/Civil-rights-activism-the-Battle-of-Bogside-and-the-arrival-of-the-British-army.

“Languages of Ireland.” Ireland.com, Tourism Ireland, 17 May 2022, https://www.ireland.com/en-us/help-and-advice/practical-information/languages-of-ireland/.

“A Look at Irish Culture and Traditions • • Familysearch Blog.” • FamilySearch Blog, 16 Dec. 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/irish-culture-and-traditions.

“What's the Symbolism of the Irish Flag?” Infoplease, Infoplease, https://www.infoplease.com/world/countries/ireland/symbolism-irish-flag.