Glossary

Terms used in Northern Ireland

Giant's Causeway, County Antrim

As in many other conflicts, place names can be very contentious and the search for acceptable language is an important element of the conflict resolution process. Unionists prefer terms that give legitimacy to the division of Ireland and British governance while republicans prefer to use terms which deny the legitimacy of partition and emphasize their Irishness. Authors have been allowed to use the terms with which they are comfortable. Therefore Northern Ireland, the North, Six Counties, Ulster may be used to refer to the part of Ireland which is still in the United Kingdom. Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Éire, the South, the Twenty-Six Counties may be used to refer to the independent state in the south and east of the island. In the same way Londonderry and Derry are names with political connotations for the same town and are used interchangeably.

The name of the agreement reached on Friday, 9 April 1998 is also applied with some flexibility. Originally it was simply called ‘The Agreement’ and sometimes it is referred to as the ‘Good Friday Agreement’ or the ‘Stormont Agreement’. The Belfast Agreement is becoming the recognized title and is used in this publication.

Constitutional parties
A loose term used to distinguish political parties supporting the use of constitutional means to achieve change as distinct from those linked to paramilitary groups.

Loyalist
Uncompromising unionists (mostly Protestant) who take pride in their loyalty to the British Crown and state. They oppose greater involvement of the Irish government in Northern Ireland’s politics and support any measures which strengthen the union with Britain and foster unionist cultural traditions. The term loyalist is sometimes, though not always, used to refer only to those who accept the use of force to defend the union by paramilitary groups.

nationalist
nationalists hold the view that Northern Ireland is part of the Irish nation and that political arrangements should reflect this. Moderate nationalists, like the SDLP, generally stress the importance of achieving political change with the consent of people in Northern Ireland. nationalists are often, though not always, from the Catholic community. They would also seek to foster Irish cultural traditions including the Irish language.

Parallel consent
A safeguard for minorities ensuring that they cannot be outvoted by the majority in a context where majoritarianism might normally apply as in parliamentary institutions. Strand One of the Belfast Agreement provides that key decisions will require ‘a majority of those members present and voting, including a majority of the unionist and nationalist designations present and voting’.

Paramilitary group
A term given to secret underground armed groups. In Northern Ireland the term reflects the members’ self-perception as an unofficial army in terms of command structure, discipline and organization.

Parity of esteem
The term is usually used in relation to equality issues: ‘The principle of political, social and cultural equality of treatment before the law and attitudes of valuing and respecting those with different beliefs, lifestyle and background’.

Proximity talks
Procedures to allow parties to participate in negotiations or talks when they are not willing to meet face to face. They tend to be in separate rooms in the same or adjacent buildings and intermediaries move between them.

Republican
The term republican is sometimes, though not always, used to refer to those who accept the use of force to achieve a united Ireland. There is a tendency for most republicans (predominantly Catholic) to identify with the traditions of violent struggle and sacrifice against British rule in Ireland. The republican movement is normally taken to refer to Sinn Féin and the IRA.

Sufficient consensus
This is a procedural means to prevent one party blocking progress in negotiations where there is a general consensus. The term was coined in the constitutional negotiations in South Africa. A proposition was deemed to have sufficient consensus if a majority of representatives of each tradition or faction support it even though one or more parties do not.

The Troubles
This is the popular euphemism for the thirty-year conflict in Northern Ireland.

Three-strand process
A concept from negotiation practice of dealing with issues or strands independently of each other then seeking to reach a final agreement on the package of the outcome of all the strands. In the context of Northern Ireland three stands were identified: democratic institutions within Northern Ireland, North–South relations and British–Irish relations.

Unionist
Unionists have supported Northern Ireland’s status within the United Kingdom. They are traditionally Protestant and oppose the involvement of the Irish Republic in Northern Ireland.

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