People like you and I are generally referred to as 'unionists',
but do you know why this is so?
Well, firstly, it is because we favour the maintenance of
the political Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- the United Kingdom.
And secondly, it is because we feel the Union is the best
security for everyone of their rights, values, and culture.
While many unionists are Protestant, people who are Roman
Catholic can also be unionists too. Militant republicans oppose
unionists, and their attacks on Orange Halls which are seen
as symbols of unionism, highlight their lack of ability to
engage in reasonable political
debate and activity.
What is the story, then, behind the Act of Union?
It was a legislative agreement uniting Great Britain and
Ireland under the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland.
After the unsuccessful Irish revolt of 1798, the British
Prime Minister, William Pitt, decided that the best solution
to the Irish problem was a political union to strengthen the
connection between Britain and Ireland. The Irish parliament
resisted the proposal and called for its abolition.
The Act was drawn up at Derrymore House, Bessbrook Co. Armagh
and was signed in August 1800, to become effective on January
1, 1801. The union remained until the recognition of the Irish
Free State, excluding six of the counties of the northern
province of Ulster, which included Counties Antrim, Armagh,
Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, by the Anglo-Irish
treaty concluded on December 6, 1921; the Union officially
ended on January 15, 1922.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland continued
in name however until 1927 when it was renamed as the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in accordance
with the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act.
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