The creation of Northern Ireland was accompanied by violence both in defence of and against partition. During the conflict of 1920–22, the capital Belfast saw major communal violence, mainly between Protestant unionist and Catholic nationalist civilians. More than 500 were killed and more than 10,000 became refugees, mostly Catholics. For the next fifty years, Northern Ireland had an unbroken series of Unionist Party governments. There was informal mutual segregation by both communities, and the Unionist governments were accused of discrimination against the Irish nationalist and Catholic minority. In the late 1960s, a campaign to end discrimination against Catholics and nationalists was opposed by loyalists, who saw it as a republican front. This unrest sparked the Troubles, a thirty-year conflict involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries and state forces, which claimed over 3,500 lives and injured 50,000 others. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement was a major step in the peace process, including paramilitary disarmament and security normalisation, although sectarianism and segregation remain major social problems, and sporadic violence has continued. (Full article...)
Historically, Linfield shared a fierce rivalry with Belfast Celtic until Celtic's withdrawal from the league for political reasons in 1949. Since that time the club's main rival has been Glentoran, with the duo known locally as the Big Two. This rivalry traditionally includes a league derby played on Boxing Day each year, which usually attracts Northern Ireland's highest domestic attendance of the season, excluding cup finals. For the 2021–22 season, Linfield's average league home attendance was approximately 2,900, the highest in the division and more than double the league's overall average of around 1,400. The team, nicknamed The Blues, is managed by former Northern Ireland international and the country's all-time record goalscorer, David Healy. Healy was appointed on 14 October 2015 to succeed Warren Feeney, following Feeney's resignation. (Full article...)
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A skillful dribbler, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time, along with being considered one of the most talented to play. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. Best received plaudits for his playing style, which combined pace, skill, balance, feints, goalscoring and the ability to get past defenders. His style of play captured the public's imagination, and in 1999 he was on the six-man short-list for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century. He was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Born in Belfast, Best began his club career in England with Manchester United, with the scout who had spotted his talent at the age of 15 sending a telegram to manager Matt Busby which read: "I think I've found you a genius". After making his debut at age 17, he scored 179 goals in 470 appearances over 11 years and was the club's top goalscorer in the league for five consecutive seasons. He won two League titles, two Charity Shields and the European Cup with the club. (Full article...)
... that despite being the first women's football team in Northern Ireland to sign players on professional contracts, Cliftonville Ladies F.C. were not the first club to register them?
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk·contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Northern Ireland}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.
Northern Ireland is in the top 250 most referenced articles. It ranks 232nd, with 3,955 links to it - one more link than Music, and many more links than the Bible.
Besides English, the Northern Ireland article has been translated to 44 other languages.
.JPG)
_-_panoramio.jpg)
.JPG)
