# What Do The Irish (Republic Of Ireland) Call The Northern Part Of Their Country? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811 "2018-01-30T15:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/21 "2018-01-31T02:04:31Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Yes. The Border States or Upper Midwest, depending on which part. I don’t have a name for those states really. If I heard someone say “border states” I would assume the Civil War context, which means Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri, and possibly West Virginia. Those are the 4 states that remained with the USA despite having slaves + the 1 that was created from a CSA state during the war. Plus if I knew it had a modern context, I’d think the southern border. And Upper Midwest is officially 5+ states, at least one of which isn’t even on the border. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/22 "2018-01-31T02:22:07Z")
Yeah, Maine and Washington certainly aren’t “upper midwest”. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/23 "2018-01-31T02:38:40Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > Just concerning nomenclature: I understand that people in the Irish Republic often refer to Northern Ireland as “The Six Counties” – a fairly neutral and un-inflammatory “shorthand” expression; also I believe, sometimes used by Northern Irish folk for the same purpose. The obvious question: what do Northern Irish, both Catholic and Protestant, call their own region? Do they identify more with the region or the specific county? And what do they call the Republic of Ireland? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/24 "2018-01-31T04:36:18Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > The obvious question: what do Northern Irish, both Catholic and Protestant, call their own region? “Norn Irn”. You have to say it quite fast. > [@installLSC](#): > > Do they identify more with the region or the specific county? Not so much with the county; they mostly identify as British, Irish or Northern Irish. But this can be very nuanced, and people often claim more than one identity. Wikipedia has an [article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_Northern_Ireland) on this based on the answers given in the 2011 census. > [@installLSC](#): > > And what do they call the Republic of Ireland? “The Republic”. Or “the South”. Or occasionally (and anachronistically) “the Free State”. ---
**Author:** ![Galwegian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galwegian/32/3426_2.png) [@Galwegian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galwegian)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/25 "2018-01-31T13:53:15Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > And what do they call the Republic of Ireland? Sometimes Mexico. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/26 "2018-01-31T14:20:44Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > …Does the US have a term for the states that border Canada? > … Never heard or read one. ---
**Author:** ![Ztransform](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/48db29/32.png) [@Ztransform](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ztransform)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/27 "2018-01-31T15:35:35Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > Its usually ‘The Occupied Six Counties’ in my experience 😉 Mosty when taking the piss out of sad Sein Fein ultras. ---
**Author:** ![Ztransform](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/48db29/32.png) [@Ztransform](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ztransform)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/28 "2018-01-31T15:39:59Z")
Dundalk used to be called ‘El Paso’ due to it being a hide out for many IRA cnuts. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/29 "2018-01-31T15:53:20Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Does the US have a term for the states that border Canada? Not as such, other than “frozen wastelands”. > [@](#): > > The people in the city mostly call it “Derry” too, unless they wish to Make A Point. The US state of New Hampshire has separate, adjacent towns called Derry and Londonderry. Maybe that’s the way to keep the peace. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/30 "2018-01-31T16:02:35Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I don’t have a name for those states really. If I heard someone say “border states” I would assume the Civil War context, which means Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri, and possibly West Virginia. Those are the 4 states that remained with the USA despite having slaves + the 1 that was created from a CSA state during the war. Plus if I knew it had a modern context, I’d think the southern border. And Upper Midwest is officially 5+ states, at least one of which isn’t even on the border. I agree, border states means either the non-CSA slave states in Civil War historical context (with varying additions to the first four you mentioned but similarly situated) or CA, AZ, NM and TX now, the states which border Mexico. The US has a very low consciousness of Canada in general compared to the joint consciousness of the two parts of Ireland for one another or the US consciousness of Mexico, often as a threat in terms of illegal activity, fairly or not. In which sense the low US consciousness of Canada has a positive basis. And here’s where Canadians might chime in with ‘that’s _great_ as far as we’re concerned, keep it up!’ But actually the assumption in Canada IME tends to be that the US thinks about Canada anywhere near as much as Canada thinks about the US, and the lack of concern in the the US isn’t strictly a positive. Anyway the idea there would be a special word for all the US states on the Canadian border is pretty ridiculous IMO if you know the US, and there certainly isn’t one. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/31 "2018-01-31T16:50:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, Maine and Washington certainly aren’t “upper midwest”. Neither are New York, Vermont or New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/32 "2018-01-31T17:27:04Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Not as such, other than “frozen wastelands”. > > The US state of New Hampshire has separate, adjacent towns called Derry and Londonderry. Maybe that’s the way to keep the peace. 😉 There’s a Derry, Maine. But while it looks peaceful, it’s scary. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/33 "2018-01-31T19:32:17Z")
**What Do The Irish (Republic Of Ireland) Call The Northern Part Of Their Country?** “Ours …” ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/34 "2018-02-01T15:43:32Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Never heard or read one. When I was in the military (and earlier, as a military brat), it was referred to generally as “northern tier”. The usage was usually not flattering, especially in contexts in which it was particularly poignant. (Like, “You had an assignment to California, but you went and got promoted and now they changed the assignment to the northern tier.” Not fictional, btw, which is why I spent 3 years as a kid in eastern Montana instead of Sacramento.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Zox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Mr\_Zox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Zox)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/35 "2018-02-02T06:29:29Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > When I was in the military (and earlier, as a military brat), it was referred to generally as “northern tier”. The usage was usually not flattering, especially in contexts in which it was particularly poignant. (Like, “You had an assignment to California, but you went and got promoted and now they changed the assignment to the northern tier.” Not fictional, btw, which is why I spent 3 years as a kid in eastern Montana instead of Sacramento.) I’m from WA, and I have, rarely, heard “northern tier”. I’ve never heard it as bad, good, or indeed as anything but a description. Still, I suppose to some it could have an emotional aspect. BTW, I’ve never heard of Alaska being included in the “northern tier”. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/36 "2018-02-02T07:25:00Z")
According to the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Tier_(United_States)) on the term, the Northern Tier does not include Alaska, but it does include Oregon and all the New England states, whether or not they border on Canada. Apparently the region was considered to share a common culture because of east-to-west migration patterns. So it’s not so much a term for the states which border on Canada as for the states which inherited particular cultural characteristics from New England, many of which border on Canada. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/37 "2018-02-02T07:40:46Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Not so much with the county; they mostly identify as British, Irish or Northern Irish. Not really, if somebody asks me where I am from the first answer is “Fermanagh”, and if the person doesn’t know where that is, only then is it Northern Ireland. The GAA is a hugely influential factor for many Irish people and it very much divides along parish and county lines, with the result that millions of people over the years very much placed their identity alongside that of their county. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/38 "2018-02-02T07:55:33Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Not really, if somebody asks me where I am from the first answer is “Fermanagh”, and if the person doesn’t know where that is, only then is it Northern Ireland. > > The GAA is a hugely influential factor for many Irish people and it very much divides along parish and county lines, with the result that millions of people over the years very much placed their identity alongside that of their county. But the issue raised here, I think, is one of identity. The question people are answer is not “where are you from?”, but “who are you?” Would you be more likely to answer that question by saying “I am a Fermanagh man/woman” or “I am Irish/Northern Irish/British”? (Or “I am a child of the universe”. :)) ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/39 "2018-02-02T10:26:04Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > But the issue raised here, I think, is one of identity. The question people are answer is not “where are you from?”, but “who are you?” Would you be more likely to answer that question by saying “I am a Fermanagh man/woman” or “I am Irish/Northern Irish/British”? (Or “I am a child of the universe”. :)) I don’t understand? If the question is “who are you” the answer would not include anything to do with where I was from. If a stranger asked me who I was he might get my name or what I did, not where I lived or was born. Ask me “who are you” and I will never answer “I am a Fermanagh man” or “I am Irish”. The point made was about Irish people identifying with nationality over county, I was simply pointing out that it isn’t necessarily true, there is a very strong identification with the county among very many Irish people. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811/40 "2018-02-02T13:54:49Z")
> [@Mr\_Zox](#): > > I’m from WA, and I have, rarely, heard “northern tier”. I’ve never heard it as bad, good, or indeed as anything but a description. Still, I suppose to some it could have an emotional aspect. > > BTW, I’ve never heard of Alaska being included in the “northern tier”. Pacific Northwest is what we call ourselves, and that includes British Colombia … because we want her BACK … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-irish-republic-of-ireland-call-the-northern-part-of-their-country/807811.md?page=3)