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.
Yeah, Maine and Washington certainly aren’t “upper midwest”.
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?
“Norn Irn”. You have to say it quite fast.
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 on this based on the answers given in the 2011 census.
“The Republic”. Or “the South”. Or occasionally (and anachronistically) “the Free State”.
Sometimes Mexico. Seriously.
Never heard or read one.
Mosty when taking the piss out of sad Sein Fein ultras.
Dundalk used to be called ‘El Paso’ due to it being a hide out for many IRA cnuts.
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. 
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.
Neither are New York, Vermont or New Hampshire.
There’s a Derry, Maine. But while it looks peaceful, it’s scary.
What Do The Irish (Republic Of Ireland) Call The Northern Part Of Their Country?
“Ours …”
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”.
According to the Wikipedia article 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.
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”. :))
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.
Pacific Northwest is what we call ourselves, and that includes British Colombia … because we want her BACK …