Text 5 northern ireland

I reland is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea. The island is politically divided into two parts: the Republic of Ireland (or Eire*) and Northern Ireland (sometimes called 'Ulster*') which is part of the United Kingdom.

The flag of Northern Ireland is called St Patrick's Cross. The national day of Northern Ireland is 17 March, St Patrick's Day, Ireland's patron saint. The national emblem of Northern Ireland is a shamrock.

T he capital and largest city of Northern Ireland is Belfast which has a population of almost half a million, nearly a third of the entire population of the province. The total area of Northern Ireland is over 14,000 sq km. The distinctive Ulster accent, markedly different from that of the southern Irish, bears traces of English and Scottish influence.

Belfast is the chief port and industrial centre of the province and is surrounded by heavy industries including shipbuilding and textiles. Its prosperity was originally based on its linen industry. Shipbuilding is now in sharp decline, and unemployment is high. About one third of jobs in the province are in the manufacturing industries such as linen, foodstuffs, engineering and small parts.

N orthern Ireland contains some of the richest farming land in the British Isles. Outside the industrialized area around Belfast, it remains predominantly agricultural. Cattle, sheep, and dairying account for 60 % of all farming. The main crops are hay, barley and oats for animal feed, and potatoes. Cod, herring, mackerel, whiting and shellfish are trawled from the Irish Sea and the Atlantic.

The southern part of Northern Ireland is made up of lowlands. The attractive Mourne Mountains* are in the south-east. A characteristic feature of Northern Ireland is the greenness of the countryside and the cloudy skies above. The overall weather pattern in Ulster features a high rainfall. Lough Neagh*, in the centre of the province, is the largest lake in the British Isles, and yields trout, freshwater herring and eels. This area is popular for fishing and boating holidays. Northern Ireland is a fisherman's paradise, and the soft green landscape and rugged, picturesque coastline make it one of the most attractive regions in the island, but tourism has been badly affected by political troubles.

Since the 17^th century, Ulster is torn apart by sectarian strife between the Protestant* community (of Scots origin) which still form a majority in the north, and Catholics who predominate in the south. This conflict was exploited by the IRA (Irish Republican Army), which from 1971 to 1994 waged an indiscriminate campaign of terror in Ulster and on the mainland of Britain. In 1994, following many months of secret negotiations, the IRA declared a cease-fire. In October 1997, for the first time in 25 years, Protestants and Catholics sat together to seek a solution to Ulster's problems. However, the conflict in Ulster persists.

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*Eire – [´ɛərə] геогр.; ист. Эйре (официальное название Ирландской республики с 1937 по 1949)

*Ulster – [´Λlstə] разг. Ольстер, Северная Ирландия

*Mourne Mountains – горы Мурн в графстве Даун (Down), Северная Ирландия; первый национальный парк в Северной Ирландии

*Lough Neagh – [ֽlƆh´nei] Лох-Ней (озеро в Северной Ирландии)

*Protestant – [´prƆtistənt] протестант (протестантизм - одно из основных направлений в христианстве)