Ulster
- See also Ulster, New York, United States.
| Ulster
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| Statistics
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| Area: | 21,930.31 km²
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| Population: | 1,931,981 (estimate)
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Ulster (Irish: Ulaidh) forms one of the historical provinces of Ireland. Six of its nine counties, Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, are known together as Northern Ireland, and are part of the United Kingdom. The unionist population frequently refers to these six counties as "Ulster" or "the Province". The population of Northern Ireland in 2001 was 1,685,267.
The three Ulster counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan are part of the Republic of Ireland. The combined population of these three counties in 2002 was 246,714.
In the 1600s Ulster functioned as the last redoubt of the traditional Gaelic way of life, and following the defeat of the Irish forces at the battles of Kinsale (1601), Mountjoy and Dunboy Castle, Elizabeth I succeeded in subjugating Ulster and all of Ireland. In 1921 most of Ulster became part of Northern Ireland and remained in the United Kingdom, whilst the rest became part of the Irish Free State.
The flag of Ulster, shown to the right, is the basis for the flag of Northern Ireland.
See also
The name Ulster also appears in some other contexts originally named in honour of the Irish province:
An ulster is a kind of overcoat.
