Belfast Male

Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland, a province of the United Kingdom. It spans both county Antrim and County Down. Belfast’s history has been marked by violent conflict between Catholic and Protestant communities: those loyal to the United Kingdom and those who wish to separate and re-unite Ireland. This conflict has caused many parts of the city to be split into Catholic and Protestant areas. During the late 60s and 70s Belfast suffered in attacks from various rebel groups. By 1994 there was a parliamentary ceasefire and the city began to rebuild. On the 10th August 1998 the Good Friday Agreement was signed, created by the Northern Irish Assembly and the British Government, in order to help bring peace and stability to the region. The resonances of the troubles, however, can still be felt today.

The history of English in Ireland is largely a matter of distinguishing the various waves of migration from Britain over a period of several hundred years. In the North of Ireland, many of the local Irish were moved out of the area to make way for the Scots who were being displaced from their homelands and relocated by the English. This strong link was with Scotland can be readily heard in the similar accent features of Western Scottish and Northern Irish.