A major problem in the popular view of Irish history is the loose use of terminology in general discussion (not so much in academic discourse where terminology can be the downfall of a career). Ulster for instance sometimes refers to the six county state (more properly called Northern Ireland) that emerged from the strife of the early 20th century but also the nine-county province of the island of Ireland.

It retains both meanings in many ways, with the exception that many aspects of the six county state is now run by a parliament that is at least mostly acceptable to the majority of the population whereas in the past this was not the case. But how did this state emerge, what was special about Ulster that marked it out as different from the bulk of the island? With this series of articles, HistoryJournal.ie hopes to explore some of the events and the people that were responsible for giving Ulster its unique position.

It will look at Edward Carson, the founder of the Ulster Volunteers, a committed Unionist but one who wished to see the whole island remain with the Union and had doubts about the stability of a Northern Irish state. It will also look at the texts that the Ulster Volunteers signed as they piled on pressure in resistance to the passage of the Home Rule Bill which was introduced in 1912 and under provisions of the Parliament Act was finally enacted in 1914 and at the Volunteers themselves.

It will look at the activities of the IRA in Donegal, an often ignore part of the struggle by Nationalists to wrest independence from the British Crown and the savage sectarian violence that wracked the North during the War of Independence with a focus on the events in Belfast.

Lastly, it will look at the IRA leader who emerged from the North to take command of the IRA in the dying days of the Civil War, Frank Aiken.

Image Courtesy of Flickr user PPCC Antifa and CC