Directory of the Northern Ireland Troubles

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

has, in some way, been caught up in the Troubles

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

and subsequent peace process.
While not a comprehensive guide, the following directory lists and provides links to articles about the main players in this country.

Main articles

General

Operation Banner
Operation Banner
Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from August 1969 to July 2007. It was initially deployed at the request of the Unionist government of Northern Ireland to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary . After the 1998 Belfast Agreement,...
Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997
Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997
From 1969 until 1997, the Provisional Irish Republican Army conducted an armed paramilitary campaign in Northern Ireland and England, aimed at ending British rule in Northern Ireland in order to create a united Ireland....
Segregation in Northern Ireland
Segregation in Northern Ireland
Segregation in Northern Ireland is a long-running issue in the political and social history of Northern Ireland. The segregation involves Northern Ireland's two main communities – its nationalist/republican community and its unionist/loyalist community...
Parades in Northern Ireland
Parades in Northern Ireland
Parades are an important part of Northern Irish culture. Although the majority of parades are held ostensibly by Protestant, unionist or Ulster loyalist groups, nationalist, republican and non-political groups also parade. Parading is often considered to be an assertion of a group's control over a...
Murals in Northern Ireland
The Troubles in Derry
The Troubles in Derry
The city of Derry, Northern Ireland, was severely affected by the Troubles. The conflict is widely considered to have begun in the city, with many regarding the Battle of the Bogside as the beginning of the Troubles. The 'Bloody Sunday' incident of 1972 also occurred in Derry...
The Northern Ireland Troubles in popular culture
The Northern Ireland Troubles in popular culture
The Northern Ireland Troubles have been referenced numerous times in popular culture, particularly through films, novels, songs and poems. This article aims to provide a complete list of such works.- Films :*Angel *Bloody Sunday...

Timelines

Timeline of the Northern Ireland Troubles
List of bombings during the Northern Ireland Troubles

of Republican actions

Timeline of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions
Timeline of Irish National Liberation Army actions
Timeline of Continuity Irish Republican Army actions
Timeline of Real Irish Republican Army actions

of Loyalist actions

Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions
Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions
This is a timeline of actions by the Ulster Volunteer Force , a loyalist paramilitary group formed in 1966. It includes actions carried out by the Red Hand Commando , a group integrated into the UVF shortly after their formation in 1972. It also includes attacks claimed by the Protestant Action...
Timeline of Ulster Defence Association actions
Timeline of Ulster Defence Association actions
This is a timeline of actions by the Ulster Defence Association , a loyalist paramilitary group formed in 1971. Most of these actions took place during the conflict known as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland....
Timeline of Loyalist Volunteer Force actions

of British military actions

Timeline of Ulster Defence Regiment operations

Paramilitaries

Anti-terrorist laws in both Ireland and the UK proscribe (ban) membership of a number of republican and loyalist groups organised in Northern Ireland. Several other smaller paramilitary factions have appeared throughout the Troubles as well as cover-names used to deflect responsibility for attacks.

Note: In this context, operational refers to the period during which the 'official' paramilitary campaign was conducted.

Republicans

Name	Initials	Operational
Saor Éire	SÉ	1967–1975
Provisional Irish Republican Army Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...	PIRA	1969–2005
Official Irish Republican Army	OIRA	1969–1972
South Derry Independent Republican Unit South Derry Independent Republican Unit The South Derry Independent Republican Unit was an Irish republican guerrilla unit which operated during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.It operated from c. 1973–1978 and included members such as Dominic McGlinchey, Francis Hughes, Thomas McElwee, Joe Sheridan and Ian Milne...		1973–1978
Irish National Liberation Army Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....	INLA	1974–2009
Irish People's Liberation Organisation Irish People's Liberation Organisation The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials...	IPLO	1986–1992
Continuity Irish Republican Army Continuity Irish Republican Army The Continuity Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Continuity IRA and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann, is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that aims to bring about a united Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Provisional IRA in 1986 but did not become active until...	CIRA	1994–
Real Irish Republican Army Real Irish Republican Army The Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA , and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann , is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a united Ireland...	RIRA	1997–

Umbrella groups

Irish Republican Socialist Movement
Irish Republican Socialist Movement
The Irish Republican Socialist Movement is an umbrella term for the political-paramilitary grouping of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the Irish National Liberation Army, prisoners who belong to either the IRSP or the INLA, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America, and the...

Loyalists

Name	Initials	Operational
Ulster Protestant Volunteers Ulster Protestant Volunteers The Ulster Protestant Volunteers were a loyalist and fundamentalist Christian paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. They were active between 1966 and 1969 and closely linked to the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee , established by Ian Paisley in 1966.The UPV launched a bombing campaign to...	UPV	1966–1969
Ulster Volunteer Force Red Hand Commando	UVF RHC	1966–2007 1972–2007
Ulster Defence Association Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"... Ulster Freedom Fighters	UDA UFF	1971–2007
Ulster Resistance Ulster Resistance Ulster Resistance was a paramilitary movement established by unionists in Northern Ireland on 10 November 1986 in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.-Origins:The group was launched at a three thousand-strong invitation-only meeting at the Ulster Hall...	UR	1986–?
Loyalist Volunteer Force Loyalist Volunteer Force The Loyalist Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and the Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade was stood down by the UVF leadership. He had been the commander of the Mid-Ulster Brigade. The...	LVF	1997–2005
Orange Volunteers Orange Volunteers The Orange Volunteers or Orange Volunteer Force is an Ulster loyalist and Protestant fundamentalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland.-Origins:...	OV	1998–
Red Hand Defenders Red Hand Defenders The Red Hand Defenders is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires. Its members were drawn mostly from the Ulster Defence Association and Loyalist Volunteer Force...	RHD	1998–

Umbrella groups

Ulster Army Council
Ulster Army Council
The Ulster Army Council was set up in 1973 as an umbrella group by the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force to co-ordinate joint paramilitary operations during the Loyalist strike...

(UAC)
Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee
Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee
The Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee was set up in 1974 in the aftermath of the Ulster Workers Council Strike, in order to facilitate meetings and policy co-ordination between the Ulster Workers Council, the loyalist paramilitaries and the political representatives of...

(ULCCC)
Combined Loyalist Military Command
Combined Loyalist Military Command
The Combined Loyalist Military Command was an umbrella body for loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee....

(CLMC)

In the table below:

The period of activity for republican groups is shown in green.
The period of activity for loyalist groups is shown in orange.
The period of ceasefire is shown in grey.

Group	Year
Group	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80	81	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99
Provisional IRA
Official IRA
UVF
UDA
INLA
IPLO
Continuity IRA
Real IRA
LVF

United Kingdom

The British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
- The Ulster Defence Regiment
  Ulster Defence Regiment
  The Ulster Defence Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army which became operational in 1970, formed on similar lines to other British reserve forces but with the operational role of defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage...
  
  (UDR) – from 1 January 1970 to 30 June 1992
- The Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) – from 1 July 1992
The Territorial Army
The Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
The Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
The Security Service
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...

(MI5)

Northern Ireland

The Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...

(RUC) – to 3 November 2001
The Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....

(PSNI) – from 4 November 2001
The Ulster Special Constabulary
Ulster Special Constabulary
The Ulster Special Constabulary was a reserve police force in Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the founding of Northern Ireland. It was an armed corps, organised partially on military lines and called out in times of emergency, such as war or insurgency...

(USC) – to 30 April 1970
The Northern Ireland Prison Service
Northern Ireland Prison Service
The Northern Ireland Prison Service is an executive agency of the Department of Justice, the headquarters of which are in Dundonald House in the Stormont Estate in Belfast....

(NIPS)

Political parties

Listing includes brief summary of ideology and position on the Good Friday Agreement 1998

Belfast Agreement

The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...

Nationalist/Republican

Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

(SF). President: Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...

. Militant nationalist. Often associated with the Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

. Translation from Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

: "We Ourselves". Pro-Agreement.
The Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...

(SDLP). Leader: Margaret Ritchie
Margaret Ritchie (politician)
Margaret Ritchie is an Irish politician from Northern Ireland. She was the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 7 February 2010 to 5 November 2011 - being replaced in this role by Alasdair McDonnell - and served as the Minister for Social Development from 8 May 2007 until her...

. Moderate centre-left nationalist. Pro-Agreement.
The Irish Republican Socialist Party
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...

(IRSP). Militant nationalist. Political wing of INLA
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....

. Anti-Agreement.
Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...

(RSF). President: Des Dalton
Des Dalton
Des Dalton is the president of Republican Sinn Féin . Previously a member of Ógra Fianna Fáil, he joined RSF aged 18 and has been a member of the RSF Ard Comhairle for over a decade. Dalton ran in the Athy town council Elections in 2004 and 2009 in his home town of Athy, Co Kildare. In both...

. Militant nationalist. Often associated with the Continuity IRA. Anti-Agreement.
The 32 County Sovereignty Movement
32 County Sovereignty Movement
The 32 County Sovereignty Movement, often abbreviated to 32CSM or 32csm, is an Irish republican political organisation.The 32CSM's objectives are:* "The restoration of Irish national sovereignty"....

(32CSM). President: Francis Mackey. Militant Nationalist. Oftern associated with the Real IRA. Anti-Agreement.
The Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....

(WP). President: Mick Finnegan
Mick Finnegan
Mick Finnegan is the President of the Workers' Party of Ireland having been elected to that position on 17 May 2008 at the party's Ard Fheis / Annual Delegate conference to replace Sean Garland who retired after ten years in the position....

. Marxist nationalist. Formerly Official Sinn Féin. Pro-Agreement.

Unionist/Loyalist

The Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...

(DUP). Leader: Peter Robinson
Peter Robinson (politician)
Peter David Robinson is the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party...

. Radical populist unionist. Originally anti-Agreement; now pro-Agreement.
The Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...

(UUP). Leader: Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott MLA is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and former UDR member...

. Moderate conservative unionist. Pro-Agreement.
The Progressive Unionist Party
Progressive Unionist Party
The Progressive Unionist Party is a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979...

(PUP). Leader: Brian Ervine
Brian Ervine
Brian Ervine is a playwright, songwriter and teacher living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Northern Irish playwright St John Ervine was a distant relative...

. Moderate centre-left unionist. Political wing of Ulster Volunteer Force. Pro-Agreement.
The Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

also organises and contests elections in Northern Ireland. Moderate unionist. Pro-Agreement.

Other

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....

. Leader: David Ford
David Ford
David Ford is a politician who is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Ford has been leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland since 2001 and has been Northern Ireland Minister of Justice since April 2010.- Early life :...

. Liberal cross-community. Pro-Agreement
The Green Party
Green Party in Northern Ireland
The Green Party in Northern Ireland is the Northern Ireland subdivision of the Irish Green Party, based on the principles of Green politics. It works in co-operation with Green parties across Europe, and was formerly a party in its own right...

. Environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...

. Pro-Agreement.
Ulster Third Way
Ulster Third Way
The Ulster Third Way is the Northern Ireland branch of the Third Way and is organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' as well as for the British National Front.As well as sharing the Third Way's aims U3W is committed to securing independence...

. Supports Northern Ireland independence
Ulster nationalism
Ulster nationalism is the name given to a school of thought in Northern Irish politics that seeks the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom without becoming part of the Republic of Ireland, thereby becoming an independent sovereign state separate from England, Scotland and Wales...

.

Northern Ireland government

1921-1972

Governor
Governor of Northern Ireland
The Governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973.-Overview:...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...
Cabinet
Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
The Executive Committee or the Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland was the government of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Generally known as either the Cabinet or the Government, the Executive Committee existed from 1922 to 1972...

1998-

First Minister and deputy First Minister
Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive...
Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...

Northern Ireland legislatures

1921-1972

The Parliament of Northern Ireland

Parliament of Northern Ireland

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...

House of Commons
House of Commons of Northern Ireland
The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act...
Senate
Senate of Northern Ireland
The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.-Powers:...

1972-1998

The Northern Ireland Assembly
Sunningdale Agreement
The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The Agreement was signed at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973.Unionist opposition, violence and...

(1973–1974)
The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....

(1975–1976)
The Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly, 1982
The Northern Ireland Assembly established in 1982 represented an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to restore the devolution to Northern Ireland which had been suspended 10 years previously. The Assembly was abolished in 1986.-Origins:...

(1982–1986)
The Northern Ireland Forum
Northern Ireland Forum
The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....

(1996–1998)

1998-

The Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

Republic of Ireland government

Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

(prime minister)
The Department of Defence
Department of Defence (Ireland)
The Department of Defence is the department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for preserving peace and security in Ireland and abroad...
The Department of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for promoting the interests of Ireland in the European Union and the wider world...

Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

(assembly)
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...

(senate)

United Kingdom government

Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
The Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

(MOD)
The Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...

(NIO)

The House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
The House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

(House of Commons)
The Northern Ireland Grand Committee
Northern Ireland Grand Committee
The Northern Ireland Grand Committee is one of three such grand committees in the United Kingdom Parliament. The other two are for Scotland and Wales...

(House of Commons)

Co-operative bodies

British-Irish Council
British-Irish Council
The British–Irish Council is an international organisation established under the Belfast Agreement in 1998, and formally established on 2 December 1999 on the entry into force of the consequent legislation...

(BIC)
British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body
British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body
The British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly is a deliberative body consisting of members of legislative bodies in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the British crown dependencies...
North/South Ministerial Council
North/South Ministerial Council
The North/South Ministerial Council is a body established under the Belfast Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Ireland...

(NSMC)

Key steps in the peace process

Sunningdale Agreement
Sunningdale Agreement
The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The Agreement was signed at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973.Unionist opposition, violence and...

(1973)
Anglo-Irish Agreement
Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland...

(1985)
Downing Street Declaration
Downing Street Declaration
The Downing Street Declaration was a joint declaration issued on 15 December 1993 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, Albert Reynolds at the British Prime Minister office in 10 Downing Street...

(1993)
Establishment of the IICD
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland, as part of the peace process.-Legislation and organisation:...

(1997)
Belfast Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...

(1998)
Amendment of Articles 2 and 3
Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
The Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland introduced changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the constitution required by the 1998 Belfast Agreement . Prior to 1999, Articles 2 and 3 made the controversial claim that the whole island of Ireland formed one single "national territory"...

(1999)
Establishment of the Independent Monitoring Commission
Independent Monitoring Commission
The Independent Monitoring Commission was an organization founded on 7 January 2004, by an agreement between the British and Irish governments, signed in Dublin on 25 November 2003...

(2003)
IRA Ceasefire & Decommissioning (2005)
St Andrews Agreement
St Andrews Agreement
The St Andrews Agreement was an agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the political parties in relation to the devolution of power to Northern Ireland...

(2006)

Cultural and religious organisations

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
Roman Catholicism in Ireland
The Catholic Church in Ireland is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Christian Church with full communion with the Pope, currently Benedict XVI...
The Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

(Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

)
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Presbyterian Church in Ireland
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland , is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland...
The Methodist Church in Ireland
Methodist Church in Ireland
The Methodist Church in Ireland is a Wesleyan Methodist church that operates across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on an all Ireland basis, It is the 4th largest Christian denomination in both jurisdictions and on the island as a whole...

Nationalist

The Ancient Order of Hibernians
Ancient Order of Hibernians
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be Catholic and either Irish born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836...

(AOH)
The Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

(GAA)

Unionist

The Apprentice Boys of Derry
Apprentice Boys of Derry
The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership of over 80,000, founded in 1814. They are based in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. However, there are Clubs and branches across Ireland, Great Britain and further afield...
The Orange Institution
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
The Independent Orange Order
Independent Orange Order
The Independent Loyal Orange Institution is an off-shoot of the Orange Institution, a Protestant fraternal organisation based in Northern Ireland.-Foundation:...
The Royal Black Institution

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