As with many things in this troubled region, even the name is contentious. Although Northern Ireland is often referred to as Ulster, strictly speaking Ulster denotes one of the traditional provinces of Ireland, consisting of nine counties. Northern Ireland incorporates six of those counties, while the remaining three lie within the Republic of Ireland.

For some nationalists (supporters of reunification with Ireland), even the term Northern Ireland is controversial, and they prefer “the North of Ireland.” Unionists (who want the region to remain part of the United Kingdom) often refer to themselves as Ulstermen.

One thing that unites the rival communities is their accent, which puts even the simplest of English words through the wringer, squeezing out vowels and consonants and giving rise to a variation of the region’s name that has come to serve as a fond nickname embraced by everyone: “Norn Iron.”