Northern Ireland Quiz

[ObserverIE]

What city is sometimes called "Slash City" and why?

I'm pretty sure the term is "Stroke City".

[ObserverIE]

In Ireland, "Slash City" would probably be understood to refer to Limerick city (although the usual term there is "Stab City").

"Stroke City" was originally coined by a radio talkshow host called Gerry Anderson, and plays on the name of the English football club Stoke City.

[ObserverIE]

A few more, possibly harder, ones:

a) For what constituency was Ian Paisley (Sr.) first elected to Stormont (the Northern Ireland Parliament)?
b) Under what label was he first elected?
c) What was the name of the party founded by Brian Faulkner in 1974?
d) Who succeeded Faulkner as leader of the party and what "first" did the new leader represent?
e) What was the significance of the Wild Birds Act under the Stormont Parliament?
f) What "first" did Gerard Benedict Newe achieve in 1971?
g) Who was the Alliance Party's first Westminster MP?
h) In the 1982 Assembly elections, the United Ulster Unionist Party failed to win a seat with only 1.8% of the vote. However, two of its candidates in that election were to serve in the Northern Ireland Executive between 2007 and 2011. Name them.
i) Which five Sinn Féin candidates were elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982?
j) Which seat did the Unionist parties lose in the bye-elections after the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1986 and to whom did they lose?
k) Name the ten parties who took seats in elections to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996.
l) Name the party which took six seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 1998, only to see all of its MLAs, apart from the party leader, leave the party. What, if any, connection did a cream bun have to this story?
m) Prior to the Dáil and Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2011, three political parties had members in both legislative bodies. Name them.
n) Five urban areas in Northern Ireland have the title "city". Name them.
o) Who has announced his intention to contest the leadership of the SDLP?
p) Which building acquired the nickname "Dome of Delights" during the 1980s?
q) What did the banner across its front declare until the courts ordered it to be taken down?
r) Two Paisleys were elected to Westminster from Northern Ireland seats in 2010. Name them.
s) What catchy acronym was used by the electoral pact between the Ulster Unionists and Conservatives in the 2010 election?
t) Who stood as the Alliance Party candidate in the 2009 European elections?
u) For what party and in what constituency did he stand in the 2010 Westminster elections?
v) For what party and in what constituency did his girlfriend/partner stand in the 2010 Westminster elections?
w) Of what party is the girlfriend/partner now a member, having defected in November 2010?
x) In which constituency did the SDLP ill-advisedly but accurately compare its 2001 Westminster election campaign to Stalingrad?

[ObserverIE]

a) For what constituency was Ian Paisley (Sr.) first elected to Stormont (the Northern Ireland Parliament)? Bannside- areas around Ballymena and Ballymoney.
b) Under what label was he first elected?  Protestant Unionist
c) What was the name of the party founded by Brian Faulkner in 1974? Unionist Party of NI

Three out of three so far.

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Wrong party.

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Yes.

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On the right lines but need the name.

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...someone else.

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The fifth was in Armagh.

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7/10.

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UKUP's leader, the non-argumentative, non-egotistical Sideshow Bob McCartney QC, won a libel case against a Belfast newspaper (the Telegraph, I think) which had claimed in a diary piece that he and another prominent lawyer had engaged in a spat in a bakery/confectionery over the last cream bun in the shop.

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This is directly prior to the elections. 1/3.

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Armagh has some rationale behind it. The middle two, not so much.

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Baby Doc is one. The second is more obscure. Possibly might be viewed as a trick question.

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Yep. With Bríd Rogers, who deserved better, as von Manstein.

[ObserverIE]

See my earlier reply to Patrick for some of the correct answers:

a) North Antrim?

b) Vanguard?

c) Vanguard, again?

d) McCartney? Who renamed the party in UKUP? (I'm probaby saying nonsence, putting together names, parties and patchy memory.)

e) It was the only bill which passed with unanimity?

Not quite.

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Yes.

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8/10

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Yes. Cream bun explained earlier.

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Yes. Ironically named by a journalist called Jim McDowell in reference to the continual verbal brawling and disruption employed by the Unionist majority, particularly against Sinn Féin councillors, in the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

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Eh, no.

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Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force. Fortunately, the original idea of "New Thrilling Synthesis" was left on the drawing board.

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[ObserverIE]

m) Prior to the Dáil and Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2011, three political parties had members in both legislative bodies. Name them.
--- Sinn Fein of course. And since you said prior to the Dail elections, and only one party lost all its seats in the Dail: The Greens? And "People Before Profit" maybe too.

2/3.

[ObserverIE]

McHugh might have been in FF but he remained Independent in the Assembly.

He was still publicly a member of the party though.

[ObserverIE]

Without reading other answers...

a) For what constituency was Ian Paisley (Sr.) first elected to Stormont (the Northern Ireland Parliament)? North Antrim

b) Under what label was he first elected? Some shortlived party that basically became the DUP soon after.

c) What was the name of the party founded by Brian Faulkner in 1974?
Northern Ireland Unionist Party. It bombed.

The NIUP was the party formed by the disaffected followers of the Cream Bun (see question l)). However, it bombed even more spectacularly than UPNI. (You could probably randomly generate a series of four letter acronyms containing UP and find that every one was a real Unionist splinter group).

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8/10

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Cream bun explained earlier.

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The Greens in NI and the Republic are officially part of the same party. See the previous message for the third.

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Newry is the fifth. When a Prod market town (Lisburn) got upgraded it was considered balanced to give a Taig market town the leg-up at the same time.

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Baby Doc is one. The other used their surname (Paisley) in their professional life but not in their political career.

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Yep.

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No. West Belfast was a lost cause long before then.

[ObserverIE]

a) For what constituency was Ian Paisley (Sr.) first elected to Stormont (the Northern Ireland Parliament)? Bannside
b) Under what label was he first elected? Protestant Unionist
c) What was the name of the party founded by Brian Faulkner in 1974? Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
d) Who succeeded Faulkner as leader of the party and what "first" did the new leader represent? Anne Dickson - first woman leader of a major party in Northern Ireland
e) What was the significance of the Wild Birds Act under the Stormont Parliament? Had symbolic significance as the only piece of legislation sponsored by a Nationalist MP to become law in the period between 1921 and 1972
f) What "first" did Gerard Benedict Newe achieve in 1971? First Catholic to become a cabinet minister (Minister for Community Relations)
g) Who was the Alliance Party's first Westminster MP? Stratton Mills (Belfast North) elected as Ulster Unionist; defected to Alliance in 1973 but didn't stand at the 1974 Westminster elections
h) In the 1982 Assembly elections, the United Ulster Unionist Party failed to win a seat with only 1.8% of the vote. However, two of its candidates in that election were to serve in the Northern Ireland Executive between 2007 and 2011. Name them. Reg Empey (Belfast East, now UUP) and Nelson McCausland (Belfast North, now DUP)
i) Which five Sinn Féin candidates were elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982? Gerry Adams (Belfast West), Martin McGuinness (L'Derry), Owen Carron (Fermanagh-South Tyrone), Danny Morrison (Mid Ulster), Jim McAllister (Armagh)
j) Which seat did the Unionist parties lose in the bye-elections after the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1986 and to whom did they lose? Newry and Armagh - Jim Nicholson (UUP) lost to Séamus Mallon (SDLP)
k) Name the ten parties who took seats in elections to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. UUP, DUP, SDLP, Sinn Féin, Alliance, UK Unionist Party, Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, Progressive Unionist Party, Ulster Democratic Party, Labour Coalition
l) Name the party which took six seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 1998, only to see all of its MLAs, apart from the party leader, leave the party. What, if any, connection did a cream bun have to this story? UK Unionist Party. Its leader, Bob McCartney, had previously successfully sued a Belfast newspaper that had claimed that he'd been involved in an argument with another barrister over the last cream bun in a bakery
m) Prior to the Dáil and Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2011, three political parties had members in both legislative bodies. Name them. Sinn Féin, Green Party, Fianna Fáil (Gerry McHugh, elected as a Sinn Féin MLA for Fermanagh-South Tyrone, defected to Fianna Fáil but didn't defend his seat in the 2011 elections)
n) Five urban areas in Northern Ireland have the title "city". Name them. Belfast, L'Derry, Armagh, Lisburn, Newry
o) Who has announced his intention to contest the leadership of the SDLP? Patsy McGlone, currently Deputy Leader - for the information of any Absolutely Fabulous viewers, Patsy is also a man's name in Ireland
p) Which building acquired the nickname "Dome of Delights" during the 1980s? Belfast City Hall
q) What did the banner across its front declare until the courts ordered it to be taken down? "Belfast Says No" - erected in opposition to the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement
r) Two Paisleys were elected to Westminster from Northern Ireland seats in 2010. Name them. Ian Paisley Jr (North Antrim) and Sylvia Hermon née Paisley (North Down) who was the UUP's only Westminster MP until they drove her out of the party because of her opposition to the pact with the Conservative Party
s) What catchy acronym was used by the electoral pact between the Ulster Unionists and Conservatives in the 2010 election? UCUNF (Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force)
t) Who stood as the Alliance Party candidate in the 2009 European elections? Ian Parsley, an Alliance councillor in North Down; the similarity of his name to that of a well-known politician and former MEP may have boosted his vote
u) For what party and in what constituency did he stand in the 2010 Westminster elections? Parsley defected to the Conservatives later in the year and was given the nomination for North Down - resulting in the ousting of Hermon, the UUP's only MP
v) For what party and in what constituency did his girlfriend/partner stand in the 2010 Westminster elections? Parsley's partner is Paula Bradshaw, who symbolically for the pact, was installed as the UUP's candidate in Belfast South
w) Of what party is the girlfriend/partner now a member, having defected in November 2010? Bradshaw has now defected to the Alliance Party (and Parsley, having been shellacked by Hermon in the election, is no longer a Conservative and didn't defend his council seat in 2011)
x) In which constituency did the SDLP ill-advisedly but accurately compare its 2001 Westminster election campaign to Stalingrad? West Tyrone, where it had narrowly come second in 1997 to a Ulster Unionist elected on a split nationalist vote; it ended up falling to third place, while Sinn Féin's Pat Doherty took the seat