Northern Ireland Quiz

[republicanism]

EASY

Name the current First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland the the parties they represent.
--- Sinn Fein and the DUP. Martin McGuiness is the deputy I think, I don't know who the Unionist one is.

Which party won every election to the old Parliament of Northern Ireland?
--- Ulster Unionist Party.

What was "The Troubles"?
--- The almost-civil war that involved the IRA, the British army, Northern Ireland police and paramilitary, diverse loyalist militia and diverse IRA splinters, and that last from 1969 to the 1990s.
 
Who was Bobby Sands?
--- An Irish Republican martyr, who died after a hunger strike in the H-blocks.


MEDIUM

What was "Bloody Sunday" and when did it occur?
--- 1972, forgot about the date. British paratroopers shot dead 13 men in Derry, who took part in a demonstration for civil rights. All of them unarmed, many 17-year-olds and some priests among them.

What part of Gerry Adams was banned in the UK and Ireland for a number of years?
--- What?

Name three active Terrorist groups during The Troubles, with at least one being Republican and one Loyalist.
--- (Provisional) Irish Republican Army (IRA / Provos), Ulster Defensive Army (UDA), Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)

What city is sometimes called "Slash City" and why?
--- No idea. Derry?

What is the method of Cabinet Selection in the Assembly?
--- I don't know about the details, but the biggest Unionist party and the biggest Nationalist party have to form a mandatory coalition.

Name the parties currently in Cabinet in Northern Ireland
--- Sinn Fein and the DUP.

The shaking of hands of which two men brought in the current democratic period for Northern Ireland?
--- David Trimble, John Hume



HARD

"The Parades" are a controversial event in Northern Ireland. What event do the largest of these commemorate? Bonus points for naming the event that the Apprentice Boys commemorate.
--- Ah, its about that battle in the late 17th century (1692? Not sure...) where a protestant army defeated catholic King James (?). Don't know the date.

Who is the official party leader for Sinn Fein in the Assembly (clue, it's not the dFM)
--- Since Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness are the only Shinners I know by name: Pass.

Who (which party leader) was literally dragged out of the legislature kicking and screaming in 1986
--- Ian Paisley?

[republicanism]

A few more, possibly harder, ones:

a) For what constituency was Ian Paisley (Sr.) first elected to Stormont (the Northern Ireland Parliament)?
--- One of the Antrim constituencies I would expect. I try and say Antrim South.

b) Under what label was he first elected?
--- Ulster Unionist, I think. Before he formed the DUP.

c) What was the name of the party founded by Brian Faulkner in 1974?
--- Alliance Party?

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?
--- The woman that was elected 2010 in Belfast East. Last name is Long, forgot her first name. Nicole or Louise...?

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?
--- I bet McGuiness and Adams were among them. No idea who else.

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?
--- Possibly they lost it to the DUP. No idea which constituency.

k) Name the ten parties who took seats in elections to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996.
--- Sinn Fein, SDLP, Alliance Party, UUP... wait, there were ten parties? The DUP did abstain iirc. Perhaps the Greens too. No idea who else.

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.
--- 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.

n) Five urban areas in Northern Ireland have the title "city". Name them.
--- Belfast, Derry/Londonderry... Armagh...

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.
--- Ian Paisley jr., don't know who else.

s) What catchy acronym was used by the electoral pact between the Ulster Unionists and Conservatives in the 2010 election?
--- UCUC, Ulster Conservative and Unionist Coalition.

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?
---