Northern Ireland national football team
In 1920, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1922, Southern Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State, later to become a republic under the name of Ireland. Amid these political upheavals, a rival football association, the Football Association of Ireland, emerged in Dublin in 1921 and organised a separate league and international team. In 1923, at a time when the home nations had withdrawn from FIFA, the FAI was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State on the condition that it changed its name to the Football Association of the Irish Free State. The Irish FA continued to organise its national team on an all-Ireland basis.
Irish issue in British politics
Home Rule was passed in 1914, but suspended in operation during the First World War. The issue was finally resolved in 1921 by partitioning Ireland into the quasi-autonomous (Catholic-dominated) Irish Free State in the southwestern four-fifths of the island, and (Prebyterian dominated) Northern Ireland in the remaining fifth, which remained part of the United Kingdom. The next round of troubles emerged in the 1960s, when the Catholics living in Northern Ireland could no longer tolerate the discriminatory policies long imposed on them by the (devolved) government of Northern Ireland. The Troubles 30 years of near civil war that at times had significant impact on British politics finally ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, a power-sharing agreement between the parties in Northern Ireland and a international Treaty between Ireland and the United Kingdom, as co-guarantors.