Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland () divided the island of Ireland into two distinct jurisdictions, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. It took place on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Today the former is still known as Northern Ireland and forms part of the United Kingdom, while the latter is now a sovereign state also named Ireland and sometimes called the Republic of Ireland.
Partitionism
When the island was partitioned in 1921, thousands of Irish Catholics and nationalists were left "stranded" in the "Protestant, Pro-British state" of Northern Ireland. Some nationalists have described partitionism as the belief that "Ireland" and "Irishness" is confined to the Republic of Ireland. For example, during a debate in the Dáil on 9 March 1999, Austin Currie denounced those in the Republic of Ireland who questioned the Irishness of "northern" Catholics: