There is no Southern Ireland

[Needeyebrows]

So sick of hearing people say say Southern Ireland when referring to anywhere outside of Northern Ireland. Any place outside of Northern is the Republic of Ireland. We do not have southern Ireland..

Agree. Case in point: Donegal.

I live in Ireland and deal with cross-border agencies for work, and the terms ROI (as in, the initials), NI, the north, and the south are used as common parlance.

Eh I don’t think it’s that weird. As someone from NI it’s standard to call it “down south” or “the south” so Southern Ireland isn’t really that different.

When I lived in Belfast, people would say "the South", "Free State", the republic, Mexico or the 26 counties.

Sinilarly, people would refer "the North" or the "6 counties".

I've only heard "Southern Ireland" from non-Irish people, outside Ireland.

Also, "Eire" is not a slur.

@Neverinamonthofsundays And the rest of the day to yourself 😁

No they bloody don't.

I mean, read the thread. People from both north and south saying they do.

if it helps I refuse to say Northern Ireland. I was born in Belfast which is in the north of Ireland. Like Inverness is in the North of Scotland :)

It is signposted all the way from Belfast city 'The South' so I can see why we get called Southerners.

Well where was he from in Ireland? he might have been from the south of Ireland, he wasn't from Southern Ireland because there is no such place

Was just about to say this.

My mum is from NI, my dad is from Ireland.

I remember writing cards to his family many years ag and adding Eire (don't know how to do the fada on my phone), though.

Eire means burden. Éire is the irish for Ireland.

I lived with a guy from Belfast and he referred to all of us Southerners as Mexicans.

Actually, that doesn’t help at all. In fact, it’s rather goady. Belfast is in Northern Ireland. Fact.

Nobody Irish says Southern Ireland. They just don't. NI people saying the south is fine because we say the north.

@JaneJeffer yeah but my Irish born Northern Irelander classes himself as Irish and used to class me as Southern Irish. So I started calling him a Brit till he copped on. Only took about 7 years which in man years is not too long at all. Our little cherubs are all Irish bar the fish who I swears bobs in a nordie way.

Folk in Cork / Kerry etc. saying they are from Southern Ireland mean it as a compass point direction. Just as in Mayo or Galway it's the West its just a direction and a fact.

The difference is when folk from UK, through ignorance or bigotry, assume if there's Northern Ireland there must be 'Southern Ireland'. As if these are the yin and yang. It usually shows a complete lack of understanding of Irish history and / or politics.

Yeah I hate people talking about the North of Ireland tbh. No problem with people not liking NI being part of the UK, but no point in denying the current political reality.

Plus I find it quite offensive as someone from Ireland, I can't put my finger on why but it seems to diminish Ireland's independence somehow.

100% this.

We always refer to NI as “the North” but in all of my many years on this earth, I’ve never heard someone refer to the country of Ireland as “Southern Ireland”. It’s plain old Ireland.

I lived in Donegal for years and we’d frequently go “into the North” to shop.

But Inverness is in the north of Scotland. Belfast isn’t in the north of Ireland.

Wonderful. Reminds me of an advertising campaign the city of Bremen ran in the 90s, calling itself "Germany's southernmost sea port."

I don't hear it often but when I do I fully agree with you!

Interesting, where I am there are a lot of Irish people (Jersey) and they are all either from Northern or Southern Ireland by their own definition

Fuxk this drives me insane. At the Post Office, sending a package to Ireland - 'is that to Southern Ireland?' 'Nope to Dublin' 'so Southern Ireland?' 'No'. Etc etc. Just because it's not in Northern Ireland doesn't mean it's automatically called Southern!!

Loads of people don’t realise NI is part of the UK