There is a long and violent history (reaching as far back as the 1500's) to the geographic division of Ireland, which for the most-part split the country along class and religious lines. The North represented the largely upper class Protestant population wanting to maintain alliances with England. The South represented the poor, lower-class Catholic population who desired freedom from the rule of England. The 3-colour Irish Flag (background) represents the Republic of Ireland, however, the Union Flag (foreground) is used in Northern Ireland. The Union Flag is the official flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Even today, the population continues to reflect the historical allegiances. The Irish are of Celtic origin with some history from the English, French, Norse and Norman. In the Republic of Ireland, 94% of the population are of Irish nationality and 93% belong to the Catholic Church. Ireland has two official languages, English and Gaelic (Irish). In Northern Ireland, UK, 48% of the population subscribe to the Protestant faith. This percentage of the population continues to shrink because the Protestant population is getting older and has a higher mortality rate, there is a growing number of Irish who claim they have no specific religion and the population of both the Republic and Northern Ireland are also growing due to immigration.