Ulster Divide
The general election has confirmed a widening political division between nationalist Ireland and the unionist strongholds of north-eastern Ulster. While the reunited Irish Parliamentary Party has secured overwhelming representation across most of the country, Unionist candidates have retained their commanding position in Belfast, Antrim, Down, northern Armagh and neighbouring districts. The result will be closely studied in Limerick, where Home Rule supporters regard an Irish legislature as the principal national demand. Unionist resistance in Ulster, however, demonstrates that constitutional settlement cannot be considered solely through the wishes of the nationalist majority elsewhere in Ireland.