21.   The British government has sought to reassure the Unionists that no changes will take place in Northern Ireland without the consent of the Protestant majority.

22.   The government acted to prevent clashes between the Catholic minority and the Protestant majority in this predominantly Protestant British province.

23.   The Protestant majority opposes union with Dublin and is likely to prevail well into the new century.

24.   The Protestant majority wants to remain British, fearing ultimate absorption in the Irish Republic, which is overwhelmingly Catholic.

25.   The Protestant majority formed secular school boards.

26.   The Protestant majority wants to remain part of Britain, but the Irish Republic claims sovereignty in its constitution.

27.   The Protestant majority in the province want to remain British.

28.   This is the mostly Protestant majority who are deeply opposed to union with the mostly Catholic south and prefer to maintain their ties to Britain.

29.   Opinion polls show most people in Northern Ireland, particularly the Protestant majority, want the British to stay and fear a deal with the IRA.

30.   Although all sections of Northern Ireland society have their victims, the move in part seeks to answer critics within the pro-British Protestant majority.