Northern Counties Special Zone

Northern Counties Special Zone
The flag of the Northern Counties Special Zone
Official name	Northern Counties Special Zone
Common name	Ulster, Northern Ireland, NCSZ
Tag	ULS
Language(s)	English, Gaeilge (Irish)
Capital	Belfast
Government/party	Northern Counties Administrative Council
Ideology	Aristocratic Republicanism
Faction	Einheitspakt (as a Pakt Observer)
Head of state	Neil Blaney
GDP	$0.43 billion
Economy type	Planned Economy
Population	1.07 million

The Northern Counties Special Zone is a semi-autonomous region of the Republic of Ireland. It covers Counties Antrim, Armagh and Down, which used to be part of British Northern Ireland and still have a Protestant-majority population.

History

Taken by the Irish in an invasion during Operation Sea Lion, the Northern Counties are a “special zone” of the country, governed by Fianna Fáil hardliner Neil Blaney. In the Northern Counties, there is much violence, between Irish Catholic and local Protestant unionist militias. There are three major militias - the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force, the nationalist Irish Citizen Guard and the communist Irish Republican Army. At game start, The Troubles are ongoing between these groups.

Trivia

In real life, Northern Ireland is still part of the United Kingdom. Ireland did not get the land when it gained independence, largely due to the fact that it was largely populated by Protestants (whereas the majority of Ireland was - and still is - populated with Catholics). While Winston Churchill offered to return the territory if Ireland agreed to join the Allies and fight, but Éamon de Valera (also leader of Ireland at the time) refused, largely due to the fact that if he had accepted, it would have likely resulted in a civil war due to the differences between the two groups.