Picture a Venn diagram with two interconnecting circles: on the left, the independent Irish state; on the right, the extant United Kingdom (UK). At the centre, joining both circles, lies Northern Ireland (NI).
In April 1998, the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement was reached between the Ireland and UK governments and the majority of NI’s political parties. It was later described as a “constitution for Northern Ireland” by the UK Law Lords (now Supreme Court).
A devolved
