Stormont

The word Stormont is used in three different inter-related contexts in Northern Ireland.

• Stormont is a suburb of the city of Belfast, in which the Northern Ireland Parliament building is located.

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• Stormont is a general term used to describe a system of government produced by the unionist-dominated Parliament of Northern Ireland that governed the Northern Ireland state from 1921 to 1972. To northern Ireland nationalists and republicans, 'Stormont' is used as a codeword for institutionalised unionist domination and discrimination. To unionists, Stormont is perceived as a home rule system of government based on majority rule. Current Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble has conceded that under Stormont rule, Northern Ireland was a cold house for catholics.

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• Stormont is a general term used to describe the Parliament Building in Northern Ireland, which is located in the Stormont area of Belfast. It is now the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly created under the Belfast Agreement, and also of the Executive Committee or power-sharing cabinet created under the Agreement, in which nationalists and unionists share power.