More using term 'Northern Irish'

Symbols still cause strong emotional responses, the report said

More people in Northern Ireland are choosing to describe themselves as Northern Irish or "equally Irish and British", according to a new report.

The Queen's University, Belfast, report examined the attachment or loyalty to national and religious group labels.

It found national and religious identities underpinning difference and division in Northern Ireland remain.

But it said more people were moving away from the traditional labels of Irish Catholic or British Protestant.

The author of the report, Professor Orla Muldoon, from the University of Limerick, said some things had remained the same.

"As you might expect, Catholics in Northern Ireland are more likely to describe themselves as being Irish, while Protestants are more likely to describe themselves as British," she said.

Almost two-thirds of those who responded to the survey identified themselves as either British Protestants or Irish Catholics, she said.

"There was, however, an increase in the number of people who identified themselves as being Northern Irish, with around one in four opting for this label, compared to around one fifth in previous surveys," she added.

Within the Northern Irish group, about a third described themselves as being equally British and Irish.

"They did not see Britishness or Irishness as being mutually exclusive and rejected the notion that these identities are opposites.

"That indicates a shift away from the traditional national and religious identities that underpinned the Troubles," she said.

Researchers also presented the 1,179 people who took part in the research with emblems or historical images that might be viewed differently by those with differing identities.

Prof Muldoon said emotional responses to images such as flags and emblems were stronger among those who stuck to traditional identities.

Those who identified themselves as Irish Catholic were more likely to feel uneasy or annoyed when presented with the image of a Union flag or a photograph of a news presenter wearing a poppy, she said.

Conversely, those sticking with the British Protestant identity were uneasy or annoyed by an Irish Tricolour or Irish language letterhead.

The findings were based on information from the 2007 Life and Times Survey conducted by Ark, a research initiative by Queen's and the University of Ulster.