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- Catholic Unionist is a term historically used for a Catholic in Ireland who supported the Union which formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequently used to describe Catholics who support the Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The term Catholic unionist has become controversial since the start of the 1970-1998 Troubles, due to the strong association of Ulster Unionism with Protestantism. The most recent surveys suggest that, although a plurality of Catholics in Northern Ireland are technically unionists in that they support Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom, very few would self-identify as unionist or support an explicitly unionist political party. This has led to the nickname unicorns for self-identified Catholic unionists, by analogy with a non-existent creature. They can be contrasted with Protestant nationalists, who supported separation from Great Britain. (en)
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