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Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion In Ireland, the Irish Parliament was granted independence in 1782, but in 1798 there was an Irish rebellion. A vain attempt to solve the centuries-old Irish problem was the abrogation of the Irish Parliament and the union (1801) of Great Britain and Ireland, with Ireland represented in the British Parliament. Before Easter 1916, Dublin had been a city much like any other British city, comparable to Bristol or Liverpool and part of a complex, deep-rooted British world. Many of Dublins inhabitants wanted to weaken or terminate Londons rule, but there remained a vast and conflicting range of visions of that future: far more immediate was the unfolding disaster of the First World War that had put home rule issues on ice for the duration. Northern Ireland (often called Ulster after an ancient Irish kingdom which once existed in that part of Ireland) is the smallest of the four nations, both in area and population. With only 1.64 million people, it is smaller than many Chinese cities. Its capital, Belfast, is a relatively small town of around 350 000 people, but is much the biggest city in the province. Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there.  Physically, it is mostly rural, with low hills, a beautiful lake district in the south-west, and a rugged coastline, which includes its most famous landmark, the Giants Causeway, a rocky promontory made up of black hexagonal columns formed by cooling lava millions of years ago. Legend has it that the giant Finn MaCool built it to cross the sea to Scotland. The nature of its link to Great Britain has been a key element in Northern Irelands history, and remains an issue today. The Northern Ireland economy has its problems, partly as a result of the troubles discouraging investment, partly as a result of its peripherality in relation to the UK. Its wealth per head is the lowest of any UK region. Nevertheless living costs are also comparatively lo