when was direct rule introduced in northern ireland
Direct rule (Northern Ireland) The system of Direct Rule was originally introduced on 28 March 1972 under the terms of the UK's Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972, which also suspended the Parliament of Northern Ireland ("Stormont").
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland (Irish: Tuaisceart Éireann [ˈt̪ˠuəʃcəɾˠt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ( listen);[8] Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland,[9][10] variously described as a country, province or region.[11][12][13] Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863,[4] constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population. Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the British government. Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts to resolve disagreements between the two governments".[14]