I did not know that. Wonder why they don't do football that way.

Well, since you put it that way, and since rugby is the superior sport, perhaps they should consider political boundaries the way they do rugby boundaries.

Suspect the SNP would agree as well...

I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from them Eugene Debs

Few minutes became hours, but anyway: check pages 30-33 (pdf pages 24-27) of this pdf, which lists community belonging (e.g. religion or parents' religion) according to age in the 2001 census.

Overall:
Protestants (total) 895,377
Catholics (total) 737,412
(I'd estimate that since 2001, Protestants must have remained about level, while Catholics must have added some 25,000.)

Among those aged 73 or older, Protestants are more than twice of Catholics. In the peak year for Protestant (and a boomer generation peak for Catholics), age 36 in 2001, Protestants still maintain a lead, albeit one shrunk to 20% (14,253 : 11,822).

For every single age 24 years old or younger, Catholics are ahead. On the crest of the next demographic wave (and the peak year for Catholics), age 16, Catholics are 13% ahead (12,321 : 13,918). Although the advantage lessened somewhat among the early and pre-teens, it's again higher among the babies, with the <1 years group showing the record 15.9% Catholic advantage over Protestants.

Note though, among the youngest, there is also a record 9.2% with 'no religious background'.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

I don't know, maybe we could get those Irish-Americans to mediate like Clinton with Mitchell (aren't both of those two "Irish-americans"?) and trade the irish-scots in scotland for the scots-irish in ulster. It'd be nicer if those unionists could quit being so bigotted, but since they seem to have a bit of a problem living respectfully and at peace with  neighbors who harbor a different view of religion and history than their own, maybe alternatives are preferable...

Not enough irish-scots to compensate for all the orangemen bigots in Ulster? Maybe send some of the Irish-american diaspora back too and get the balances to foot. Fringe benefit for me - Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity taking over whole blocks of RTE programming, and my own airwaves far cleaner!

Course, there might still be a problem with the french-irish too, all those normans with surnames that don't start with o' and mc'. Seem to recall there was a monument built in Wexford to commemorate the 800th anniversary or so of the Norman landing, so maybe some mediation down there will be necessary as well.

I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from them Eugene Debs

Being facetious...

I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from them Eugene Debs