ALLIANCE PARTY A moderate, centrist, non-sectarian Northern Ireland party led by Lord (John) Alderdice, now speaker of the Assembly.

BAWN A castle enclosure or castlefold.

BODHRÁN (pronounced bore-run ) A hand-held, shallow, goatskin drum.

B SPECIALS Auxiliary police force of the Stormont government; disbanded in 1971.

CASHEL A kind of rath , distinguished by a circular outer stone wall instead of earthen ramparts.

CLOCHÁN A beehive-shaped, weatherproof hut built of tightly fitted stone without mortar. Clocháns date from the early Christian period.

THE CONTINUITY IRA Small breakaway organization maintaining the armed struggle against British rule and now thought to have amalagamated with The Real IRA.

"THE CRACK" Good conversation, a good time, often accompanying drinking. "What's the crack?" means "what's the gossip?" or "what's going on?"

CRANNÓG An artificial island in the middle of a lake, dating from the Bronze Age.

CURRACH/CURRAGH Small fishing vessel used off the west coast; traditionally made of leather stretched over a light wood frame, modern currachs are of tar-coated canvas.

THE DÁIL Lower house of the Irish parliament.

DOLMEN (or "portal tomb") A chamber formed by standing stones that support a massive capstone. The capstone often slopes to form the entrance of the chamber. Dates from the Copper Age (2000-1750 BC).

DRUMLIN Small, oval, hummocky hill formed from the detritus of a retreating glacier.

DUP The Democratic Unionist Party. A traditionalist, anti-Republican right-wing party founded by lan Paisley and Desmond Boal in 1971. Paisley has remained leader since then and is the only European political leader this century to have founded his own church. The DUP is fundamentally opposed to the Good Friday Agreement and any loosening of the bonds with the United Kingdom.

ÉIRE Irish name for Ireland, but officially indicates the 26 countries.

FIANNA FÁIL The largest and most successful of Ireland's two main political parties since Independence. Essentially a conservative party, it has its origins in the Republican faction of Sinn Féin, and fought against pro-Treaty forces in the civil war. During the 1930s, the party did much to assert Ireland's separateness from Britain.

FINE GAEL Ireland's second largest political party, Fine Gael sprang from the pro-Treaty faction of Sinn Féin which formed the first Free State government in 1921. Since that time it has not been able to gain a strong majority, and periods in office have been in coalitions. It advocates more liberal policies than Fianna Fáil in terms of social welfare, but in fact there is very little to distinguish the two main parties.

FIR Men (sign on men's public toilets).

GAELTACHT Any region in Ireland in which Irish Gaelic is the vernacular speech; these are chiefly in the west.

GALLERY GRAVE A simple burial chamber of squared stoned, generally found under a long mound.

GARDAÍ The police force of the Republic of Ireland.

INLA Irish National Liberation Army. Extreme splinter group of the IRA. Its aim is the creation through physical force of a united socialist 32-county republic.

IRA Irish Republican Army. The upholders of the Irish Fenian tradition, ultimately dedicated to the establishment of a united 32-county republic by whatever means possible and notorious both for its bombing campaigns and the extreme sophistication of its organizational structure.

IRSP Irish Republican Socialist Party. The most revolutionary, if small, party in Northern Ireland and the political wing of the INLA.

LVF Loyalist Volunteer Force. Banned paramilitary organization based in and around Portadown, led by Billy Wright until his assassination by the INLA in the Maze prison, December 1997.

LOYALIST A person loyal to the British Crown, usually a Northern Irish Protestant.

MARTELLO TOWER Circular coastal tower once used for defence.

MNÁ Women (sign on women's public toilets).

MOTTE A circular mound, flat on top, which the Normans used as a fortification.

NATIONALISTS Those who wish to see a united Ireland.

THE NORTH Term referring to Northern Ireland used by many people.

OGHAM (rhyming with poem) The earliest form of writing used by the Irish (fourth to seventh centuries), and found on the edge of standing stones. Employing a twenty-character alphabet derived from Latin, the letters were represented by varying strokes and notches, and read from the bottom upwards.

ORANGE ORDER A Loyalist Protestant organization, found throughout Northern Ireland, which promotes the Union with Britain. The name comes from William of Orange ("King Billy"), the Protestant king who defeated the Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690) and at the Battle of Aughrim (1691). Most Unionist MPs are Orangemen, and outside of Northern Ireland, Orange Lodges (branches) are found amongst Loyalist expats .

PASSAGE GRAVE A megalithic tomb from the Neolithic period. A simple corridor of large, square, vertical stones lead to a burial chamber, and the whole tomb is covered with earth. The stones are decorated with simple patterns; double spirals, triangles, zigzag lines, and the sun symbol.

POTEEN/POITÍN (pronounced potcheen) Highly alcoholic (and often toxic) and illegal spirit, usually distilled from potatoes.

PUP Progressive Unionist Party. Seen as the political wing of the UVF. Many of its leading lights are former Loyalist paramilitaries, including David Ervine, a major player in ensuring Loyalist support for the Good Friday Agreement.

RATH or RINGFORT A farmstead dating from the first millennium AD. A circular timber enclosure banked by earth and surrounded by a ditch formed the outer walls, within which roofed dwellings were built and, in times of danger, cattle were herded. Today raths are visible as circular earthworks.

THE REAL IRA Breakaway faction led by the IRA's former quartermaster which rejects the political process and maintains the armed struggle; responsible for the Omagh bombing, The Real IRA has attacked RUC and Army installations and exploded bombs in England, most notably at Hammersmith Bridge.

REPUBLICANS Supporters of the ideals incorporated in the 1916 Proclamation of the Republic, the overthrow of British rule in Ireland and the promotion of Irish language and culture.

ROUND TOWER Narrow, tall (65-110ft) and circular tower, tapering to a conical roof. Built from the ninth century onwards, they are unique to Ireland. They are found on the sites of early monasteries, and served to call the monks to prayer. The entrance is usually a doorway 10-15ft above the ground, which was reached by a wooden or rope ladder that could be pulled up for safety.

RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary. Northern Ireland's regular, but armed, police force.

SDLP Social Democratic and Labour Party. The largest Nationalist party, centrist left, founded in 1970 and led by John Hume since 1979.

SINN FÉIN ("Ourselves Alone") Sinn Féin's history has been colourful, eventful and characterized by splits. Re-emerging in the 1970s, it subsequently became a major political force in Northern Ireland, aiming to achieve national self-determination and the formation of a 32-country socialist republic, based on the principles of the Proclamation of 1916 and the beliefs of Tone, Pearse and Connolly. It has been labelled by some as the political wing of the IRA. Its leader since 1983 has been Gerry Adams who has gradually steered Republicanism towards democratic resolution of its goals.

THE SIX COUNTIES Nationalist/Republican name for Northern Ireland.

SOUTERRAIN Underground passage that served as a hiding place in times of danger; also used to store food and valuables.

TAOISEACH Irish prime minister.

TD Teachta Dála. Member of the Irish parliament.

32-COUNTY SOVEREIGNTY COMMITTEE The alleged political wing of The Real IRA.

TRICOLOUR The green, white and orange flag of the Republic.

THE TWENTY-SIX COUNTIES The Republic of Ireland (Éire).

UDA Ulster Defence Association. A Loyalist paramilitary organization, the largest in Northern Ireland.

UDP Ulster Democratic Party. Political wing of the UDA, led by Gary McMichael.

UDR Ulster Defence Regiment. A regular regiment of the British army recruited in Northern Ireland.

UFF Ulster Freedom Fighters. Another illegal Protestant paramilitary faction; linked to the UDA.

UKU United Kingdom Unionists. Virtually a one-person Unionist Party, sharing similar views to the DUP and led by Robert McCartney, MP for North Down.

ULSTER One of Ireland's four provinces, often erroneously used by Unionists and journalists as a synonym for Northern Ireland, thus ignoring the counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan which Ulster also comprises.

UNIONISTS Those (predominantly Protestant) who wish to keep Northern Ireland in union with the rest of the United Kingdom.

UUP Ulster Unionist Party. Founded in 1905 by Edward Carson, the UUP was in power in Northern Ireland from 1921 until the dissolution of Stormont in 1972. Known as the Official Unionists, the largest party in the North is led by David Trimble, a key player in the peace process and now First Minister in the Assembly.

UVF Ulster Volunteer Force. Yet another illegal Protestant paramilitary organization, originally formed in 1912 to oppose any British plans to impose a united Ireland on Northern Irish Protestants; banned in 1966 following its random sectarian murders of Catholics.