Framing Ulster: Construction of Regional Representation

This study examines the current state of Ulster issues with the aim of identifying persistent structures of perception in the public consciousness, as conveyed by the media. The research seeks to identify the formation of semantic frameworks surrounding the term “Ulster” that may convey separatist connotations. The methodological basis is M. Minsky’s frame theory and the concept of political image. The analysis is interdisciplinary, relying on text-mining techniques implemented through the PolyAnalyst software platform. The empirical material comprises a corpus of English-language media texts retrieved from the EBSCO database for the period 2000–2024. The findings demonstrate that in English-language media, the term “Ulster” is predominantly associated with sports rather than political contexts. Rugby and Gaelic football are the most common references, suggesting the likely development of a “sports” frame. Nevertheless, local clusters of political discourse have been identified in which “Ulster” is linked to political issues: irredentism, autonomism, and unionism. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that the presence of constructs thematically linked to sport, which reduces the likelihood of a persistent separatist interpretation of the concept, but does not preclude the possibility of future political incorporation through cultural symbols.