Protestants were pleased and Catholics disappointed by the census results, writes Suzanne Breen, Senior Northern Correspondent
They were delighted with the census results on the Shankill Road yesterday. "It's not as bad for the Prods as everybody predicted," said Mr Alan Hamilton as he studied the statistics.
It was "brilliant news" that Protestants comprised 53 per cent of the North's population and Catholics 44 per cent. "Nationalists thought they were on the brink of taking over Northern Ireland.
"All we have heard for months now is how there would only be one or two percentage points in it and Protestants would certainly drop below 50 per cent.
"Nationalists were jumping up and down with excitement, thinking we were on the way out. Well they were wrong and so were all those so-called experts who predicted our demise. We are here and we are staying here and they are going to have to get used to that."
William Irvine said that the British government should now stop trying to "force" Protestants into a united Ireland. "They have been doing everything they can to destroy Northern Ireland. You can't even fly your own flag in your own country any more."
Mr Ivan Johnston thought Catholics should now accept they would not comprise a majority in the North for the foreseeable future and acclimatise to life within the UK. "Then we could forget all this silly squabbling and start addressing the stuff that matters. We all have to live in this wee place in the end."
Ms Doris McClean believed a "Catholic plot" to destroy Protestantism in Northern Ireland had failed. "Their church wouldn't let them use any contraception for years because it wanted them to outbreed us. That's why so many of them lived in poverty. Now they want nice houses and all the luxuries and they don't want as many children. That's why they haven't out-numbered us."
If there was ebullience on the Shankill, there was a subdued response to the census on the Falls Road.
"I honestly thought the number of Catholics would have been higher," said Mr Declan Curry. "Election results put the nationalist population at about 46 per cent and that doesn't even include the under-18s, where there are far more Catholics than Protestants. So I can't understand why the figure is only 43 per cent. But then again, can you trust British government figures?"
Mr Lennie Donnelly said it was a "remarkable achievement" that the Catholic community had grown so much under partition. "When they set up this state, we were only a third of the population. Now we are heading towards 50 per cent. It will only take a few more decades. The British and the unionists did everything they could to oppress us but it didn't work. We are a thriving community."
Ms Sarah McCloskey said the census statistics should show Protestants they had to share power with Catholics. "The Catholic community is not going away. They have to learn to live with us and that means letting Sinn Féin into government because, whether they like it or not, a lot of us vote Sinn Féin."
Ms Frances O'Reilly said it was now time Catholics were "given their rights and not treated like second-class citizens".
Mr Peter Fitzpatrick said he was disappointed the Catholic population hadn't reached 47 or 48 per cent. "That would really put the pressure on unionists. We will have to wait another 20 or 30 years for that now."
Mr Paul Lynch said the figures were "completely irrelevant" to everyday life. "We need to stop dwelling on a sectarian head-count and start tackling real issues like poverty, homelessness and low pay."