Firstly, I have to point out that academic presses have never stopped rolling regarding Northern Ireland and Irish/UK politics. As I say from time to time, printing presses by and large print round the clock, esp 'academic' ones. If you can find them, you will have a pool of scores of thousands of sources on the subject, saying pretty-much whatever you want them to.

Secondly, to give quotes that follow the sovereign-only interpretation of 'country' is simply misleading people. Not everyone follows that strict meaning of the term. By the standards of these quotes, Wales, England and Scotland are not countries either. You can't have it both ways.

You say of calling Northern Ireland a "country": "It would cause uproar, not only among nationalists but among different strands of unionism in Northern Ireland too, and would be very much contrary to the supposed spirit of the "new Northern Ireland". It is this highly politicised tone that I am objecting to. Where do British Unionists object to NI being called a "country" in the sense of Wales et el? When you say "the supposed spirit of the "new Northern Ireland" you seem to be essentially claiming that the new Northern Ireland is more a part of the Republic of Ireland than in was before. The reality is that NI is now less part of the UK, and less part of the ROI. As I write, the episode of 'Coast' on Northern Ireland is on TV, and it is just reminding me of how the NI article is Wikipedia's most shamefully negligent article: something I proved with examples over a year ago. It is bereft of locality and positivity. The more recent generations in NI expect a country to grow up in, not an abstract story, or a 'nowhere place' - they have one in every needed sense, except the minds of those who need to put their on need and idea of nationalism first.