ABSTRACT
Northern Ireland was not immune from this spirit of administrative reform. Nor was it indifferent to the prevailing ideas of planning and governmental efficiency. Indeed, these ideas seemed at one point to define the character of the government of Terence O'Neill after 1963. Before the outbreak of the Troubles the Northern Ireland government had been preparing proposals to reform local government. If the precise form of reorganisation might have been disputed, what was not at issue was the need to overhaul the cumbersome structure inherited from the 19th century which had been only slightly adapted in the early 20th century. Northern Ireland was 'over-governed'. Beneath the Stormont administration (which could itself be seen as a sort of regional council) was a complex two-tiered network of 16 borough and county councils and 56 urban and rural district councils. In addition to these authorities were the two all-purpose county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry. And all of this for a population of about one and a half million people.
