Tajfel (1981) has argued that his concept of the group‐derived social identity is best thought of as an ‘intervening causal mechanism’ operating in diverse social situations. The rationale for this ‘dynamic’ approach is that invariant conditions are unlikely in intergroup social relations while the way in which these relationships are perceived is even less likely to be static. The implication is that individuals may vary in terms of their social identity from one setting to another. This study examined the effects of situations on the salience of ethnopolitical social identities in Northern Ireland. Following pilot work, the results of a questionnaire listing 36 common situations revealed four situation types—Irish, British, Anglo‐Irish and ‘The Troubles’—which were found to enhance, attenuate or reverse feelings of ethnicity. Analysis of variance revealed main effects for both religion and situation type with the interaction between these two variables also being significant. Despite many deviations away from an overall ethnopolitical identity the groups did not display cross‐cutting. These findings suggested that whilst many social settings may give rise to minor variations in social identity the importance of this identity in Northern Ireland will mitigate any overall tendency to cr