Northern Ireland Question / Irish Reunification

Remove all ads!

Centuries ago the British conquered the island of Ireland and began to settle the territory. Though Britain nominally controlled all of Ireland, they only effectively settled it's northern territory, Ulster. With Ulster having been settled by Britons, it now had a protestant majority, whereas the rest of Ireland had a Catholic majority. In addition to religion, many in the north supported monarchism and British rule, as opposed to many in the south, who supported republicanism and independence from Britain.

In 1919 revolutionaries in Ireland declared their independence and fought a war against the British that lasted over two years. Eventually the British agreed to recognize Ireland as an independent country, however the six counties comprising Northern Ireland refused to join the new state. Though accepting the peace treaty, the newly established Irish Free State refused to recognize British sovereignty over Northern Ireland and claimed it as their own territory. Eventually the Irish Free State, which was a commonwealth realm (the British monarch was their head of state), was replaced with the Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland relinquished claims to Northern Ireland, though they created provisions for Northern Ireland to join in the future.

Since the early days of the partition of Ireland, many republicans and Catholics in Northern Ireland were discontent. Though initially peaceful (for the most part) many took up arms to "kick the British out" in the 1960s. These rebel groups, the most prominent being the Irish Republican Army, started a civil war in Northern Ireland. In response to the Irish revolutionaries, many unionists took up arms against the IRA and other groups, claiming they were acting in "self-defense." The British government was officially neutral in the civil war, but some have accused them of secretly supporting the unionists. Fighting ravaged Northern Ireland 1998, though some sporadic fighting continues to this day.

Though the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, is a democratic state, some have accused the British of gerrymandering and of setting up a system that favors the unionists. In 1973 a referendum was held in Northern Ireland on whether or not they should secede from the United Kingdom, thus forming an independent country or joining the Republic of Ireland. The majority of the people voted in favor of remaining part of the United Kingdom, though some republican groups boycotted the referendum. In 1998 most hostilities came to an end with the Good Friday Agreement, which created a democratically elected Northern Ireland Assembly, where parties could settle their disagreements peacefully.

Today it appears that the majority of the people do wish to remain part of the United Kingdom, but a very large minority wish to join the Republic of Ireland, with a third group wishing for Northern Ireland to become an independent country. All of the major political parties in the Republic of Ireland support Irish reunification. In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats support abandoning Northern Ireland and even refuse to participate in elections there. What do you believe should become of Northern Ireland?


Note: The poll isn't about whether or not a referendum should be held, the poll is only about what your personal thoughts are on the subject.

 

We already have it, it's called New England.

 

It's a gradual process, they would most likely need to become independent first.

 

I never undersand this 'freedom' mentality countries tend to have. The world would be a lot better off entirely under British rule. We, and we alone, know how to make a decent cup of tea.

 

It should remain part of the UK.

I'm not aware of any meaningful support within NI for this option. Most outside NI would be delighted with it.

That's kinda like me refusing to cheat on my girlfriend with Scarlett Johansson. They'd have about as much chance of success if they did run in elections there.

 

It's the Dutch's fault actually. They started the Orange March after they got a temporary mandate over Northern Ireland during a peace treaty. Britain and Ireland are suffering from the friction that the Dutch started.

 

On the one hand, I can appreciate that the people who are there now by and large, have been born and raised there, it's their home. As an american, I'd not have much of a leg to stand on if I opposed people keeping what they'd claimed.

That said, the Irish were there first, and there's something very satisfying about having a landmass be entirely one country.