The Reunification Of Ireland Could It Happen Sooner Than We Think

[GabrielC]

With the upcoming by elections in May are going to be interesting but the one I am will be watching closely with be the ones in Northern Ireland. If the polls are to be believed Sinn Fein are the party who are the most likely to get most seats if right we could see a border poll in a few years time. The DUP seems to be fighting among themselves and the constant falling out with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol is not helping them in the polls. 

 

I don't know everything about Northern Ireland politics but perhaps it's time for reunification but that's up to the people in Northern Ireland. 

[Delbow]

Yeah this will be interesting. Sinn Fein are way ahead in polls in the Republic as well - obviously the doesn't guarantee anything in the next general election, but there is a realistic prospect of Sinn Fein being in office North and South in a couple of years' time. I suspect there will be efforts from unionists to crash Stormont if that happens, in which case we'll see if the Brexiters who were so keen on #sovereignty believe it should apply to the Irish as well.

[cuttsie]

Many Catholics in the North no longer want a united Ireland , they  know where their breed is best buttered .

[lazarus]

4 minutes ago, West 77 said:

Exactly correct.  People living in Northern Ireland enjoy the benefits of being part of the United Kingdom as well as the benefits of being close to Ireland.  They enjoy the best of both Worlds and are not foolish enough to change that.

I don’t know if it still applies but when I was a regular visitor to family in both the north and south, but the north didn’t pay any council tax and unemployment benefits were more that ours here in Britain.

[Delbow]

10 minutes ago, West 77 said:

Exactly correct.  People living in Northern Ireland enjoy the benefits of being part of the United Kingdom as well as the benefits of being close to Ireland.  They enjoy the best of both Worlds and are not foolish enough to change that.

Well it's up to them of course. I'm sure you support their right to choose.

[altus]

1 hour ago, West 77 said:

Exactly correct.  People living in Northern Ireland enjoy the benefits of being part of the United Kingdom as well as the benefits of being close to Ireland.  They enjoy the best of both Worlds and are not foolish enough to change that.

You misspelled being in the EU single market.

 

It's no surprise that the DUP are doing badly. They were, and still are, against something the majority of people in NI are in favour of (the Good Friday Agreement), supported something that the majority of people in NI were against (brexit) in the hope it would undermine the former and are now trying to undermine the UK government's attempt to make brexit work (the NI protocol) which most people in NI want implemented as soon as possible so they can get on with adjusting to a new normal.

 

I don't think Sinn Fein will go for a border poll straight away but there is one coming, there will be a united Ireland and brexit has undoubtedly brought forward when it will happen.

[geared]

5 hours ago, cuttsie said:

Many Catholics in the North no longer want a united Ireland , they  know where their breed is best buttered .

I'd wager there's a similar feeling in the South.

Everyone would be supportive of unification, until they realise that means the North gets a say (and quite possibly an equal one) in their affairs.

 

Then you might find some people having second thoughts about it all.

[FoxLady]

I was born and raised in Eire, a Protestant in a predominantly Catholic country. 
The family then moved to the North, but as it was "heard" that we'd moved from the south, it was assumed that we were Catholic.
If you're wondering why I felt the need to bring religion into it, it is essentially the cause behind all the problems.
Forget politics. 
At the base, it's religion.
We experienced more bigotry and sheer bloody-mindedness from "our own side" in the north than we ever experienced in the Republic.
Although the likes of Paisley are gone, there's an attitude that still resides - they consider themselves more "British" than you probably are.
A united Ireland?
Not in my lifetime, I suspect...

[GabrielC]

3 hours ago, FoxLady said:

I was born and raised in Eire, a Protestant in a predominantly Catholic country. 
The family then moved to the North, but as it was "heard" that we'd moved from the south, it was assumed that we were Catholic.
If you're wondering why I felt the need to bring religion into it, it is essentially the cause behind all the problems.
Forget politics. 
At the base, it's religion.
We experienced more bigotry and sheer bloody-mindedness from "our own side" in the north than we ever experienced in the Republic.
Although the likes of Paisley are gone, there's an attitude that still resides - they consider themselves more "British" than you probably are.
A united Ireland?
Not in my lifetime, I suspect...

Interesting insight . So going on this an border poll could end going down on religion  which makes it even more complex.

Edited April 3, 2022 by GabrielC

[GabrielC]

4 hours ago, geared said:

I'd wager there's a similar feeling in the South.

Everyone would be supportive of unification, until they realise that means the North gets a say (and quite possibly an equal one) in their affairs.

 

Then you might find some people having second thoughts about it all.

I have read of various ideas on how an united Ireland could be done anything from an Hong Kong self government  model to an independent nation with strong tires to Dublin. Both North and South  need to comprises one step at a time.