[AverageExcellence]

The northen irish loyalists sacrificed a lot of men on the somme and in WW2 to remain in the union with great britain. They even threatened to go to war with Britain should they surrender all of ireland like was offered in the home rule bill of 1914.

The british government gives £2 spending for every £1 collected in taxes. 70% of jobs in northen ireland are public sector. Its nothing to do with britain being some sort of barbarous territory hungry country. The people of northen ireland choose to remain in the UK because its economically beneficial, even many catholic irish have moved to the position of remaining in the UK because of the situation in ROI. If Britain didnt give the people the opportunity for self determination then why would we entertain a referendum for scotland?

[Christianlady]

(Original post by @Sam)
The situation in Ireland is very much moving into a new stage, depending on what happens in the Scottish vote and with the European economy we could see a relatively short term (pre 2020) united Ireland. On the other hand there could still be divides and thus a longer term option would be possible which would undoubtedly involve the gradual unification, for example the prospect of Ireland adopting the Sterling as currency if the Euro collapses (at least on a short term basis) and additional cooperation in other fields. The importance of the growth of Sinn Fein I do not believe is as high at present, I cannot see a united Ireland under McGuiness or Adams simply because there is still a lot of hatred within the north for what they were involved in, if Sinn Fein is to be involved as a major party it will be through the younger generation of politicians.

Thanks Sam and to everyone who contributed positively to this thread. I appreciate what I have learned about Ireland and Northern Ireland from what y'all have written.

[LETSJaM]

The IRA know that soon protestants will be outnumbered by catholics, and it is those in general, being a greater proportion in the south, who want a united Ireland.

<3 x

[Studentus-anonymous]

(Original post by Norton1)
How unlike an American to blunder into the politics of Ireland and try and sort everything out.

Almost unheard of.

[bloomblaze]

(Original post by Christianlady)
So then, Ireland was not separated by the British, but rather by the Irish themselves? By the way, are you Irish? (from Northern Ireland)?

Is this true?

"The whole island of Ireland formed a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. For almost all of this period, Ireland was governed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London through its Dublin Castle administration in Ireland. Ireland faced considerable economic difficulties in the 19th century, including the Great Famine of the 1840s. The late 19th century and early 20th century saw a vigorous campaign for Irish Home Rule. While legislation enabling Irish Home Rule was eventually passed, vigorous and armed opposition from Irish unionists, particularly in Ulster, opposed it. Proclamation was shelved for the duration following the outbreak of the Great War. By 1918, however, moderate nationalism had been eclipsed by militant republican separatism. Ulster Unionism was adamantly opposed to its implementation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...2%80%931923%29

You need to read up upon Irish history, but notably 2 things:

1) the Plantation of Ulster- this happened about 400years ago, in which the British decided to 'plant' thousands of people from Scotland(and England to a lesser extent) in the north of Ireland in order to secure British rule in Ireland. The 'Protestants' in NI today are mostly decendants of these people.

2) partition of Ireland- in the early 20th century, after much was/rebellion conflict etc in Ireland, london condsidered giving 'home rule' to Ireland. The unionists in the north(desendants of those described above) opposed this by force and wanted to remain British, hence London compromised by partiioning the Island.

Above 2 points are massively over simplified, search it on google.

[Coonor]

The issue of Unification in Ireland is really quite unique simply because of the history of its patrician and the opinions of the stakeholders. The Plantation is what makes this issue so unique for it is what divides opinion. However Ireland has certainly not been just a modern problem for Britian. The 9 year war and Irish confederate war were both bloody conflicts, while the Unitied Irishmen Rebellion continued to threaten British rule.

[StarsAreFixed]

The wikipedia pages on the history of Ireland are actually really good.

Coming from someone who lives in the Republic, (Note: People who live here just say Ireland for ROI and say the north for NI. We do NOT use the terms Ulster, Éire or 'southern ireland') I want reunification if an overwhelming majority of people in the North want it. Here, there is a feeling of 'meh' about the North in general, you would find it hard to get foaming Nationalists going on and on about a United Ireland in the general population. Even if you just forget the past, the bitterness, religion and everything else and look at much more mundane issues that are important to those who live in the North about the prospect of reunification: 1, free healthcare. The North has it, as does the rest of the UK. Ireland does not. It's nothing like america- a&e only costs €100 but all prescription medicines, doctor vists, clinincs, consultants...cost. Healthcare here is so overcrowded that you have to go private to avoid the waiting lists- and that is more expense. 2, the economy. Ireland is functioning okay after the bailout but unemployment is still huge and retail etc. are constantly going down, all bad signs. What kind of country would want to rejoin into this mess? What kind of country would WANT the burden of supporting another country when it itself is a mess already? (NI requires a lot of money from Britain to keep its economy afloat).

[Llamageddon]

I think reunification with norn ironland is more likely that n+s korea. If they would get over sectarianism then it would be the right thing to do, but right now I'm not convinced.

[wildrover]

Can't see why No Ireland would want to be part of ROI and its debt.

[EAM1995]

I support the continuation of Northern Ireland as one of four constituent countries that make up the United Kingdom. I'm English and atheist, so my view isn't obscured by religion, I think that Northern Ireland's future lies with remaining part of the UK, or if they so desire, becoming an independent country.

Although to me, "united we stand, united we fall".

[Psyk]

(Original post by EAM1995)
I support the continuation of Northern Ireland as one of four constituent countries that make up the United Kingdom. I'm English and atheist, so my view isn't obscured by religion, I think that Northern Ireland's future lies with remaining part of the UK, or if they so desire, becoming an independent country.

Although to me, "united we stand, united we fall".

So you think NI becoming an independent country is better than them becoming part of Ireland? I can understand wanting it to remain part of the UK, but if they're going to leave the UK, why prefer an independent state?

[EAM1995]

(Original post by Psyk)
So you think NI becoming an independent country is better than them becoming part of Ireland? I can understand wanting it to remain part of the UK, but if they're going to leave the UK, why prefer an independent state?

Being as though the UK is made up of four countries, why should Northern Ireland go from one united country to another? I think, after remaining in the UK, Ulster's future lies as an independent state.

[Psyk]

(Original post by EAM1995)
Being as though the UK is made up of four countries, why should Northern Ireland go from one united country to another? I think, after remaining in the UK, Ulster's future lies as an independent state.

Why would it be better off as a separate state though? Do many people even want that?

[barnetlad]

Regardless of whether they wish to be part of a united Ireland or not I am sure the overwhelming majority do not want to see a return to the murders of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

[toddman10]

I don't lose any sleep over the reunification of Ireland but I absolutely hate it when people say I am not Irish because I live in Northern Ireland, my family have been in Ireland for thousands of years and were a branch of one of the most powerful clans in Ireland for centuries. Some people in the Republic of Ireland call the Irish in the North 'West Brits' even though the first people in Ireland around 8000 BC lived in areas that are now in N.Ireland so in my opinion we are no more or less Irish than them, the only difference is that we are surrounded by people who came in the 1600's, they are basically calling their grandfathers or great-grandfathers west-brits as well because they most likely were born pre 1921 when all of Ireland was in the UK. I also hate it when people just consider Ireland as the Republic of Ireland, the island is called Ireland and has had 2 countries since 1921, my father met someone from Vietnam who fought ROI and N.Ireland were always different countries and were separated by water (well they are separated by water but so are the counties in ROI as well)

[toddman10]

(Original post by EAM1995)
Being as though the UK is made up of four countries, why should Northern Ireland go from one united country to another? I think, after remaining in the UK, Ulster's future lies as an independent state.

Northern Ireland you mean, Ulster isn't Northern Ireland, 47% of Ulster is in ROI.

[StarsAreFixed]

Most people respect that people in the North choose their own identity and can be just as Irish as those in the republic if they so wish. There is gerat support for Northern Irish athletes who choose to compete for Ireland, just as much as those from the republic. There are some ignorant people of course, but the majority view is not the one of scumbags.

West Brit normally refers to Dublin, not the North, and is loosely derived from the time of the Pale. It's similar to the term 'jackeen'.

[Scumbaggio]

I don't think it will happen in my life time anyway.

Regardless of religion I don't think the people would be happy for their country to effectively disappear.

[Observatory]

Come on, it's a troll account. This site is so gullible.

[toddman10]

(Original post by StarsAreFixed)
Most people respect that people in the North choose their own identity and can be just as Irish as those in the republic if they so wish. There is gerat support for Northern Irish athletes who choose to compete for Ireland, just as much as those from the republic. There are some ignorant people of course, but the majority view is not the one of scumbags.

West Brit normally refers to Dublin, not the North, and is loosely derived from the time of the Pale. It's similar to the term 'jackeen'.

Yeah it's mostly Dublin people who be called that but I've also heard them call northerners the same during Derry City games in the past and chanting 'what's it like to have a queen?' sometimes i wonder if some young people nowadays actually know that that all of Ireland was ruled by the Queen once.