Should the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland become one country under one rule(if thats possible)?

Question

Should the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland become one country under one rule(if thats possible)?

Answer 1

No! This isn't even a debate that should be aired again. Look what this debate did to the Uk over the last 30-40 years with the countless lives lost due to the terrorism of the IRA.

There are just as many, if not more people who live in Northern Ireland who actually want to be part of the UK. A unified Ireland would not work!

Answer 2

Yes. But under a democratic government, not the socialist republic sought under the provos. Collins and the boys should have held out. I don't think it's going to happen now. How would you english like it if the French or German flag were flying over westminster? The union flag has been imposed on us here since 1801. The English should hang their head in shame with regard to the famine. That said, no one has a clean pair of hands , just look how bloody bridge in An Dun (county Down) got it's name. The catholics drowned the prods there. Anyway, I disagree with the previous answer no one comes out of this problem with a clean pair of hands, not the english, not the unionists not the catholics................  Yours etc, Northern prod nationalist.

Answer 3

I love you, Northern Prod Nationalist!

If there were more of you instead of so many little Paisleys (and the one big one, of course) our problems would be solved.

But as things stand there will be a few referenda (minimum time between them 5 years) to go, and in the meantime the bickering will go on, and the fear it might lead to more real fighting again.

Answer 4

In the Republic we don't care about it - it has never been an issue and doesn't even have an influence on our politics let alone our lives.

It will just create problems. We have become very different from one another.

We have a high standard of living and could not bother to get involved with Northern Ireland.

.........................................

WHAT IS ESTABLISHED 1922 on about?

The IRA are a terrorist organisation and so are Sinn Fein.

There is too much rascism in the North on both sides.

We are not religious in the south and don't care about peoples religions or race.

Most of our media is British.

We don't care about a unified Ireland because we are happy enough as we are.

It makes me sick seeing 'Irish' people burning British flags in the North.

We are just too different! The north is like another world altogether.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Yes.. !  Ulster is a very costly place for the UK tax payer.. the Protestants should move over to Scotland and fill up the highlands .... and let the Catholics have their bit of island back..  It would be best for everyone..Peace ..

Answer 6

Of course it should, it is the one island!!Ireland is made up of 32 counties but unfortunatly 6 of these are occupied by a foreign nation (England). Every country has the right to freedom and Ireland is no different.

People go on about what the loyalists want but what difference does it make as they are not welcome here in the first place. They were never invited to this country and for over one thousand years have tyrannised, murdered, and destroyed our culture.

The IRA are NOT a terrorist organisation so maybe those who think they are should get an education before throwing around false facts. The IRA were founded in order to protect Irish people aganist British tyranny and to put an end to British invasion which they have done for over a thousand years without ever giving up. They are the reason that the 26 counties gained independence in 1922. They have brought together some of the greatest revolutionary leaders of all time. Even after the divide of the country they continued to protect the Irish in the occupied six counties.

Thankfully "the troubles" have died down a lot but there is still no peace in the occupied six counties and there won't be until Britain leaves this country and ends the torment. Just because you dont hear about what goes on doesn't mean it doesn't happen.  The Brits just like to cover up their bad deeds so they won't look bad to the rest of the world. (Bit late for that though!)

In the words of the great Pádraig Pearse "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace"

Support a United Ireland

Eire 32

Answer 7

Good question & one that's been asked for decades.

The People of the North want to stay as part of Britain.

I'm not sure about the South right now - certainly it did not want the North when it was costing many millions per day  to support.

So where did the terrorists fit in - well you might ask - long history, prejudices, political opportunists, misunderstandings, cowards, liars, resentments & hate - the list is endless. Faults on both sides.

Ideally Ireland should be one country obviously but it's not likely - when the Irish killed Collins they more or less sealed the divide.

Answer 8

Dear Diarmaid,

No. I am against the idea not because of any ideological reasons, but purely for the sake of peace. Peace and order must come before any lofty political ideas, and unification at present would bring terrible bloodshed. The majority of the people in Northern Ireland (Protestants) have been resisting the notion of unification with all their might ever since partition in 1921. Unification is only possible if Northern Protestants can somehow accept it, but this is highly doubtful - there is a very long culture of resistance to Irish nationalism in Protestant folklore (the Orange Order, the siege of Derry, etc), some of it screamingly fanatical. Much of this culture has been in place for 400 years, and is not likely to be done away with soon.

This is the major reason, but there is another one which is much less talked about. There is widespread prejudice in the South against all Northerners (see poster Jon B above), whatever their religious or political persuasion. For decades, many Southerners have learnt to see Northerners as a dangerous annoyance who brought terrorism and unrest to the rest of Ireland, dug out the uneasy ambiguities of Irish identity and gave the entire country a bad name. These perceptions are short-sighted and simplistic but they exist nonetheless. If Ireland were unified, it would not be long before the North complained of discrimination, including its Catholic population.

Therefore I am in favour of a divided Ireland. I have very little patience for the Republican cause - it is clearly a case of idolising a lofty ideology even at the expense of innocent lives (just as the IRA has done). It sometimes seems to me that Republicans would not mind if the whole of Ireland was ablaze, so long as it was united. The Republican explanation for the Troubles ("it's all the fault of the Brits") is stupid and simplistic, and their vision for the future of Northern Ireland ("when the Brits leave the Protestants will just meekly fall in line with our benevolent Republic") is incredibly naive. Only a small minority in Northern Ireland is really in favour of a united Ireland for its sole sake, anyway - the overwhelming majority of Catholics just want a place where they can be treated fairly in everyday life, regardless of what flag flies over it.

I am not a Unionist with a capital "U" and I have equally little patience for the ill-informed, bigoted rants of Protestant fanatics. I hate their unabashed religious intolerance ("all Catholics are heathen and the Pope is the w***e of Babylon"), their stunning hypocrisy (the IRA is constantly lambasted but it's fine when Loyalist paramilitaries kill innocents), their patently unjustified victimisation complex ("we're always persecuted, the IRA gets it all"), and most of all, their baffling inability to understand that it is impossible to go back to a pre-1969 Northern Ireland where Protestants reigned supreme and Catholics were routinely denied housing, jobs and political representation.

My choice is that of a separate Northern Ireland ruled fairly by Protestants and Catholics in a power-sharing scheme. I am pessimistic in the short run but optimistic for the more distant feature. The longer the guns stay silent, the easier it will be to make peace, and the guns have been silent for a long while now. Northern Ireland has changed too. Though some discrimination still occasionally occurs, it is nowhere near as endemic and institutionalised as it was before the Troubles, and never will be again.

By and large, all young Northern Irish today are growing up in a fair and representative society, and will not be inclined to dwell on old sectarian cliches. Already, many Catholic youths dislike the idea of a united Ireland (they know full well what treatment they could expect from the South) and similarly, many young Protestants have no problems with the idea of sharing power with Catholics (some are even quite indifferent to the union with Britain). The two communities are slowly merging. The bad old days are ending, and all that is needed is peace and patience.

Hope this helped,

Answer 9

No. The south don't want them (just pick a late night talk show, or even Ger or Ray) because they are nutters who will start dictating their madness downwards.

Answer 10

the northern irish voted on this subject in a referendum in 1973. they voted yes, and so they remained part of the uk. if anything it is up to the northern irish themselves to decide. however with the good friday agreement the 'troubles' have seemed to calmed so hopefully it can all be decided through in a peaceful and democratic way.

but with the probable formation of a united states of europe over the next 50 years they will be part of the same country again!

Answer 11

Ireland should never have been partitioned in the first place, there needs to be an all Ireland referendum , it involves the whole country

Answer 12

The world is full of possibilities but not with the likes of Paisley. The man has some nerve, wanna be English should go to England. This is one thing that I don't get why these people whilst living on IRISH soil think they are apart of the U.K my answer to them is go live on ENGLISH soil to be honest all the negative energy they give us i don't want them living in my country i dream for a united IRELAND for all IRISH people to live in peace without civil war..the IRA is not a terrorist organization they are men who fought against evil for their country and may each man that died may it not be in vain.

Answer 13

Eh, is northen ireland geographically connected to england...NO! It belongs to ireland, politically it may not, but in the hearts of the irish people (including many people in the north) northen ireland IS ireland. And would people ever give over about the IRA, what about the killings the english and the unionists caused?! And don't even get me started on how the english left millions to starve to death during the famine, even Tony Blair apologised for that. Oh everything is fine between english and irish people now, i like english people. But we will never forget what was done to our people. Never forget.

Answer 14

For all the idiots that don't get it...

THE I.R.A. IS NOT A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION!!!! Maybe you Queenies are too cowardly to defend your country from a foreign army, but thank God the R.A. isn't! England needs to leave Ireland now. Even Sir Paul McCartney wrote a song called "Give Ireland back to the Irish. The brits have a habit of sticking their noses where they don't belong & getting bombed for their trouble. Will they ever learn?

Answer 15

In a word NO.

Answer 16

Diarmaid S - the answer to your question is Weishide answer its the one you should concentrate on ,its the only sane one