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United Ireland

August 25, 2023

This article is about the Irish political movement. For other uses, see United Ireland (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Unionism in Ireland.

United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification,[1][2][3] is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state.[4][5] At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the majority of Ireland, while Northern Ireland, which lies entirely within (but does not constitute the entirety of) the Irish province of Ulster, is part of the United Kingdom. Achieving a united Ireland is a central tenet of Irish nationalism and Republicanism, particularly of both mainstream and dissident republican political and paramilitary organisations.[6] Unionists support Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom, and therefore oppose Irish unification.[7][8]

Map of Ireland showing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and their respective capitals
Ireland in Europe

Ireland has been partitioned since May 1921, when the implementation of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the state of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The Anglo-Irish Treaty, which led to the establishment in December 1922 of a dominion called the Irish Free State, recognised partition, but this was opposed by anti-Treaty republicans. When the anti-Treaty Fianna Fáil party came to power in the 1930s, it adopted a new constitution which claimed sovereignty over the entire island. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) had a united Ireland as its goal during the conflict with British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries from the 1960s to the 1990s known as The Troubles. The Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998, which ended the conflict, acknowledged the legitimacy of the desire for a united Ireland, while declaring that it could be achieved only with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland.

In 2016, Sinn Féin called for a referendum on a united Ireland following the decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (EU). The decision had increased the perceived likelihood of a united Ireland, in order to avoid the possible requirement for a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland,[9][10] though the imposition of a hard border did not eventuate. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that in the event of reunification, Northern Ireland should be allowed to rejoin the EU, just as East Germany was permitted to join the EU's predecessor institutions by reuniting with the rest of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.[11]

In demographic terms, Northern Ireland was created to contain a majority of Ulster Protestants,[citation needed] who almost all favour continued union with Great Britain, and did so for most of its history. Four of the six counties have Irish Catholic majorities and majorities voting for Irish nationalist parties,[12][13] and Catholics have become the plurality in Northern Ireland as of 2021.[14] The religious denominations of the citizens of Northern Ireland are only a guide to likely political preferences, as there are both Protestants who favour a united Ireland, and Catholics who support the union.[15] Surveys identify a significant number of Catholics who favour the continuation of the union without identifying themselves as unionists or British.[16]

Legal basis Edit

Article 3.1 of the Constitution of Ireland "recognises that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island".[17] This provision was introduced in 1999 after implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, as part of replacing the old Articles 2 and 3, which had laid a direct claim to the whole island as the national territory.[18]

The Northern Ireland Act 1998, a statute of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, provides that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom unless a majority of the people of Northern Ireland vote to form part of a united Ireland. It specifies that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland "shall exercise the power [to hold a referendum] if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland". Such referendums may not take place within seven years of each other.[19]

The Northern Ireland Act 1998 supersedes previous similar legislative provisions. The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 also provided that Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom unless a majority voted otherwise in a referendum,[20] while under the Ireland Act 1949 the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland was needed for a united Ireland.[21] In 1985, the Anglo-Irish Agreement affirmed that any change in the status of Northern Ireland would only come about with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland.[22]

History Edit

Home Rule, resistance and the Easter Rising Edit

 
Proclamation of the Irish Republic, presented to the Irish people during the Easter Rising of 1916.

The Kingdom of Ireland as a whole had become part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union 1800. From the 1870s, support for some form of an elected parliament in Dublin grew. In 1870, Isaac Butt, who was a Protestant, formed the Home Government Association, which became the Home Rule League. Charles Stewart Parnell, also a Protestant, became leader in 1880, and the organisation became the Irish National League in 1882. Despite the religion of its early leaders, its support was strongly associated with Irish Catholics. In 1886, Parnell formed a parliamentary alliance with Liberal Party Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone and secured the introduction of the First Home Rule Bill. This was opposed by the Conservative Party and led to a split in the Liberal Party. Opposition in Ireland was concentrated in the heavily Protestant counties in Ulster. The difference in religious background was a legacy of the Ulster Plantation in the early seventeenth century. In 1893, the Second Home Rule Bill passed in the House of Commons, but was defeated in the House of Lords, where the Conservatives dominated. A Third Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1912, and in September 1912, just under half a million men and women signed the Ulster Covenant to swear they would resist its application in Ulster. The Ulster Volunteer Force were formed in 1913 as a militia to resist Home Rule.

The Government of Ireland Act 1914 (previously known as the Third Home Rule Bill) provided for a unitary devolved Irish Parliament, a culmination of several decades of work from the Irish Parliamentary Party. It was signed into law in September 1914 in the midst of the Home Rule Crisis and at the outbreak of the First World War. On the same day, the Suspensory Act 1914 suspended its actual operation.

In 1916, a group of revolutionaries led by the Irish Republican Brotherhood launched the Easter Rising, during which they issued a Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The rebellion was not successful and sixteen of the leaders were executed. The small separatist party Sinn Féin became associated with the Rising in its aftermath as several of those involved in it were party members.

The Irish Convention held between 1917 and 1918 sought to reach agreement on manner in which Home Rule would be implemented after the war. All Irish parties were invited, but Sinn Féin boycotted the proceedings. By the end of the First World War, a number of moderate unionists came to support Home Rule, believing that it was the only way to keep a united Ireland in the United Kingdom. The Irish Dominion League opposed partition of Ireland into separate southern and northern jurisdictions, while arguing that the whole of Ireland should be granted dominion status with the British Empire.[23]

 
Result of the 1918 Irish general election

At the 1918 election Sinn Féin won 73 of the 105 seats; however, there was a strong regional divide, with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) winning 23 of the 38 seats in Ulster. Sinn Féin had run on a manifesto of abstaining from the United Kingdom House of Commons, and from 1919 met in Dublin as Dáil Éireann. At its first meeting, the Dáil adopted the Declaration of Independence of the Irish Republic, a claim which it made in respect of the entire island. Supporters of this Declaration fought in the Irish War of Independence.

Two jurisdictions Edit

During this period, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 repealed the previous 1914 Act, and provided for two separate devolved parliaments in Ireland. It defined Northern Ireland as "the parliamentary counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and the parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry" and Southern Ireland "so much of Ireland as is not comprised within the said parliamentary counties and boroughs". Section 3 of this Act provided that the parliaments may be united by identical acts of parliament:

1. The Parliaments of Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland may, by identical Acts agreed to by an absolute majority of members of the House of Commons of each Parliament at the third reading ..., establish, in lieu of the Council of Ireland, a Parliament for the whole of Ireland consisting of His Majesty and two Houses (which shall be called and known as the Parliament of Ireland), ... and the date at which the Parliament of Ireland is established is hereinafter referred to as the date of Irish union.[24]

Sinn Féin did not recognise this act, treating elections to the respective parliaments as a single election to the Second Dáil. While the Parliament of Northern Ireland sat from 1921 to 1972, the Parliament of Southern Ireland was suspended after its first meeting was boycotted by the Sinn Féin members, who comprised 124 of its 128 MPs. A truce in the War of Independence was called in July 1921, followed by negotiations in London between the government of the United Kingdom and a Sinn Féin delegation. On 6 December 1921, they signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which led to the establishment of the Irish Free State the following year, a dominion within the British Empire.

With respect to Northern Ireland, Articles 11 and 12 of the Treaty made special provision for it including as follows:[25]

11. Until the expiration of one month from the passing of the Act of Parliament for the ratification of this instrument, the powers of the Parliament and the government of the Irish Free State shall not be exercisable as respects Northern Ireland, and the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, shall, so far as they relate to Northern Ireland, remain of full force and effect, and no election shall be held for the return of members to serve in the Parliament of the Irish Free State for constituencies in Northern Ireland, unless a resolution is passed by both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in favour of the holding of such elections before the end of the said month.
— 12. If before the expiration of the said month, an address is presented to His Majesty by both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland to that effect, the powers of the Parliament and the Government of the Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland, and the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, (including those relating to the Council of Ireland) shall so far as they relate to Northern Ireland, continue to be of full force and effect, and this instrument shall have effect subject to the necessary modifications...

The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir James Craig, speaking in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland in October 1922 said that "when 6 December [1922] is passed the month begins in which we will have to make the choice either to vote out or remain within the Free State". He said it was important that that choice be made as soon as possible after 6 December 1922 "in order that it may not go forth to the world that we had the slightest hesitation".[26] On 7 December 1922, the day after the establishment of the Irish Free State, the Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland resolved to make the following address to the King so as to exercise the rights conferred on Northern Ireland under Article 12 of the Treaty:[27]

MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN, We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Senators and Commons of Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, having learnt of the passing of the Irish Free State Constitution Act, 1922, being the Act of Parliament for the ratification of the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, do, by this humble Address, pray your Majesty that the powers of the Parliament and Government of the Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland.

The King received it the following day.[28] These steps cemented Northern Ireland's legal separation from the Irish Free State.

In Irish republican legitimist theory, the Treaty was illegitimate and could not be approved. According to this theory, the Second Dáil did not dissolve and members of the Republican Government remained as the legitimate government of the Irish Republic declared in 1919. Adherents to this theory rejected the legitimacy of both the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

The report of Boundary Commission in 1925 established under the Treaty did not lead to any alteration in the border.

Within Northern Ireland, the Nationalist Party was an organisational successor to the Home Rule Movement, and advocated the end of partition. It had a continuous presence in the Northern Ireland Parliament from 1921 to 1972, but was in permanent opposition to the UUP government.

A new Constitution of Ireland was proposed by Éamon de Valera in 1937 and approved by the voters of the Irish Free State (thereafter simply Ireland). Articles 2 and 3 of this Constitution claimed the whole island of Ireland as the national territory, while claiming legal jurisdiction only over the previous territory of the Irish Free State.

Article 2

The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas.

Article 3

Pending the re-integration of the national territory, and without prejudice to the right of the parliament and government established by this constitution to exercise jurisdiction over the whole territory, the laws enacted by the parliament shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws of Saorstát Éireann and the like extra-territorial effect.

Article 15.2 allowed for the "creation or recognition of subordinate legislatures and for the powers and functions of these legislatures", which would have allowed for the continuation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland within a unitary Irish state.[29]

In 1946, former Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the Irish High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, "I said a few words in Parliament the other day about your country because I still hope for a United Ireland. You must get those fellows in the north in, though; you can't do it by force. There is not, and never was, any bitterness in my heart towards your country." He later said, "You know I have had many invitations to visit Ulster but I have refused them all. I don't want to go there at all, I would much rather go to southern Ireland. Maybe I'll buy another horse with an entry in the Irish Derby."[30]

Under the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland declared that the country may officially be described as the Republic of Ireland and that the President of Ireland had the executive authority of the state in its external relations. This was treated by the British Commonwealth as ending Irish membership. In response, the United Kingdom passed the Ireland Act 1949. Section 1(2) of this act affirmed the provision in the Treaty that the position of Ireland remained a matter for the Parliament of Northern Ireland:

It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland remains part of His Majesty's dominions and of the United Kingdom and it is hereby affirmed that in no event will Northern Ireland or any part thereof cease to be part of His Majesty's dominions and of the United Kingdom without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Between 1956 and 1962, the IRA engaged in a border campaign against British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary outposts with the aim of ending British rule in Northern Ireland. This coincided with brief electoral success of Sinn Féin, which won four seats at the 1957 Irish general election. This was its first electoral success since 1927, and it did not win seats in the Republic of Ireland again until 1997. The border campaign was entirely unsuccessful in its aims. In 1957, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan wrote that "I do not think that a United Ireland - with de Valera as a kind of Irish Nehru would do us much good. Let us stand by our friends."[31]

Calls for unification, start of the Troubles Edit

See also: The Troubles and Northern Ireland peace process

The Northern Ireland civil rights movement emerged in 1967 to campaign for civil rights for Catholics in Northern Ireland. Tensions between republican and loyalist groups in the north erupted into outright violence in the late 1960s. In 1968 the Irish Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, raised the issue of partition in London: "It has been the aim of my government and its predecessors to promote the reunification of Ireland by fostering a spirit of brotherhood among all sections of the Irish people. The clashes in the streets of Derry are an expression of the evils which partition has brought in its train." He later stated to the press that the ending of partition would be "a just and inevitable solution to the problems of Northern Ireland."[32]

Lynch renewed his call to end partition in August 1969 when he proposed negotiations with Britain with the hope of merging the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland into a federal type state. Lynch proposed that the two parliaments continue to function with a Council of Ireland having authority over the entire country. The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland James Chichester-Clark rejected the proposal.[33] In August 1971 Lynch proposed that the Government of Northern Ireland (Stormont) be replaced with an administration that would share power with Catholics. The next day the Northern Prime Minister Brian Faulkner rejected Lynch's statement and stated that "no further attempt by us to deal constructively with the present Dublin government is possible."[34] Later in 1971 British Labour Party leader (and future Prime Minister) Harold Wilson proposed a plan that would lead to a united Ireland after a 15-year transitional period. He called for the establishment of a commission that would examine the possibility of creating a united Ireland which would be agreed upon by all three parliaments. The northern Prime Minister rejected the proposal and reiterated the desire that Northern Ireland remain an integral part of the United Kingdom. The Irish Taoiseach indicated the possibility of amending the Irish constitution to accommodate the Protestants of Northern Ireland and urged the British government to "declare its interest in encouraging the unity of Ireland".[35]

In 1969 the British government deployed troops in what would become the longest continuous deployment in British military history Operation Banner. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) had begun a thirty-year campaign against British security forces with the aim of winning a united Ireland.[36]

In 1970, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) was established to campaign for civil rights and a united Ireland by peaceful, constitutional means. The party rose to be the dominant party representing the nationalist community until the early twenty-first century.

In 1972, the parliament of Northern Ireland was suspended, and under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, it was formally abolished. Section 1 of the 1973 Act stated,

It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland remains part of Her Majesty's dominions and of the United Kingdom, and it is hereby affirmed that in no event will Northern Ireland or any part of it cease to be part of Her Majesty's dominions and of the United Kingdom without the consent of the majority of the people of Northern Ireland voting in a poll held for the purposes of this section in accordance with Schedule 1 to this Act.

A border poll was held in Northern Ireland in 1973. The SDLP and Sinn Féin called for a boycott of the poll. 98.9% of votes cast supported remaining part of the United Kingdom, accounting for 57.5% of the overall electorate.[37]

In 1983, the Irish government led by Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald established the New Ireland Forum as a consultation on a new Ireland. Though all parties in Ireland were invited, the only ones to attend were Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party and the SDLP. Its report considered three options: a unitary state, i.e., a united Ireland; a federal/confederal state; and joint sovereignty. These options were rejected by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In 1985, the governments of Ireland and of the United Kingdom signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement; the British government accepted an advisory role for the Irish government in the future of Northern Ireland. Article 1 of the Agreement stated that the future constitutional position of Northern Ireland would be a matter for the people of Northern Ireland:

The two Governments

(a) affirm that any change in the status of Northern Ireland would only come about with the consent of a majority of' the people of' Northern Ireland; (b) recognise that the present wish of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland is for no change in the status of Northern Ireland;

(c) declare that, if in the future a majority of the people of Northern Ireland clearly wish for and formally consent to the establishment of a united Ireland, they will introduce and support in the respective Parliaments legislation to give effect to that wish.[38]

In the Downing Street Declaration, Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and Prime Minister John Major issued a joint statement, in which Major, "reiterated on behalf of the British Government, that they have no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland".[39]

Good Friday Agreement Edit

The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 was a culmination of the peace process. The agreement acknowledged nationalism and unionism as "equally legitimate, political aspirations".[40] In the Northern Ireland Assembly, all members would designate as Unionist, Nationalist, or Other, and certain measures would require cross-community support. The agreement was signed by the governments of Ireland and of the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland, it was supported by all parties who were in the Northern Ireland Forum with the exception of the Democratic Unionist Party and the UK Unionist Party, and it was supported by all parties in the Oireachtas. It was also opposed by dissident republicans, including Republican Sinn Féin and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. It was approved in referendums in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland.

Included in the Agreement were provisions which became part of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on the form of a future referendum on a united Ireland. In essence the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement provided the opportunity for self determination and mutual respect. Those born in Northern Ireland could identify as Irish, British or both and would be entitled to hold a passport from both, or either country. The freedom of movement, allowed citizens of either jurisdiction to live in which ever part of the island they wanted, therby enabling them to choose which state they paid taxes to or claimed benefits from. The 'Two state' solution advocated for conflict resolution in other jurisdictions therefore applied. Provision within the Agreement allows for a simple majority to vote in favour of Irish Unification, but does nothing to explain how the dissolution of the two state solution, leads to a peaceful and prosperous new country when potentially 13% of the 'new' country are forced into it against their will and have no allegiance to it nor incentive for it to succeed. A fear of political, civil and economic turmoil and a lack of protection for minority rights, as experienced by the Catholic community in Northern Ireland and the Protestant community in the Republic of Ireland historically, is a key driver towards the desire for the maintenance of the status quo on both sides of the border.

Section 1. Status of Northern Ireland.
  1. It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland in its entirety remains part of the United Kingdom and shall not cease to be so without the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland voting in a poll held for the purposes of this section in accordance with Schedule 1.
  2. But if the wish expressed by a majority in such a poll is that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland, the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament such proposals to give effect to that wish as may be agreed between Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and the Government of Ireland.

[...]

Schedule 1

  1. The Secretary of State may by order direct the holding of a poll for the purposes of section 1 on a date specified in the order.
  2. Subject to paragraph 3, the Secretary of State shall exercise the power under paragraph 1 if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland.
  3. The Secretary of State shall not make an order under paragraph 1 earlier than seven years after the holding of a previous poll under this Schedule.[19]

On the establishment of the institutions in 1999, Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland were amended to read:

Article 2

It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland. Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage.

Article 3

  1. It is the firm will of the Irish nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions, recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island. Until then, the laws enacted by the Parliament established by this Constitution shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws enacted by the Parliament that existed immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution.
  2. Institutions with executive powers and functions that are shared between those jurisdictions may be established by their respective responsible authorities for stated purposes and may exercise powers and functions in respect of all or any part of the island.

Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol Edit

Further information: Brexit and the Irish border and Northern Ireland Protocol
 
Voting on the Brexit referendum in Northern Ireland
  Leave
  Remain

In a referendum in June 2016, England and Wales voted to leave the European Union. The majority of those voting in Northern Ireland and in Scotland, however, voted for the UK to remain.[41] Of the parties in the Assembly, only the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) and People Before Profit (PBP) had campaigned for a Leave vote. Irish politicians began the discussion regarding possible changes to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.[42] The status and treatment of Northern Ireland and Gibraltar- the only parts of the United Kingdom which would have new land borders with the EU following the UK withdrawal, became important to the negotiations, along with access to the regional development assistance scheme (and new funding thereof) from the European Union.

Sinn Féin cited these concerns as the basis for new discussion on a united Ireland.[43] These calls were rejected by the British government and Unionist politicians, with Theresa Villiers arguing that there was no evidence that opinion in Northern Ireland had shifted towards being in favour of a united Ireland.[44] In the 2017 Assembly election, the DUP lost ten seats and came just one seat ahead of Sinn Féin.[45] Sinn Féin used this opportunity to call for a Northern Ireland referendum on a united Ireland.[46][47]

The Brexit Secretary, David Davis, confirmed to Mark Durkan, the SDLP MP for Foyle, that in the event of Northern Ireland becoming part of a united Ireland, "Northern Ireland would be in a position of becoming part of an existing EU member state, rather than seeking to join the EU as a new independent state."[48] Enda Kenny pointed to the provisions that allowed East Germany to join the West and the EEC during the reunification of Germany as a precedent.[11] In April 2017 the European Council acknowledged that, in the event of Irish unification, "the entire territory of such a united Ireland would [...] be part of the European Union."[49] The SDLP manifesto for the 2017 UK general election called for a referendum on a united Ireland after the UK withdraws from the EU.[50] However the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the time, James Brokenshire, said the conditions for a vote are "not remotely satisfied".[51]

After the 2017 election, the UK government was reliant on confidence and supply from the Democratic Unionist Party. The deal supported the Conservative led government through the Brexit negotiation process.[52] The 2020 Brexit withdrawal agreement included the Northern Ireland Protocol, which established different trade rules for the territory than Great Britain. While Northern Ireland would de jure leave the single market, it would still enforce all EU customs rules, while Britain would diverge. This would result in a regulatory "border in the Irish Sea" rather than a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and caused fears from unionist politicians about Brexit causing a weakening of the UK.[53]

 
Johnson and Macron meet during Brexit negotiations, 2019

The new UK prime minister Boris Johnson continued to claim no trade border would take form as late as August 2020, despite having negotiated its creation.[54] Dominic Cummings later claimed that Johnson did not understand the deal at the time it was signed, while Ian Paisley Jr claimed that Johnson had privately promised to "tear up" the deal after it was agreed.[55] In September, Johnson sought to unilaterally dis-apply parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, despite acknowledging that this broke international law.[56] The bill was rejected by the House of Lords, resulting in several provisions being withdrawn before it passed in December 2020- shortly before the protocol was due to come into effect.

The implementation of the protocol, and the new regulatory hurdles had a negative effect on east–west trade, and drew strong condemnation from unionist figures, including DUP members such as First Minister Arlene Foster.[57][58] Staff making the required checks were threatened, resulting in a temporary suspension of checks at Larne and Belfast ports.[59] In February 2021, several unionist parties began a legal challenge, alleging that the protocol violated the Act of Union 1800, the bill which had originally merged Ireland with the United Kingdom, as well as the Good Friday Agreement.[60] The challenge was dismissed in June, with the court deciding that the protocol- and other legislation in the intervening 200 years- had effectively repealed parts of the Act of Union.[61] On 4 March the Loyalist Communities Council withdrew its support for the peace agreement- while indicating that opposition to it should not be in the form of violence.[62] Riots erupted in loyalist areas at the end of the month, continuing until 9 April. The protocol's implementation, and opposition within the DUP, resulted in the announcement of Foster's resignation on 28 April.[63] The Irish Times interviewed loyalist Shankill Road residents that month and found significant anger at the DUP, and accusations that the community had been "sold short" on the protocol.[64] Foster was replaced by Paul Givan later that year, though he too resigned in February 2022 over the continued existence of the protocol.[65]

The UK government sought to re-negotiate the protocol, a prospect poorly received by EU leaders such as Emmanuel Macron.[66] When discussing the effects of the protocol in June 2021, Leo Varadkar outlined a vision for a united Irish state with devolved representation in the North. He added "It should be part of our mission as a party to work towards it."[67] Talks aimed at amending the customs checks required by the protocol began in October; though Maroš Šefčovič indicated that the protocol itself will not be re-negotiated.[68] In December, the UK's chief negotiator Lord Frost resigned his post over "concerns about the current direction of travel".[69] These negotiations ultimately resulted in the Windsor Framework, which offered Northern Ireland access to both markets. The Framework was supported by Sinn Féin, but not the DUP.[70]

Political positions on a united Ireland Edit

class=notpageimage|
Provinces of Ireland

Within the Northern Ireland Assembly, MLAs designate as Unionist, Nationalist or Other. The DUP (25 seats), the UUP (9 seats), the TUV (1 seat) and the Independent MLAs Claire Sugden and Alex Easton are designated as Unionist; Sinn Féin (which won 27 seats in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election) and the SDLP (8 seats) are designated as Nationalist; the Alliance Party (17 seats) and PBP (1 seat) are designated as Other.[71] However People Before Profit are in favour of Irish Unity.[72][73]

There are a number of minor nationalist parties, including the Irish Republican Socialist Party, which supports a united socialist Irish state and is affiliated with the Irish National Liberation Army. Another such party, Republican Sinn Féin, linked to the Continuity IRA, maintain the Irish republican legitimist theory that neither state in Ireland is legitimate. Its Éire Nua (in English, New Ireland) policy advocates a unified federal state with regional governments for the four provinces and the national capital in Athlone. None of these parties has significant electoral support.[74]

Within the Oireachtas, there has traditionally been broad support for a united Ireland, with differences over the twentieth century on how it would be achieved. This includes Sinn Féin, which has had seats in the Dáil since 1997. The initial party constitution of Fianna Fáil in 1926 under Éamon de Valera included as the first of its aims, "To secure the Unity and Independence of Ireland as a Republic".[75] In 1937, de Valera proposed the Constitution of Ireland which laid claim to the whole island of Ireland. In the 1980s, led by Charles Haughey, the party opposed the consideration of options other than a unitary state in the New Ireland Forum Report and opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement; this stance led in part to the Des O'Malley and Mary Harney leaving Fianna Fáil and establishing the Progressive Democrats, a party that lasted from 1985 to 2008. Fianna Fáil leaders Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern led Irish governments in favour of the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday Agreement respectively.

When formed in 1933, Fine Gael initially used the subtitle United Ireland. Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald convened the New Ireland Forum in 1983 and negotiated the Anglo-Irish Agreement. In the aftermath of the vote on Brexit, Enda Kenny sought assurances on the position of Northern Ireland in the case of a united Ireland.[11] The Irish Labour Party has adopted a similar approach to Fine Gael in government to a united Ireland.[76]

In a survey of TDs conducted by TheJournal.ie on support for a border poll and a united Ireland conducted in December 2016, only TDs from the Anti-Austerity Alliance (now Solidarity) stated they were opposed to a united Ireland at the present moment.[77]

Of the British parties, the Conservative Party is explicitly unionist; it has formally been called the Conservative and Unionist Party since a merger with the Liberal Unionist Party in 1912. The UUP was affiliated with the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations until 1985. The Northern Ireland Conservatives are a minor unionist party in Northern Ireland.

Historically, there has been support for a united Ireland within the left of the British Labour Party, and in the 1980s it became official policy to support a united Ireland by consent.[78] The policy of "unity by consent" continued into the 1990s, eventually being replaced by a policy of neutrality in line with the Downing Street Declaration.[79] The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn supports a united Ireland, although he has said that it is "up for the Irish people to decide" whether to remain part of the UK.[80] They do not organise electorally in Northern Ireland, respecting the SDLP as their sister party within the Party of European Socialists. Similarly, the Liberal Democrats co-operate with the Alliance Party and share their support of the Good Friday Agreement while expressing reservations about what they perceive as 'institutionalised sectarianism' in the agreement. Former Alliance leader Lord Alderdice is a member of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. One supporter of a United Ireland in the Liberal Democrats was Michael Meadowcroft, MP for Leeds West between 1983 and 1987.[81]

Potential referendum time and criteria Edit

Timescale proposals Edit

In 2020, Ireland Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that a referendum on Irish unity should not be held for 5 years, adding, "once Brexit happened, it should not be a catalyst for something like a border poll. I thought that would be too divisive and would only exacerbate the tensions there because of Brexit itself".[82]

In 2020, Sinn Fein president, Mary Lou McDonald said, "Let’s have an All-Ireland Forum on Unity to plan for all aspects of reunification, including a referendum by 2025.[83] In 2022, she said a referendum would be possible within 5 years.[84] In March 2023, she said she expects a referendum on Irish unity within a decade.[85] In August 2021, Gerry Adams told the Irish Government that it should begin planning for a border poll and that one could happen within three years.[86] First minister elect, Michelle O’Neill launched Sinn Fein's manifesto at the Canal Court Hotel in Newry on 9 March 2023 which was a 16-page document including a commitment to set a date on a unity referendum.[87]

In 2022, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has said that Northern Ireland does not need a border poll at all and that it would be divisive.[88]

Criteria Edit

In May 2022, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the criteria for a referendum had not yet been met and also called for clarity on the mechanism for a border poll. Michelle O'Neill also called for clarity on the criteria for a referendum.[89] In September 2022, Northern Ireland shadow secretary Peter Kyle (of the Labour party) said that he would set out border poll criteria.[90]

In the May 2023 Northern Ireland local elections, the three largest unionist parties received over 38 per cent of the vote and the parties in favour of a united Ireland received 41 per cent of the vote. Jeffrey Donaldson suggested that the criteria for a border poll had not been met because unionists had more seats. This however is only true when excluding pro-irish unity independents and People Before Profit. When asked about the criteria, Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said that those interested “need to read the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, it’ll give you a good clue”.[91]

In June 2023, UUP leader Doug Beattie also suggested that the criteria has not been met for a border poll. He added that restoration of the executive would halt a swing in support of Sinn Féin and a United Ireland.[92] Ian Paisley jr suggested that support to unify Ireland is not adequate and that should a vote come about, a supermajority and a turnout quota should be required for a border poll.[93] John Major has also called upon the UK government to "spell out" the criteria for a border poll.[94]

Northern Ireland opinion polling Edit

This graph shows yes/no Irish re-unification poll results excluding non-standard questions such as those that may refer to additional factors. The phrasing of the question asked in the polls varies.

21st-century opinion polls conducted in Northern Ireland
Date Polling organisation/client Sample size Yes No Undecided Will not
vote 		Lead Notes
5 September – 20 November 2022 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey[95][96] 1,405 35% 47% 10% 4% 12%
17 August 2022 – 15 October 2022 ARINS/The Irish Times[97][98] 1,009 27% 50% 23% 23%
August 2022 LucidTalk[99] 3,384 41% 48% 11% 7%
May 2022 Life & Times 1,397 34% 48% 11% 4% 14%
April 2022 University of Liverpool/The Irish News[100] 1,000[101] 31.9% 48.2% 19.8% 16.3%
November 2021 Lord Ashcroft 3,301[102] 41% 49% 8% 8%
October 2021 University of Liverpool[103] 1,002[104] 30% 59% 9% 2% 29%
August 2021 LucidTalk[105] 2,403[106] 42% 49% 9% 7%
June 2021 Life & Times[107][108] 30% 53% 9% 5% 23%
May 2021 Belfast Telegraph/Kantar[109] 35% 44% 21% 9%
April 2021 LucidTalk[110] 43% 49% 8% 6%
February 2021 Savanta ComRes/ITV News[111] 36% 49% 15% 13%
January 2021 The Sunday Times[112][113] 42% 47% 11% 5%
February 2020 LucidTalk[114] 45% 47% 8% 2%
February 2020 Liverpool University[115] 29% 52% 19% 23%
September 2019 Lord Ashcroft[116] 1,542 46% 45% 9% 1% "If there was a "border poll" tomorrow, how would you vote?"
March 2019 Irish Times/Ipsos Mori[117] 32% 45% 23% 13%
June 2018 Lord Ashcroft[118] 44% 49% 7% 5%
June 2018 NILT[119][120] 22% 55% 10% 12% 33%
May 2018 LucidTalk/YouGov/BBC[121][122][123] 42% 45% 12.7% 0.2% 3%
May 2018 ICM 21% 50% 18.9% 9.7% 29%
October 2017 LucidTalk[124][125] 34% 55% 9.8% 1.1% 21%
July 2017 ESRC[126] 27% 52% 21% 25%
August 2016 Ipsos Mori[127] 22% 63% 13% 2% 41% Voters aged 18+
January 2013 Spotlight[128] 17% 65% 5% 12% 48% Voters aged 18+
Notes

The Good Friday Agreement states that "the Secretary of State" should call a referendum "if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland."[129]

Non standard questions Edit

Date Polling organisation/client Yes No Undecided Will not
vote 		Lead Non standard question
August 2022 LucidTalk[99] 52% 44% 4% 8% If a referendum was held in 15–20 years time.
October 2020 LucidTalk[130] 35% 34% 26% 1%[a] Reference to healthcare provision
September 2018 OFOC/Deltapoll[131] 52% 39% 9% 13% "Imagine now that the UK decided to LEAVE the EU..."
December 2017 LucidTalk[132][133] 48% 45% 6% 0.7% 3% In the context of a hard Brexit
  1. ^ Poll from LucidTalk referred to specific question on the NHS as an issue.

Public opinion Edit

Northern Ireland Edit

 
Map of predominant national identity in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland

Historically, opinion polls of the Northern Ireland population consistently showed majorities opposed to a United Ireland and in support of Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom. For example, in a November 2015 survey by RTÉ and the BBC, 30% of the population expressed support for a United Ireland in their lifetime with 43% opposed and 27% undecided. However, when asked about the status of Northern Ireland in the short-to-medium term, support for unity was lower at around 13% of the population.[134] The 2013 annual Northern Ireland Life and Times survey conducted by the Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University found that a united Ireland was the favoured long term option of 15% of the population while remaining part of the United Kingdom was the favoured long term option of 66% of the population.[135] When the same survey was carried out in 2015, support was 22%.[136]

In 1973, the population of Northern Ireland was granted a referendum on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom or join with the Republic of Ireland to form a united Ireland. The result was 98.9% in favour of union with the rest of the UK, but the poll was overwhelmingly boycotted by nationalists, and the turnout was therefore 58.7%. The pro-UK vote did however represent 57.5% of the entire electorate, notwithstanding the boycott.[137][138] Provisions for future referendums were included in the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Many Unionist Protestants in Northern Ireland argue they have a distinct identity that would be overwhelmed in a united Ireland. They cite the decline of the small Protestant population of the Republic of Ireland since independence from the United Kingdom, the economic cost of unification, their place in a key international player within the UK and their mainly non-Irish ancestry. Unionist people in Northern Ireland primarily find their cultural and ethnic identity from the Scottish and English planters (colonists), whose descendants can be found in the three counties of Ulster which are governed by the Republic of Ireland. Such individuals celebrate their Scots heritage each year like their counterparts in the other six counties. While Catholics in general consider themselves to be Irish, Protestants generally see themselves as British, as shown by several studies and surveys performed between 1971 and 2006.[139][140][141][142][143][144] Many Protestants do not consider themselves as primarily Irish, as many Irish nationalists do, but rather within the context of an Ulster or British identity. A 1999 survey showed that a little over half of Protestants felt "Not at all Irish", while the rest "felt Irish" in varying degrees.[142]

A 2011 survey by Northern Ireland Life and Times found that 52% of Northern Irish Catholic respondents favoured union with Great Britain over a united Ireland.[145][146] This is despite the fact that most Catholics who vote do so for political parties that are Nationalist.

Do you think the long-term policy for Northern Ireland should be for it...[147]
  to reunify with the rest of Ireland
  to be an independent state
  Other
  Don't know
  to remain part of the United Kingdom, with devolved government
  to remain part of the United Kingdom, with direct rule (since 2007)[148]
  to remain part of the United Kingdom (unspecified until 2006)[15]

According to a 2015 opinion poll, 70% expressed a long-term preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland's membership of the United Kingdom (either directly ruled or with devolved government), while 14% express a preference for membership of a united Ireland.[149] This discrepancy can be explained by the overwhelming preference among Protestants to remain a part of the UK (93%), while Catholic preferences are spread across a number of solutions to the constitutional question including remaining a part of the UK (47%), a united Ireland (32%), Northern Ireland becoming an independent state (4%), and those who "don't know" (16%).[149]

Since the 2016 Brexit vote, support for reunification has increased, with 22% of respondents favourable towards reunification, up from 17% in 2013.[136] 43% of Catholics would now back reunification, up from 35% in 2013. According to this survey, support for a referendum stands at 53% of Catholic respondents, compared to 28% of Protestant respondents.

A poll in May 2017 found that 51% were in favour of holding a referendum on a united Ireland within the next five years.[150]

In October 2017 a poll found that 62 percent were in favour of having a referendum on a united Ireland within the next ten years. The same poll found that 55 percent of those asked would vote to remain within the United Kingdom if a referendum was held tomorrow while 34 percent said they would vote yes and 10 percent were undecided.[151][152] The poll also asked how those asked would vote in the event of a "hard Brexit" that was bad for Northern Ireland and a "soft Brexit" that was good for Northern Ireland but the undecided were excluded. In the event of the latter 62.84 percent would vote to remain in the UK while 37.14 would vote for a United Ireland. In the case of the former 53.57 percent said they would vote to remain in the United Kingdom while 46.43 would vote to leave it and have a United Ireland.[153]

In December 2017, an opinion poll carried out by LucidTalk on more than 2,000 people saw 48% of respondents willing to vote for a united Ireland if a border poll was held in the event of a hard Brexit, against 45% for maintaining the status quo.[154] 6% of respondents were undecided, and less than 1% of respondents stated that they would not vote.

A Lord Ashcroft poll, with 1,542 people questioned online from 30 August to 2 September 2019, found 46% of the respondents would vote for leaving the Union and joining the Republic of Ireland, and 45% would vote to stay in the UK. The other respondents would not vote or didn't know.[155][156]

Assorted opinion polls Edit

An opinion poll of 1,089 people conducted by LucidTalk in 2014 around the time of the Scottish referendum posed several questions. On the question of whether or not there should be a border poll, 47% said "yes", 37% "no" and 16% "don't know".[157] On the question, "If a referendum on Irish Unity was called under the Good Friday Agreement would you vote: Yes for unity as soon as possible, Yes for unity in 20 years, or No for Northern Ireland to remain as it is", the results were as follows.[157][158]

Answer All
persons 		Religion Age band
Protestant Catholic 18–24 25–44 45–64 65+
Yes, for unity as soon as possible 5.7% 1.8% 9.8% 12.2% 5.5% 3.8% 3.3%
Yes, for unity in 20 years 24.0% 9.6% 39.5% 27.8% 26.6% 23.0% 19.7%
No for Northern Ireland to remain as it is 44.1% 57.8% 20.7% 36.6% 38.0% 45.6% 53.9%
No opinion/would not vote 26.3% 30.8% 30.1% 23.4% 29.9% 27.6% 23.0%

In 2016 an Ipsos MORI poll asked "If there was a referendum on the border tomorrow would you:" and the answers for different regions of Northern Ireland were as follows,[127]

Belfast
City 		Greater
Belfast 		Down Armagh Tyrone/
Fermanagh 		Derry Antrim
Vote to stay in the United Kingdom 65% 77% 57% 50% 51% 53% 72%
Vote for Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom 17% 10% 27% 41% 28% 28% 17%
Don't know 17% 10% 13% 7% 19% 16% 6%
Would not vote 0% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 6%

The same poll recorded answers from people in different age groups as follows,[159]

Age band 18–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65+
Vote to stay in the United Kingdom 67% 63% 51% 57% 60% 77%
Vote for Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom 19% 19% 30% 28% 22% 14%
Don't know 12% 15% 18% 13% 13% 7%
Would not vote 2% 3% 1% 2% 6% 2%

Answers from people of different religious backgrounds were as follows,[127]

Answer Community background
Protestant Catholic Neither
Vote to stay in the United Kingdom 88% 37% 51%
Vote for Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom 5% 43% 15%
Don't know 5% 17% 30%
Would not vote 2% 2% 4%

A similar LucidTalk poll conducted in May 2017 found that 51% of people would be in favour of a border poll within the next five years while 39% would not and 10% did not know. Respondents were not asked how they would vote in such a poll.[160]

A LucidTalk opinion poll of 1,334 Northern Irish residents conducted in Oct–Nov 2018 found majority support (60%) for Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom if the UK were to remain an EU member state, an even split (48% each) if the UK were to leave the EU on the terms negotiated between the British Government and the EU, and majority support (55%) for Northern Ireland unifying with the Irish republic if the UK left the EU under a no-deal scenario.[161]

Assuming a NI border referendum occurred in 2019, say shortly after the Brexit date (March): What way do you think you would vote according to the following scenarios?
Based on the UK Government's current EU withdrawal agreement Based on a "no deal" (i.e. if the UK Government's EU withdrawal agreement is defeated in the UK parliament and no new deal is negotiated with the EU) EU withdrawal doesn't happen; i.e. UK remains in the EU (T. May has said this is a possible outcome if the UK Government's EU withdrawal agreement is defeated in the UK parliament)
NI to remain in UK – I'm 100% certain 39% 38% 47%
NI to remain in UK – My probable vote, but I'm not certain 9% 4% 13%
Don't know/not sure at this point 4% 3% 11%
NI to leave the UK and join a UI – My probable vote, but I'm not certain 18% 7% 8%
NI to leave the UK and join a UI – I'm 100% certain 30% 48% 21%
Polling was carried out during 80 hours from 30 Nov 2018 to 3 Dec 2018 from an online opinion panel demographically representative of Northern Ireland (balanced by gender, age-group, area of residence, and community background) from 1,334 complete, valid, and unique responses. Data were weighted by age, sex, socio-economic group, previous voting patterns, constituency, constitutional position, party support and religious affiliation, and are accurate to a margin of error of ±3.0%, at 95% confidence. Polling was carried out by LucidTalk, a Belfast-based polling company and member of all recognised professional polling and market research organisations, including the UK-MRS, BPC, and ESOMAR.

In the Republic of Ireland Edit

 
RED C/Sunday Times poll carried out in 2010 in the Republic of Ireland.[162]

There are some very small pressure groups in the Republic of Ireland, such as the Reform Group and lodges of the Orange Order, that are sympathetic to Northern Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future, but their impact on the broader political opinion is negligible. A minority of politically conservative Catholic writers from the Republic of Ireland, such as Mary Kenny and Desmond Fennell have expressed misgivings about a united Ireland, fearing the incorporation of a large number of Protestants would threaten what they see as the Catholic nature of the Republic.[163] A Red C/Sunday Times poll in 2010 found that 57% are in favour of a united Ireland, 22% say they are opposed, while 21% are undecided.[164]

In October 2015 an opinion poll commissioned by RTÉ and the BBC and carried out by Behaviour & Attitudes asked those in the Republic of Ireland the question "There are a number of possible options for the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. In the short to medium term, do you think Northern Ireland should..." with the following responses,[165]

In the short to medium term, do you think Northern Ireland should... Proportion
Remain part of the UK, with direct rule from Westminster 9%
Remain part of the UK, with a devolved assembly and Executive in Northern Ireland (the current situation) 35%
Unify with the rest of Ireland 36%
Other 1%
None of these 2%
Don't know 17%

The same poll also asked "Thinking of the long-term policy for Northern Ireland, would you like to see a united Ireland in your lifetime?" with the following responses,[166]

Would you like to see a united Ireland in your lifetime?
Proportion
Yes – would like to see a united Ireland in my lifetime 66%
No – would not like to see a united Ireland in my lifetime 14%
Don't know 20%

The poll then asked a further question concerning the influence of the tax consequences of a united Ireland on support for it,[167]

Would you be in favour or against a united Ireland if it meant ...
You would have to pay less tax There would be no change in the amount of tax you pay You would have to pay more tax
In favour of a united Ireland 73% 63% 31%
Against a united Ireland 8% 14% 44%
Don't know 18% 24% 25%

In December 2016 RTÉ's Claire Byrne Live/ Amárach Research panel asked 'Is it time for a united Ireland?' Forty-six percent of those asked said yes while 32% said no and 22% said that they didn't know. Support was highest among those aged 25–34 with 54% saying yes.[168]

In May 2019 an RTÉ/REDC exit poll at the 2019 elections found that 65% of respondents are in favour of a united Ireland, whereas 19% were against it.[169]

An Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll published in December 2021, indicated broad support for Irish unity in the Republic of Ireland, with 62% saying they would vote in favour, while just 16% opposed and 13% saying they don't know.[170] 8% say they would not vote.[170]

In Great Britain Edit

A 2019 poll by Ipsos Mori and King's College London asked people in Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales): "If there were to be a referendum in Northern Ireland on its future, would you personally prefer Northern Ireland to choose to stay in the UK or leave the UK and join the Republic of Ireland?" The responses revealed that 36% wanted Northern Ireland to stay in the UK, 19% wanted it to join the Republic, 36% had no preference, and 9% were undecided.[171] It further revealed that support for Northern Ireland remaining in the UK was highest among those who intended to vote Conservative (49%) compared to 35% for Labour voters and 31% for Liberal Democrat voters.[171]

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Further reading Edit

  • Geoffrey Bell, Troublesome Business: the Labour Party and the Irish Question. Pluto Press, London 1982. ISBN 0861043731
  • Ronan Fanning, Independent Ireland. Helicon, Dublin, 1983.
  • Bob Rowthorn and Naomi Wayne, Northern Ireland: The Political Economy of Conflict. Polity Press, Cambridge, 1988. ISBN 0745605354
  • Daltún Ó Ceallaigh, Labour, Nationalism and Irish Freedom. Léirmheas, Dublin, 1991. ISBN 0951877704
  • Vincent J. Delacy Ryan, Ireland Restored: The New Self-Determination. Freedom House, New York, 1991. ISBN 0932088597
  • David McKittrick, Through the Minefield. Belfast, Blackstaff Press, 1999. ISBN 085640652X
  • Patrick J. Roche and Brian Barton, The Northern Ireland Question : Nationalism, Unionism and Partition Ashgate, Aldershot, 1999. ISBN 1840144904
  • Catherine O'Donnell, Fianna Fáil, Irish Republicanism and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968–2005. Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 2007. ISBN 9780716528593
  • Richard Humphreys, Countdown to Unity : Debating Irish Reunification. Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 2008. ISBN 9780716533474
  • Kevin Meagher, A United Ireland: Why Unification Is Inevitable and How It Will Come About, Biteback Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9781785901720
  • McGuinness, Seamus; Bergin, Adele (2020). "The political economy of a Northern Ireland border poll". Cambridge Journal of Economics. 44 (4): 781–812. doi:10.1093/cje/beaa007.

August 25, 2023
united, ireland, this, article, about, irish, political, movement, other, uses, disambiguation, confused, with, unionism, ireland, also, referred, irish, reunification, proposition, that, ireland, should, single, sovereign, state, present, island, divided, pol. This article is about the Irish political movement For other uses see United Ireland disambiguation Not to be confused with Unionism in Ireland United Ireland also referred to as Irish reunification 1 2 3 is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state 4 5 At present the island is divided politically the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the majority of Ireland while Northern Ireland which lies entirely within but does not constitute the entirety of the Irish province of Ulster is part of the United Kingdom Achieving a united Ireland is a central tenet of Irish nationalism and Republicanism particularly of both mainstream and dissident republican political and paramilitary organisations 6 Unionists support Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom and therefore oppose Irish unification 7 8 Map of Ireland showing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and their respective capitalsIreland in EuropeIreland has been partitioned since May 1921 when the implementation of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the state of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom The Anglo Irish Treaty which led to the establishment in December 1922 of a dominion called the Irish Free State recognised partition but this was opposed by anti Treaty republicans When the anti Treaty Fianna Fail party came to power in the 1930s it adopted a new constitution which claimed sovereignty over the entire island The Irish Republican Army IRA had a united Ireland as its goal during the conflict with British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries from the 1960s to the 1990s known as The Troubles The Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998 which ended the conflict acknowledged the legitimacy of the desire for a united Ireland while declaring that it could be achieved only with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland In 2016 Sinn Fein called for a referendum on a united Ireland following the decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union EU The decision had increased the perceived likelihood of a united Ireland in order to avoid the possible requirement for a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland 9 10 though the imposition of a hard border did not eventuate Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that in the event of reunification Northern Ireland should be allowed to rejoin the EU just as East Germany was permitted to join the EU s predecessor institutions by reuniting with the rest of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall 11 In demographic terms Northern Ireland was created to contain a majority of Ulster Protestants citation needed who almost all favour continued union with Great Britain and did so for most of its history Four of the six counties have Irish Catholic majorities and majorities voting for Irish nationalist parties 12 13 and Catholics have become the plurality in Northern Ireland as of 2021 14 The religious denominations of the citizens of Northern Ireland are only a guide to likely political preferences as there are both Protestants who favour a united Ireland and Catholics who support the union 15 Surveys identify a significant number of Catholics who favour the continuation of the union without identifying themselves as unionists or British 16 Contents 1 Legal basis 2 History 2 1 Home Rule resistance and the Easter Rising 2 2 Two jurisdictions 2 3 Calls for unification start of the Troubles 2 4 Good Friday Agreement 2 5 Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol 3 Political positions on a united Ireland 4 Potential referendum time and criteria 4 1 Timescale proposals 4 2 Criteria 5 Northern Ireland opinion polling 5 1 Non standard questions 6 Public opinion 6 1 Northern Ireland 6 1 1 Assorted opinion polls 6 2 In the Republic of Ireland 6 3 In Great Britain 7 See also 8 References 9 Further readingLegal basis EditArticle 3 1 of the Constitution of Ireland recognises that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people democratically expressed in both jurisdictions in the island 17 This provision was introduced in 1999 after implementation of the Good Friday Agreement as part of replacing the old Articles 2 and 3 which had laid a direct claim to the whole island as the national territory 18 The Northern Ireland Act 1998 a statute of the Parliament of the United Kingdom provides that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom unless a majority of the people of Northern Ireland vote to form part of a united Ireland It specifies that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland shall exercise the power to hold a referendum if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland Such referendums may not take place within seven years of each other 19 The Northern Ireland Act 1998 supersedes previous similar legislative provisions The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 also provided that Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom unless a majority voted otherwise in a referendum 20 while under the Ireland Act 1949 the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland was needed for a united Ireland 21 In 1985 the Anglo Irish Agreement affirmed that any change in the status of Northern Ireland would only come about with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland 22 History EditHome Rule resistance and the Easter Rising Edit Proclamation of the Irish Republic presented to the Irish people during the Easter Rising of 1916 The Kingdom of Ireland as a whole had become part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union 1800 From the 1870s support for some form of an elected parliament in Dublin grew In 1870 Isaac Butt who was a Protestant formed the Home Government Association which became the Home Rule League Charles Stewart Parnell also a Protestant became leader in 1880 and the organisation became the Irish National League in 1882 Despite the religion of its early leaders its support was strongly associated with Irish Catholics In 1886 Parnell formed a parliamentary alliance with Liberal Party Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone and secured the introduction of the First Home Rule Bill This was opposed by the Conservative Party and led to a split in the Liberal Party Opposition in Ireland was concentrated in the heavily Protestant counties in Ulster The difference in religious background was a legacy of the Ulster Plantation in the early seventeenth century In 1893 the Second Home Rule Bill passed in the House of Commons but was defeated in the House of Lords where the Conservatives dominated A Third Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1912 and in September 1912 just under half a million men and women signed the Ulster Covenant to swear they would resist its application in Ulster The Ulster Volunteer Force were formed in 1913 as a militia to resist Home Rule The Government of Ireland Act 1914 previously known as the Third Home Rule Bill provided for a unitary devolved Irish Parliament a culmination of several decades of work from the Irish Parliamentary Party It was signed into law in September 1914 in the midst of the Home Rule Crisis and at the outbreak of the First World War On the same day the Suspensory Act 1914 suspended its actual operation In 1916 a group of revolutionaries led by the Irish Republican Brotherhood launched the Easter Rising during which they issued a Proclamation of the Irish Republic The rebellion was not successful and sixteen of the leaders were executed The small separatist party Sinn Fein became associated with the Rising in its aftermath as several of those involved in it were party members The Irish Convention held between 1917 and 1918 sought to reach agreement on manner in which Home Rule would be implemented after the war All Irish parties were invited but Sinn Fein boycotted the proceedings By the end of the First World War a number of moderate unionists came to support Home Rule believing that it was the only way to keep a united Ireland in the United Kingdom The Irish Dominion League opposed partition of Ireland into separate southern and northern jurisdictions while arguing that the whole of Ireland should be granted dominion status with the British Empire 23 Result of the 1918 Irish general electionAt the 1918 election Sinn Fein won 73 of the 105 seats however there was a strong regional divide with the Ulster Unionist Party UUP winning 23 of the 38 seats in Ulster Sinn Fein had run on a manifesto of abstaining from the United Kingdom House of Commons and from 1919 met in Dublin as Dail Eireann At its first meeting the Dail adopted the Declaration of Independence of the Irish Republic a claim which it made in respect of the entire island Supporters of this Declaration fought in the Irish War of Independence Two jurisdictions Edit During this period the Government of Ireland Act 1920 repealed the previous 1914 Act and provided for two separate devolved parliaments in Ireland It defined Northern Ireland as the parliamentary counties of Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry and Tyrone and the parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry and Southern Ireland so much of Ireland as is not comprised within the said parliamentary counties and boroughs Section 3 of this Act provided that the parliaments may be united by identical acts of parliament 1 The Parliaments of Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland may by identical Acts agreed to by an absolute majority of members of the House of Commons of each Parliament at the third reading establish in lieu of the Council of Ireland a Parliament for the whole of Ireland consisting of His Majesty and two Houses which shall be called and known as the Parliament of Ireland and the date at which the Parliament of Ireland is established is hereinafter referred to as the date of Irish union 24 Sinn Fein did not recognise this act treating elections to the respective parliaments as a single election to the Second Dail While the Parliament of Northern Ireland sat from 1921 to 1972 the Parliament of Southern Ireland was suspended after its first meeting was boycotted by the Sinn Fein members who comprised 124 of its 128 MPs A truce in the War of Independence was called in July 1921 followed by negotiations in London between the government of the United Kingdom and a Sinn Fein delegation On 6 December 1921 they signed the Anglo Irish Treaty which led to the establishment of the Irish Free State the following year a dominion within the British Empire With respect to Northern Ireland Articles 11 and 12 of the Treaty made special provision for it including as follows 25 11 Until the expiration of one month from the passing of the Act of Parliament for the ratification of this instrument the powers of the Parliament and the government of the Irish Free State shall not be exercisable as respects Northern Ireland and the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 shall so far as they relate to Northern Ireland remain of full force and effect and no election shall be held for the return of members to serve in the Parliament of the Irish Free State for constituencies in Northern Ireland unless a resolution is passed by both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in favour of the holding of such elections before the end of the said month 12 If before the expiration of the said month an address is presented to His Majesty by both Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland to that effect the powers of the Parliament and the Government of the Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland and the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 including those relating to the Council of Ireland shall so far as they relate to Northern Ireland continue to be of full force and effect and this instrument shall have effect subject to the necessary modifications The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Sir James Craig speaking in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland in October 1922 said that when 6 December 1922 is passed the month begins in which we will have to make the choice either to vote out or remain within the Free State He said it was important that that choice be made as soon as possible after 6 December 1922 in order that it may not go forth to the world that we had the slightest hesitation 26 On 7 December 1922 the day after the establishment of the Irish Free State the Houses of the Parliament of Northern Ireland resolved to make the following address to the King so as to exercise the rights conferred on Northern Ireland under Article 12 of the Treaty 27 MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN We your Majesty s most dutiful and loyal subjects the Senators and Commons of Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled having learnt of the passing of the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922 being the Act of Parliament for the ratification of the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland do by this humble Address pray your Majesty that the powers of the Parliament and Government of the Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland The King received it the following day 28 These steps cemented Northern Ireland s legal separation from the Irish Free State In Irish republican legitimist theory the Treaty was illegitimate and could not be approved According to this theory the Second Dail did not dissolve and members of the Republican Government remained as the legitimate government of the Irish Republic declared in 1919 Adherents to this theory rejected the legitimacy of both the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland The report of Boundary Commission in 1925 established under the Treaty did not lead to any alteration in the border Within Northern Ireland the Nationalist Party was an organisational successor to the Home Rule Movement and advocated the end of partition It had a continuous presence in the Northern Ireland Parliament from 1921 to 1972 but was in permanent opposition to the UUP government A new Constitution of Ireland was proposed by Eamon de Valera in 1937 and approved by the voters of the Irish Free State thereafter simply Ireland Articles 2 and 3 of this Constitution claimed the whole island of Ireland as the national territory while claiming legal jurisdiction only over the previous territory of the Irish Free State Article 2 The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland its islands and the territorial seas Article 3 Pending the re integration of the national territory and without prejudice to the right of the parliament and government established by this constitution to exercise jurisdiction over the whole territory the laws enacted by the parliament shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws of Saorstat Eireann and the like extra territorial effect Article 15 2 allowed for the creation or recognition of subordinate legislatures and for the powers and functions of these legislatures which would have allowed for the continuation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland within a unitary Irish state 29 In 1946 former Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the Irish High Commissioner to the United Kingdom I said a few words in Parliament the other day about your country because I still hope for a United Ireland You must get those fellows in the north in though you can t do it by force There is not and never was any bitterness in my heart towards your country He later said You know I have had many invitations to visit Ulster but I have refused them all I don t want to go there at all I would much rather go to southern Ireland Maybe I ll buy another horse with an entry in the Irish Derby 30 Under the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 Ireland declared that the country may officially be described as the Republic of Ireland and that the President of Ireland had the executive authority of the state in its external relations This was treated by the British Commonwealth as ending Irish membership In response the United Kingdom passed the Ireland Act 1949 Section 1 2 of this act affirmed the provision in the Treaty that the position of Ireland remained a matter for the Parliament of Northern Ireland It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland remains part of His Majesty s dominions and of the United Kingdom and it is hereby affirmed that in no event will Northern Ireland or any part thereof cease to be part of His Majesty s dominions and of the United Kingdom without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Between 1956 and 1962 the IRA engaged in a border campaign against British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary outposts with the aim of ending British rule in Northern Ireland This coincided with brief electoral success of Sinn Fein which won four seats at the 1957 Irish general election This was its first electoral success since 1927 and it did not win seats in the Republic of Ireland again until 1997 The border campaign was entirely unsuccessful in its aims In 1957 Prime Minister Harold Macmillan wrote that I do not think that a United Ireland with de Valera as a kind of Irish Nehru would do us much good Let us stand by our friends 31 Calls for unification start of the Troubles Edit See also The Troubles and Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland civil rights movement emerged in 1967 to campaign for civil rights for Catholics in Northern Ireland Tensions between republican and loyalist groups in the north erupted into outright violence in the late 1960s In 1968 the Irish Taoiseach Jack Lynch raised the issue of partition in London It has been the aim of my government and its predecessors to promote the reunification of Ireland by fostering a spirit of brotherhood among all sections of the Irish people The clashes in the streets of Derry are an expression of the evils which partition has brought in its train He later stated to the press that the ending of partition would be a just and inevitable solution to the problems of Northern Ireland 32 Lynch renewed his call to end partition in August 1969 when he proposed negotiations with Britain with the hope of merging the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland into a federal type state Lynch proposed that the two parliaments continue to function with a Council of Ireland having authority over the entire country The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland James Chichester Clark rejected the proposal 33 In August 1971 Lynch proposed that the Government of Northern Ireland Stormont be replaced with an administration that would share power with Catholics The next day the Northern Prime Minister Brian Faulkner rejected Lynch s statement and stated that no further attempt by us to deal constructively with the present Dublin government is possible 34 Later in 1971 British Labour Party leader and future Prime Minister Harold Wilson proposed a plan that would lead to a united Ireland after a 15 year transitional period He called for the establishment of a commission that would examine the possibility of creating a united Ireland which would be agreed upon by all three parliaments The northern Prime Minister rejected the proposal and reiterated the desire that Northern Ireland remain an integral part of the United Kingdom The Irish Taoiseach indicated the possibility of amending the Irish constitution to accommodate the Protestants of Northern Ireland and urged the British government to declare its interest in encouraging the unity of Ireland 35 In 1969 the British government deployed troops in what would become the longest continuous deployment in British military history Operation Banner The Provisional Irish Republican Army IRA had begun a thirty year campaign against British security forces with the aim of winning a united Ireland 36 In 1970 the Social Democratic and Labour Party SDLP was established to campaign for civil rights and a united Ireland by peaceful constitutional means The party rose to be the dominant party representing the nationalist community until the early twenty first century In 1972 the parliament of Northern Ireland was suspended and under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 it was formally abolished Section 1 of the 1973 Act stated It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland remains part of Her Majesty s dominions and of the United Kingdom and it is hereby affirmed that in no event will Northern Ireland or any part of it cease to be part of Her Majesty s dominions and of the United Kingdom without the consent of the majority of the people of Northern Ireland voting in a poll held for the purposes of this section in accordance with Schedule 1 to this Act A border poll was held in Northern Ireland in 1973 The SDLP and Sinn Fein called for a boycott of the poll 98 9 of votes cast supported remaining part of the United Kingdom accounting for 57 5 of the overall electorate 37 In 1983 the Irish government led by Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald established the New Ireland Forum as a consultation on a new Ireland Though all parties in Ireland were invited the only ones to attend were Fine Gael Fianna Fail the Labour Party and the SDLP Its report considered three options a unitary state i e a united Ireland a federal confederal state and joint sovereignty These options were rejected by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher In 1985 the governments of Ireland and of the United Kingdom signed the Anglo Irish Agreement the British government accepted an advisory role for the Irish government in the future of Northern Ireland Article 1 of the Agreement stated that the future constitutional position of Northern Ireland would be a matter for the people of Northern Ireland The two Governments a affirm that any change in the status of Northern Ireland would only come about with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland b recognise that the present wish of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland is for no change in the status of Northern Ireland c declare that if in the future a majority of the people of Northern Ireland clearly wish for and formally consent to the establishment of a united Ireland they will introduce and support in the respective Parliaments legislation to give effect to that wish 38 In the Downing Street Declaration Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and Prime Minister John Major issued a joint statement in which Major reiterated on behalf of the British Government that they have no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland 39 Good Friday Agreement Edit The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 was a culmination of the peace process The agreement acknowledged nationalism and unionism as equally legitimate political aspirations 40 In the Northern Ireland Assembly all members would designate as Unionist Nationalist or Other and certain measures would require cross community support The agreement was signed by the governments of Ireland and of the United Kingdom In Northern Ireland it was supported by all parties who were in the Northern Ireland Forum with the exception of the Democratic Unionist Party and the UK Unionist Party and it was supported by all parties in the Oireachtas It was also opposed by dissident republicans including Republican Sinn Fein and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement It was approved in referendums in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland Included in the Agreement were provisions which became part of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on the form of a future referendum on a united Ireland In essence the Belfast Good Friday Agreement provided the opportunity for self determination and mutual respect Those born in Northern Ireland could identify as Irish British or both and would be entitled to hold a passport from both or either country The freedom of movement allowed citizens of either jurisdiction to live in which ever part of the island they wanted therby enabling them to choose which state they paid taxes to or claimed benefits from The Two state solution advocated for conflict resolution in other jurisdictions therefore applied Provision within the Agreement allows for a simple majority to vote in favour of Irish Unification but does nothing to explain how the dissolution of the two state solution leads to a peaceful and prosperous new country when potentially 13 of the new country are forced into it against their will and have no allegiance to it nor incentive for it to succeed A fear of political civil and economic turmoil and a lack of protection for minority rights as experienced by the Catholic community in Northern Ireland and the Protestant community in the Republic of Ireland historically is a key driver towards the desire for the maintenance of the status quo on both sides of the border Section 1 Status of Northern Ireland It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland in its entirety remains part of the United Kingdom and shall not cease to be so without the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland voting in a poll held for the purposes of this section in accordance with Schedule 1 But if the wish expressed by a majority in such a poll is that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland the Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament such proposals to give effect to that wish as may be agreed between Her Majesty s Government in the United Kingdom and the Government of Ireland Schedule 1 The Secretary of State may by order direct the holding of a poll for the purposes of section 1 on a date specified in the order Subject to paragraph 3 the Secretary of State shall exercise the power under paragraph 1 if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland The Secretary of State shall not make an order under paragraph 1 earlier than seven years after the holding of a previous poll under this Schedule 19 On the establishment of the institutions in 1999 Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland were amended to read Article 2 It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland which includes its islands and seas to be part of the Irish nation That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland Furthermore the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage Article 3 It is the firm will of the Irish nation in harmony and friendship to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland in all the diversity of their identities and traditions recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people democratically expressed in both jurisdictions in the island Until then the laws enacted by the Parliament established by this Constitution shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws enacted by the Parliament that existed immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution Institutions with executive powers and functions that are shared between those jurisdictions may be established by their respective responsible authorities for stated purposes and may exercise powers and functions in respect of all or any part of the island Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol Edit Further information Brexit and the Irish border and Northern Ireland Protocol Voting on the Brexit referendum in Northern Ireland Leave RemainIn a referendum in June 2016 England and Wales voted to leave the European Union The majority of those voting in Northern Ireland and in Scotland however voted for the UK to remain 41 Of the parties in the Assembly only the Democratic Unionist Party DUP the Traditional Unionist Voice TUV and People Before Profit PBP had campaigned for a Leave vote Irish politicians began the discussion regarding possible changes to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland 42 The status and treatment of Northern Ireland and Gibraltar the only parts of the United Kingdom which would have new land borders with the EU following the UK withdrawal became important to the negotiations along with access to the regional development assistance scheme and new funding thereof from the European Union Sinn Fein cited these concerns as the basis for new discussion on a united Ireland 43 These calls were rejected by the British government and Unionist politicians with Theresa Villiers arguing that there was no evidence that opinion in Northern Ireland had shifted towards being in favour of a united Ireland 44 In the 2017 Assembly election the DUP lost ten seats and came just one seat ahead of Sinn Fein 45 Sinn Fein used this opportunity to call for a Northern Ireland referendum on a united Ireland 46 47 The Brexit Secretary David Davis confirmed to Mark Durkan the SDLP MP for Foyle that in the event of Northern Ireland becoming part of a united Ireland Northern Ireland would be in a position of becoming part of an existing EU member state rather than seeking to join the EU as a new independent state 48 Enda Kenny pointed to the provisions that allowed East Germany to join the West and the EEC during the reunification of Germany as a precedent 11 In April 2017 the European Council acknowledged that in the event of Irish unification the entire territory of such a united Ireland would be part of the European Union 49 The SDLP manifesto for the 2017 UK general election called for a referendum on a united Ireland after the UK withdraws from the EU 50 However the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the time James Brokenshire said the conditions for a vote are not remotely satisfied 51 After the 2017 election the UK government was reliant on confidence and supply from the Democratic Unionist Party The deal supported the Conservative led government through the Brexit negotiation process 52 The 2020 Brexit withdrawal agreement included the Northern Ireland Protocol which established different trade rules for the territory than Great Britain While Northern Ireland would de jure leave the single market it would still enforce all EU customs rules while Britain would diverge This would result in a regulatory border in the Irish Sea rather than a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and caused fears from unionist politicians about Brexit causing a weakening of the UK 53 Johnson and Macron meet during Brexit negotiations 2019The new UK prime minister Boris Johnson continued to claim no trade border would take form as late as August 2020 despite having negotiated its creation 54 Dominic Cummings later claimed that Johnson did not understand the deal at the time it was signed while Ian Paisley Jr claimed that Johnson had privately promised to tear up the deal after it was agreed 55 In September Johnson sought to unilaterally dis apply parts of the Northern Ireland protocol despite acknowledging that this broke international law 56 The bill was rejected by the House of Lords resulting in several provisions being withdrawn before it passed in December 2020 shortly before the protocol was due to come into effect The implementation of the protocol and the new regulatory hurdles had a negative effect on east west trade and drew strong condemnation from unionist figures including DUP members such as First Minister Arlene Foster 57 58 Staff making the required checks were threatened resulting in a temporary suspension of checks at Larne and Belfast ports 59 In February 2021 several unionist parties began a legal challenge alleging that the protocol violated the Act of Union 1800 the bill which had originally merged Ireland with the United Kingdom as well as the Good Friday Agreement 60 The challenge was dismissed in June with the court deciding that the protocol and other legislation in the intervening 200 years had effectively repealed parts of the Act of Union 61 On 4 March the Loyalist Communities Council withdrew its support for the peace agreement while indicating that opposition to it should not be in the form of violence 62 Riots erupted in loyalist areas at the end of the month continuing until 9 April The protocol s implementation and opposition within the DUP resulted in the announcement of Foster s resignation on 28 April 63 The Irish Times interviewed loyalist Shankill Road residents that month and found significant anger at the DUP and accusations that the community had been sold short on the protocol 64 Foster was replaced by Paul Givan later that year though he too resigned in February 2022 over the continued existence of the protocol 65 The UK government sought to re negotiate the protocol a prospect poorly received by EU leaders such as Emmanuel Macron 66 When discussing the effects of the protocol in June 2021 Leo Varadkar outlined a vision for a united Irish state with devolved representation in the North He added It should be part of our mission as a party to work towards it 67 Talks aimed at amending the customs checks required by the protocol began in October though Maros Sefcovic indicated that the protocol itself will not be re negotiated 68 In December the UK s chief negotiator Lord Frost resigned his post over concerns about the current direction of travel 69 These negotiations ultimately resulted in the Windsor Framework which offered Northern Ireland access to both markets The Framework was supported by Sinn Fein but not the DUP 70 Political positions on a united Ireland Edit Leinster Connacht Ulster Munsterclass notpageimage Provinces of Ireland Within the Northern Ireland Assembly MLAs designate as Unionist Nationalist or Other The DUP 25 seats the UUP 9 seats the TUV 1 seat and the Independent MLAs Claire Sugden and Alex Easton are designated as Unionist Sinn Fein which won 27 seats in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election and the SDLP 8 seats are designated as Nationalist the Alliance Party 17 seats and PBP 1 seat are designated as Other 71 However People Before Profit are in favour of Irish Unity 72 73 There are a number of minor nationalist parties including the Irish Republican Socialist Party which supports a united socialist Irish state and is affiliated with the Irish National Liberation Army Another such party Republican Sinn Fein linked to the Continuity IRA maintain the Irish republican legitimist theory that neither state in Ireland is legitimate Its Eire Nua in English New Ireland policy advocates a unified federal state with regional governments for the four provinces and the national capital in Athlone None of these parties has significant electoral support 74 Within the Oireachtas there has traditionally been broad support for a united Ireland with differences over the twentieth century on how it would be achieved This includes Sinn Fein which has had seats in the Dail since 1997 The initial party constitution of Fianna Fail in 1926 under Eamon de Valera included as the first of its aims To secure the Unity and Independence of Ireland as a Republic 75 In 1937 de Valera proposed the Constitution of Ireland which laid claim to the whole island of Ireland In the 1980s led by Charles Haughey the party opposed the consideration of options other than a unitary state in the New Ireland Forum Report and opposed the Anglo Irish Agreement this stance led in part to the Des O Malley and Mary Harney leaving Fianna Fail and establishing the Progressive Democrats a party that lasted from 1985 to 2008 Fianna Fail leaders Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern led Irish governments in favour of the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday Agreement respectively When formed in 1933 Fine Gael initially used the subtitle United Ireland Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald convened the New Ireland Forum in 1983 and negotiated the Anglo Irish Agreement In the aftermath of the vote on Brexit Enda Kenny sought assurances on the position of Northern Ireland in the case of a united Ireland 11 The Irish Labour Party has adopted a similar approach to Fine Gael in government to a united Ireland 76 In a survey of TDs conducted by TheJournal ie on support for a border poll and a united Ireland conducted in December 2016 only TDs from the Anti Austerity Alliance now Solidarity stated they were opposed to a united Ireland at the present moment 77 Of the British parties the Conservative Party is explicitly unionist it has formally been called the Conservative and Unionist Party since a merger with the Liberal Unionist Party in 1912 The UUP was affiliated with the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations until 1985 The Northern Ireland Conservatives are a minor unionist party in Northern Ireland Historically there has been support for a united Ireland within the left of the British Labour Party and in the 1980s it became official policy to support a united Ireland by consent 78 The policy of unity by consent continued into the 1990s eventually being replaced by a policy of neutrality in line with the Downing Street Declaration 79 The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn supports a united Ireland although he has said that it is up for the Irish people to decide whether to remain part of the UK 80 They do not organise electorally in Northern Ireland respecting the SDLP as their sister party within the Party of European Socialists Similarly the Liberal Democrats co operate with the Alliance Party and share their support of the Good Friday Agreement while expressing reservations about what they perceive as institutionalised sectarianism in the agreement Former Alliance leader Lord Alderdice is a member of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords One supporter of a United Ireland in the Liberal Democrats was Michael Meadowcroft MP for Leeds West between 1983 and 1987 81 Potential referendum time and criteria EditTimescale proposals Edit In 2020 Ireland Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that a referendum on Irish unity should not be held for 5 years adding once Brexit happened it should not be a catalyst for something like a border poll I thought that would be too divisive and would only exacerbate the tensions there because of Brexit itself 82 In 2020 Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said Let s have an All Ireland Forum on Unity to plan for all aspects of reunification including a referendum by 2025 83 In 2022 she said a referendum would be possible within 5 years 84 In March 2023 she said she expects a referendum on Irish unity within a decade 85 In August 2021 Gerry Adams told the Irish Government that it should begin planning for a border poll and that one could happen within three years 86 First minister elect Michelle O Neill launched Sinn Fein s manifesto at the Canal Court Hotel in Newry on 9 March 2023 which was a 16 page document including a commitment to set a date on a unity referendum 87 In 2022 DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has said that Northern Ireland does not need a border poll at all and that it would be divisive 88 Criteria Edit In May 2022 Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the criteria for a referendum had not yet been met and also called for clarity on the mechanism for a border poll Michelle O Neill also called for clarity on the criteria for a referendum 89 In September 2022 Northern Ireland shadow secretary Peter Kyle of the Labour party said that he would set out border poll criteria 90 In the May 2023 Northern Ireland local elections the three largest unionist parties received over 38 per cent of the vote and the parties in favour of a united Ireland received 41 per cent of the vote Jeffrey Donaldson suggested that the criteria for a border poll had not been met because unionists had more seats This however is only true when excluding pro irish unity independents and People Before Profit When asked about the criteria Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton Harris said that those interested need to read the Belfast Good Friday Agreement it ll give you a good clue 91 In June 2023 UUP leader Doug Beattie also suggested that the criteria has not been met for a border poll He added that restoration of the executive would halt a swing in support of Sinn Fein and a United Ireland 92 Ian Paisley jr suggested that support to unify Ireland is not adequate and that should a vote come about a supermajority and a turnout quota should be required for a border poll 93 John Major has also called upon the UK government to spell out the criteria for a border poll 94 Northern Ireland opinion polling EditThis graph shows yes no Irish re unification poll results excluding non standard questions such as those that may refer to additional factors The phrasing of the question asked in the polls varies Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues 21st century opinion polls conducted in Northern Ireland Date Polling organisation client Sample size Yes No Undecided Will not vote Lead Notes5 September 20 November 2022 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey 95 96 1 405 35 47 10 4 12 17 August 2022 15 October 2022 ARINS The Irish Times 97 98 1 009 27 50 23 23 August 2022 LucidTalk 99 3 384 41 48 11 7 May 2022 Life amp Times 1 397 34 48 11 4 14 April 2022 University of Liverpool The Irish News 100 1 000 101 31 9 48 2 19 8 16 3 November 2021 Lord Ashcroft 3 301 102 41 49 8 8 October 2021 University of Liverpool 103 1 002 104 30 59 9 2 29 August 2021 LucidTalk 105 2 403 106 42 49 9 7 June 2021 Life amp Times 107 108 30 53 9 5 23 May 2021 Belfast Telegraph Kantar 109 35 44 21 9 April 2021 LucidTalk 110 43 49 8 6 February 2021 Savanta ComRes ITV News 111 36 49 15 13 January 2021 The Sunday Times 112 113 42 47 11 5 February 2020 LucidTalk 114 45 47 8 2 February 2020 Liverpool University 115 29 52 19 23 September 2019 Lord Ashcroft 116 1 542 46 45 9 1 If there was a border poll tomorrow how would you vote March 2019 Irish Times Ipsos Mori 117 32 45 23 13 June 2018 Lord Ashcroft 118 44 49 7 5 June 2018 NILT 119 120 22 55 10 12 33 May 2018 LucidTalk YouGov BBC 121 122 123 42 45 12 7 0 2 3 May 2018 ICM 21 50 18 9 9 7 29 October 2017 LucidTalk 124 125 34 55 9 8 1 1 21 July 2017 ESRC 126 27 52 21 25 August 2016 Ipsos Mori 127 22 63 13 2 41 Voters aged 18 January 2013 Spotlight 128 17 65 5 12 48 Voters aged 18 Notes The Good Friday Agreement states that the Secretary of State should call a referendum if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland 129 Non standard questions Edit Date Polling organisation client Yes No Undecided Will not vote Lead Non standard questionAugust 2022 LucidTalk 99 52 44 4 8 If a referendum was held in 15 20 years time October 2020 LucidTalk 130 35 34 26 1 a Reference to healthcare provisionSeptember 2018 OFOC Deltapoll 131 52 39 9 13 Imagine now that the UK decided to LEAVE the EU December 2017 LucidTalk 132 133 48 45 6 0 7 3 In the context of a hard Brexit Poll from LucidTalk referred to specific question on the NHS as an issue Public opinion EditNorthern Ireland Edit Map of predominant national identity in the 2011 census in Northern IrelandHistorically opinion polls of the Northern Ireland population consistently showed majorities opposed to a United Ireland and in support of Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom For example in a November 2015 survey by RTE and the BBC 30 of the population expressed support for a United Ireland in their lifetime with 43 opposed and 27 undecided However when asked about the status of Northern Ireland in the short to medium term support for unity was lower at around 13 of the population 134 The 2013 annual Northern Ireland Life and Times survey conducted by the Queen s University Belfast and Ulster University found that a united Ireland was the favoured long term option of 15 of the population while remaining part of the United Kingdom was the favoured long term option of 66 of the population 135 When the same survey was carried out in 2015 support was 22 136 In 1973 the population of Northern Ireland was granted a referendum on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom or join with the Republic of Ireland to form a united Ireland The result was 98 9 in favour of union with the rest of the UK but the poll was overwhelmingly boycotted by nationalists and the turnout was therefore 58 7 The pro UK vote did however represent 57 5 of the entire electorate notwithstanding the boycott 137 138 Provisions for future referendums were included in the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Act 1998 Many Unionist Protestants in Northern Ireland argue they have a distinct identity that would be overwhelmed in a united Ireland They cite the decline of the small Protestant population of the Republic of Ireland since independence from the United Kingdom the economic cost of unification their place in a key international player within the UK and their mainly non Irish ancestry Unionist people in Northern Ireland primarily find their cultural and ethnic identity from the Scottish and English planters colonists whose descendants can be found in the three counties of Ulster which are governed by the Republic of Ireland Such individuals celebrate their Scots heritage each year like their counterparts in the other six counties While Catholics in general consider themselves to be Irish Protestants generally see themselves as British as shown by several studies and surveys performed between 1971 and 2006 139 140 141 142 143 144 Many Protestants do not consider themselves as primarily Irish as many Irish nationalists do but rather within the context of an Ulster or British identity A 1999 survey showed that a little over half of Protestants felt Not at all Irish while the rest felt Irish in varying degrees 142 A 2011 survey by Northern Ireland Life and Times found that 52 of Northern Irish Catholic respondents favoured union with Great Britain over a united Ireland 145 146 This is despite the fact that most Catholics who vote do so for political parties that are Nationalist Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues Do you think the long term policy for Northern Ireland should be for it 147 to reunify with the rest of Ireland to be an independent state Other Don t know to remain part of the United Kingdom with devolved government to remain part of the United Kingdom with direct rule since 2007 148 to remain part of the United Kingdom unspecified until 2006 15 According to a 2015 opinion poll 70 expressed a long term preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland s membership of the United Kingdom either directly ruled or with devolved government while 14 express a preference for membership of a united Ireland 149 This discrepancy can be explained by the overwhelming preference among Protestants to remain a part of the UK 93 while Catholic preferences are spread across a number of solutions to the constitutional question including remaining a part of the UK 47 a united Ireland 32 Northern Ireland becoming an independent state 4 and those who don t know 16 149 Since the 2016 Brexit vote support for reunification has increased with 22 of respondents favourable towards reunification up from 17 in 2013 136 43 of Catholics would now back reunification up from 35 in 2013 According to this survey support for a referendum stands at 53 of Catholic respondents compared to 28 of Protestant respondents A poll in May 2017 found that 51 were in favour of holding a referendum on a united Ireland within the next five years 150 In October 2017 a poll found that 62 percent were in favour of having a referendum on a united Ireland within the next ten years The same poll found that 55 percent of those asked would vote to remain within the United Kingdom if a referendum was held tomorrow while 34 percent said they would vote yes and 10 percent were undecided 151 152 The poll also asked how those asked would vote in the event of a hard Brexit that was bad for Northern Ireland and a soft Brexit that was good for Northern Ireland but the undecided were excluded In the event of the latter 62 84 percent would vote to remain in the UK while 37 14 would vote for a United Ireland In the case of the former 53 57 percent said they would vote to remain in the United Kingdom while 46 43 would vote to leave it and have a United Ireland 153 In December 2017 an opinion poll carried out by LucidTalk on more than 2 000 people saw 48 of respondents willing to vote for a united Ireland if a border poll was held in the event of a hard Brexit against 45 for maintaining the status quo 154 6 of respondents were undecided and less than 1 of respondents stated that they would not vote A Lord Ashcroft poll with 1 542 people questioned online from 30 August to 2 September 2019 found 46 of the respondents would vote for leaving the Union and joining the Republic of Ireland and 45 would vote to stay in the UK The other respondents would not vote or didn t know 155 156 Assorted opinion polls Edit An opinion poll of 1 089 people conducted by LucidTalk in 2014 around the time of the Scottish referendum posed several questions On the question of whether or not there should be a border poll 47 said yes 37 no and 16 don t know 157 On the question If a referendum on Irish Unity was called under the Good Friday Agreement would you vote Yes for unity as soon as possible Yes for unity in 20 years or No for Northern Ireland to remain as it is the results were as follows 157 158 Answer All persons Religion Age bandProtestant Catholic 18 24 25 44 45 64 65 Yes for unity as soon as possible 5 7 1 8 9 8 12 2 5 5 3 8 3 3 Yes for unity in 20 years 24 0 9 6 39 5 27 8 26 6 23 0 19 7 No for Northern Ireland to remain as it is 44 1 57 8 20 7 36 6 38 0 45 6 53 9 No opinion would not vote 26 3 30 8 30 1 23 4 29 9 27 6 23 0 In 2016 an Ipsos MORI poll asked If there was a referendum on the border tomorrow would you and the answers for different regions of Northern Ireland were as follows 127 Belfast City Greater Belfast Down Armagh Tyrone Fermanagh Derry AntrimVote to stay in the United Kingdom 65 77 57 50 51 53 72 Vote for Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom 17 10 27 41 28 28 17 Don t know 17 10 13 7 19 16 6 Would not vote 0 3 3 2 2 2 6 The same poll recorded answers from people in different age groups as follows 159 Age band 18 24 25 34 35 44 45 54 55 64 65 Vote to stay in the United Kingdom 67 63 51 57 60 77 Vote for Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom 19 19 30 28 22 14 Don t know 12 15 18 13 13 7 Would not vote 2 3 1 2 6 2 Answers from people of different religious backgrounds were as follows 127 Answer Community backgroundProtestant Catholic NeitherVote to stay in the United Kingdom 88 37 51 Vote for Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom 5 43 15 Don t know 5 17 30 Would not vote 2 2 4 A similar LucidTalk poll conducted in May 2017 found that 51 of people would be in favour of a border poll within the next five years while 39 would not and 10 did not know Respondents were not asked how they would vote in such a poll 160 A LucidTalk opinion poll of 1 334 Northern Irish residents conducted in Oct Nov 2018 found majority support 60 for Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom if the UK were to remain an EU member state an even split 48 each if the UK were to leave the EU on the terms negotiated between the British Government and the EU and majority support 55 for Northern Ireland unifying with the Irish republic if the UK left the EU under a no deal scenario 161 Assuming a NI border referendum occurred in 2019 say shortly after the Brexit date March What way do you think you would vote according to the following scenarios Based on the UK Government s current EU withdrawal agreement Based on a no deal i e if the UK Government s EU withdrawal agreement is defeated in the UK parliament and no new deal is negotiated with the EU EU withdrawal doesn t happen i e UK remains in the EU T May has said this is a possible outcome if the UK Government s EU withdrawal agreement is defeated in the UK parliament NI to remain in UK I m 100 certain 39 38 47 NI to remain in UK My probable vote but I m not certain 9 4 13 Don t know not sure at this point 4 3 11 NI to leave the UK and join a UI My probable vote but I m not certain 18 7 8 NI to leave the UK and join a UI I m 100 certain 30 48 21 Polling was carried out during 80 hours from 30 Nov 2018 to 3 Dec 2018 from an online opinion panel demographically representative of Northern Ireland balanced by gender age group area of residence and community background from 1 334 complete valid and unique responses Data were weighted by age sex socio economic group previous voting patterns constituency constitutional position party support and religious affiliation and are accurate to a margin of error of 3 0 at 95 confidence Polling was carried out by LucidTalk a Belfast based polling company and member of all recognised professional polling and market research organisations including the UK MRS BPC and ESOMAR In the Republic of Ireland Edit RED C Sunday Times poll carried out in 2010 in the Republic of Ireland 162 There are some very small pressure groups in the Republic of Ireland such as the Reform Group and lodges of the Orange Order that are sympathetic to Northern Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future but their impact on the broader political opinion is negligible A minority of politically conservative Catholic writers from the Republic of Ireland such as Mary Kenny and Desmond Fennell have expressed misgivings about a united Ireland fearing the incorporation of a large number of Protestants would threaten what they see as the Catholic nature of the Republic 163 A Red C Sunday Times poll in 2010 found that 57 are in favour of a united Ireland 22 say they are opposed while 21 are undecided 164 In October 2015 an opinion poll commissioned by RTE and the BBC and carried out by Behaviour amp Attitudes asked those in the Republic of Ireland the question There are a number of possible options for the constitutional status of Northern Ireland In the short to medium term do you think Northern Ireland should with the following responses 165 In the short to medium term do you think Northern Ireland should ProportionRemain part of the UK with direct rule from Westminster 9 Remain part of the UK with a devolved assembly and Executive in Northern Ireland the current situation 35 Unify with the rest of Ireland 36 Other 1 None of these 2 Don t know 17 The same poll also asked Thinking of the long term policy for Northern Ireland would you like to see a united Ireland in your lifetime with the following responses 166 Would you like to see a united Ireland in your lifetime ProportionYes would like to see a united Ireland in my lifetime 66 No would not like to see a united Ireland in my lifetime 14 Don t know 20 The poll then asked a further question concerning the influence of the tax consequences of a united Ireland on support for it 167 Would you be in favour or against a united Ireland if it meant You would have to pay less tax There would be no change in the amount of tax you pay You would have to pay more taxIn favour of a united Ireland 73 63 31 Against a united Ireland 8 14 44 Don t know 18 24 25 In December 2016 RTE s Claire Byrne Live Amarach Research panel asked Is it time for a united Ireland Forty six percent of those asked said yes while 32 said no and 22 said that they didn t know Support was highest among those aged 25 34 with 54 saying yes 168 In May 2019 an RTE REDC exit poll at the 2019 elections found that 65 of respondents are in favour of a united Ireland whereas 19 were against it 169 An Irish Times Ipsos MRBI poll published in December 2021 indicated broad support for Irish unity in the Republic of Ireland with 62 saying they would vote in favour while just 16 opposed and 13 saying they don t know 170 8 say they would not vote 170 In Great Britain Edit A 2019 poll by Ipsos Mori and King s College London asked people in Britain England Scotland and Wales If there were to be a referendum in Northern Ireland on its future would you personally prefer Northern Ireland to choose to stay in the UK or leave the UK and join the Republic of Ireland The responses revealed that 36 wanted Northern Ireland to stay in the UK 19 wanted it to join the Republic 36 had no preference and 9 were undecided 171 It further revealed that support for Northern Ireland remaining in the UK was highest among those who intended to vote Conservative 49 compared to 35 for Labour voters and 31 for Liberal Democrat voters 171 See also Edit Ireland portalDemography of Northern Ireland Politics of Northern Ireland Irish nationalism Protestant Irish nationalists Scottish independence Welsh independence English independence Northern Irish independence Potential breakup of the United KingdomReferences Edit Merrick Rob 2 August 2017 United Ireland referendum is inevitable after Brexit says Irish parliamentary report author The Independent Archived from the original on 2 August 2017 Meagher Kevin 9 January 2018 A United Ireland Is Five Years Away We Need To Start Planning For It Now HuffPost UK Archived from the original on 9 January 2018 O Toole Fintan 15 August 2017 United Ireland will not be based on 50 per cent plus one The Irish Times Archived from the original on 7 March 2018 Retrieved 6 March 2018 CAIN Politics An Outline of the Main Political Solutions to the Conflict Archived 9 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine United Ireland Definition Tonge Jonathan 2013 Northern Ireland Conflict and 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2010 Archived from the original on 24 December 2013 Retrieved 21 December 2013 Behaviour amp Attitudes Poll page 402 PDF BBC 16 October 2015 Archived PDF from the original on 9 January 2016 Retrieved 12 November 2015 Behaviour amp Attitudes Poll page 406 PDF BBC 16 October 2015 Archived PDF from the original on 9 January 2016 Retrieved 12 November 2015 Behaviour amp Attitudes Poll page 410 PDF BBC 16 October 2015 Archived PDF from the original on 9 January 2016 Retrieved 12 November 2015 Byrne Claire 16 December 2016 Sinn Fein s Santa List RTE ie Archived from the original on 20 December 2016 Retrieved 1 May 2017 McMorrow Connor 25 May 2019 Exit poll indicates strong support for Irish language www rte ie Archived from the original on 6 June 2019 Retrieved 11 August 2019 a b Leahy Pat 12 December 2021 Large majority of voters favour a united Ireland poll finds The Irish Times Retrieved 12 December 2021 a b One in three Britons would mind if Northern Ireland voted to leave the UK poll finds Ipsos MORI Archived from the original on 3 April 2019 Retrieved 3 April 2019 Further reading EditGeoffrey Bell Troublesome Business the Labour Party and the Irish Question Pluto Press London 1982 ISBN 0861043731 Ronan Fanning Independent Ireland Helicon Dublin 1983 Bob Rowthorn and Naomi Wayne Northern Ireland The Political Economy of Conflict Polity Press Cambridge 1988 ISBN 0745605354 Daltun o Ceallaigh Labour Nationalism and Irish Freedom Leirmheas Dublin 1991 ISBN 0951877704 Vincent J Delacy Ryan Ireland Restored The New Self Determination Freedom House New York 1991 ISBN 0932088597 David McKittrick Through the Minefield Belfast Blackstaff Press 1999 ISBN 085640652X Patrick J Roche and Brian Barton The Northern Ireland Question Nationalism Unionism and Partition Ashgate Aldershot 1999 ISBN 1840144904 Catherine O Donnell Fianna Fail Irish Republicanism and the Northern Ireland Troubles 1968 2005 Irish Academic Press Dublin 2007 ISBN 9780716528593 Richard Humphreys Countdown to Unity Debating Irish Reunification Irish Academic Press Dublin 2008 ISBN 9780716533474 Kevin Meagher A United Ireland Why Unification Is Inevitable and How It Will Come About Biteback Publishing 2016 ISBN 9781785901720 McGuinness Seamus Bergin Adele 2020 The political economy of a Northern Ireland border poll Cambridge Journal of Economics 44 4 781 812 doi 10 1093 cje beaa007 Portals Ireland Northern Ireland Politics United Kingdom Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title United Ireland amp oldid 1171162323, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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