Irish Current Affairs.

mancity2012_eamo said:
No. Thanks for that Alex. Quite informative.
I do agree that currently I would still expect a majority in The North to vote to remain in the Union (UK), but then again the majority voted to stay in the Union (EU) so as you say the fallout of Brexit would have to be assessed.
Regarding church influence in the south, that's gone and it's not coming back.
I don't believe a border poll in the current climate would be a wise move. There would be a lot down south like me that think it would be too divisive and would need EU economical backing, because we couldn't afford it. But it would be hard to vote against a 32 county Ireland down here. There is still not just that ideology in some but a strong sense of guilt in others for having left those behind in 1923 that led to what was probably inevitable afterwards.
Click to expand...

What i wanted to ask is, regardless of affordability, would you say the majority of the South want a 32 county Ireland?

Ive read a research paper suggesting a United Ireland would bring a lot of money and therefore very affordable....plus, i think support from the EU and the USA would make it worthwhile.
 
AlexWilliamsGloves said:
What i wanted to ask is, regardless of affordability, would you say the majority of the South want a 32 county Ireland?

Ive read a research paper suggesting a United Ireland would bring a lot of money and therefore very affordable....plus, i think support from the EU and the USA would make it worthwhile.
Click to expand...
Most recent polling.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.in...-in-the-border-region-says-poll-38014834.html
Not quite a super majority but could easily pass that on the day. Don't think economics would be the primary factor either.
 
AlexWilliamsGloves said:
What i wanted to ask is, regardless of affordability, would you say the majority of the South want a 32 county Ireland?

Ive read a research paper suggesting a United Ireland would bring a lot of money and therefore very affordable....plus, i think support from the EU and the USA would make it worthwhile.
Click to expand...
Well I would say yes and I did qualify the economical requirement of aid from the EU, which may well be forth coming.
It's the natural instinct I suppose and when you look at the economy of the whole of the island it does seem to be the most fluent way for the whole island to prosper.
You can't wish away 700 years of history though and if you want it to be permanent then I really do think that a lot of thought from both sides would have to go into how past transgressions could be come to terms with.
This is why I feel quite strongly about the disregard some show for the GFA making out like we hold it in some kind of sanctity based on little more than previous concepts amongst both communities. It's not it's a breathing space if nothing else whereby your kids can grow up knowing nothing but peace and hopefully a few generations of this can then go about deciding for themselves on non-bigoted non-sectarian (because let's face it Catholic/Protestant is redundant nowadays) purely logical grounds, for how they choose to go forward.

It needs time and I don't think immediately in the aftermath of Brexit would be a good time no matter what the outcome was.
The talk is always about nationalist threat of violence, but the initial threat never started there and the current loyalists element still wouldn't entertain any democratic vote that ended up with a United Ireland.

It's a tough one Alex. With or without a 32 county Ireland I hope your grandkids get to live in peace regardless.
 
AlexWilliamsGloves said:
What i wanted to ask is, regardless of affordability, would you say the majority of the South want a 32 county Ireland?

Ive read a research paper suggesting a United Ireland would bring a lot of money and therefore very affordable....plus, i think support from the EU and the USA would make it worthwhile.
Click to expand...
What do residents in the north think about a United Ireland? Is the north still overwhelmingly Unionist or is the split more even? It’s such a sensitive subject I guess even talking about it politically is steeped in risk. Can someone explain simply why the NI assembly isn’t sitting? Forgive my ignorance but I would like to understand more about the current situation.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
What do residents in the north think about a United Ireland? Is the north still overwhelmingly Unionist or is the split more even? It’s such a sensitive subject I guess even talking about it politically is steeped in risk. Can someone explain simply why the NI assembly isn’t sitting? Forgive my ignorance but I would like to understand more about the current situation.
Click to expand...

To over simplify, i believe there is still a majority to remain part of the UK. However, the old catholic/protestant alignment is more blurred...its not as simple as catholics wanted united ireland and protestants want to uk.

There were middle class catholics who preferred to be part of UK...largely for financial reasons, but times/economies are different and brexit has meant they now see a united ireland as more attractive...or at least less scary...

...similarly, there are protestants who also no longer see a united ireland as a scary option...perhaps a better alternative to brexit.

20 odd years of peace and a more secular youth have eroded the religious divide issue of a united ireland....its less "them and us". Its now being considered on economic and cultural terms as well....but also the brexit farce also shows how difficult a divorce settlement is.

Eamo and i have both said an all ireland government...with a devolved NI government is a likely option....i would add there would need to be a transitional period....perhaps even as long as a generation....to give things to work towards.

Our government isnt sitting because of pretty petty reasons....although for some, quite significant reasons.

It initially collapsed when martin mcguiness resigned due to the RHI scandal....and arlene fosters handling/involvement. We have to have a 1st and deputy 1st minister...but sinn fein refused to nominate a replacement for mcguinness so it collapsed.

Subsequent talks to get all back together have included sinn feins complaint about reduced funding for irish language issues as well as their use (abuse) of the "petition of concern" which blocked things like same sex marriage. The dup have their own concerns especially about legacy issues...how to deal with troubles of the past (you could include historical enquiries, bloody sunday etc).

So its not just about getting over differences of opinion about economic, health, education issues....its fundamental, cultural differences of the 2 largest parties here....i think they are as close as 28/27 seats each.


I love answering questions about NI, i would like people to know more from "the man on the street"....but im just one bloke. There will be others from NI on here who probably/will disagree.
 
Sorry...cant edit that post on my phone.....theres a bit that should read sinn feins problem with the DUPs use(abuse) of the petition of concern
 
AlexWilliamsGloves said:
To over simplify, i believe there is still a majority to remain part of the UK. However, the old catholic/protestant alignment is more blurred...its not as simple as catholics wanted united ireland and protestants want to uk.

There were middle class catholics who preferred to be part of UK...largely for financial reasons, but times/economies are different and brexit has meant they now see a united ireland as more attractive...or at least less scary...

...similarly, there are protestants who also no longer see a united ireland as a scary option...perhaps a better alternative to brexit.

20 odd years of peace and a more secular youth have eroded the religious divide issue of a united ireland....its less "them and us". Its now being considered on economic and cultural terms as well....but also the brexit farce also shows how difficult a divorce settlement is.

Eamo and i have both said an all ireland government...with a devolved NI government is a likely option....i would add there would need to be a transitional period....perhaps even as long as a generation....to give things to work towards.

Our government isnt sitting because of pretty petty reasons....although for some, quite significant reasons.

It initially collapsed when martin mcguiness resigned due to the RHI scandal....and arlene fosters handling/involvement. We have to have a 1st and deputy 1st minister...but sinn fein refused to nominate a replacement for mcguinness so it collapsed.

Subsequent talks to get all back together have included sinn feins complaint about reduced funding for irish language issues as well as their use (abuse) of the "petition of concern" which blocked things like same sex marriage. The dup have their own concerns especially about legacy issues...how to deal with troubles of the past (you could include historical enquiries, bloody sunday etc).

So its not just about getting over differences of opinion about economic, health, education issues....its fundamental, cultural differences of the 2 largest parties here....i think they are as close as 28/27 seats each.


I love answering questions about NI, i would like people to know more from "the man on the street"....but im just one bloke. There will be others from NI on here who probably/will disagree.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I really appreciate you taking the trouble to educate me. I need to broaden my reading as I haven't really kept up with NI politics since the GFA and know too little about Irish politics, particularly the period since the financial crash. This is an interesting thread and I hope to contribute to it.
 
Bomb Ireland.

I'm not sure which bit yet but I'm sure that the solution to this is some form of bombing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.