Is it likely Irish unification will happen in years to come?

[cuppateaandabiccie]

I’m in NI and I quite like being a part of the UK so I most certainly am against a United Ireland.

i like our education system and I know the health service is on its knees, but I’d rather not pay every time I need to go to the doctors.

obviously Sinn Fein are now the biggest party meaning they can nominate for First Minister - does this actually pose a risk to the union with the UK?

If the Deputy First Minister and First Minister both hold equal office - then surely they had the same chances of trying to implement a border poll when the they were Deputy First Minister?

if there was to be a border poll, do people think the majority would support Irish unity or go against it?

also, do people think the DUP will refuse to enter government with Sinn Fein as FM?

Actually housing may be more pressing in the south but the benefits of an all island approach to specialised surgery is already here . The north just doesn’t have the population to support certain expertise ( I have lots of family who are drs here)

@Novella4 i didn't say there are many Irish in the north who are unionist I said the exact opposite, but I said there are people who are Irish who would not vote for reunification. I obviously don't know everyone but we can only comment on what we know and the people we know and I know people who voted Sinn Fein but would not vote for UI. They want change within NI that doesn't mean they want anything else.
I don't struggle to describe anything I assume you live in NI so you'd know what words are used and what is meant.
That doesn't change the fact that I don't know one single person who is Protestant that would vote for UI. Obviously I don't know everyone but like I said we comment on what we know l.
I need to be more aware of how I write on here as I don't want to cause offence.
Just because I am British doesn't mean I don't have respect for anyone else being Irish. I certainly don't care what anyone is, I am glad that everyone is living together and the vast majority of people just want to live their lives go to work raise their families be able to afford energy bills.
It doesn't change the fact that I'll never want a United Ireland but I understand that others do.

I know this which is why I put the word free in inverted commas.

Many people are paying private as waiting lists are long, but a lot of people just don't have the money and have to wait for their appointment.

@VeryStressedMum thanks for coming back to clarify.

I would add that I bristle at the Catholic =nationalist , Protestant = unionist assumption. I’m sure you didn’t mean to imply that.
The third grouping has emerged as a result of the last election and that third / alliance group is great to see.
I’m sure the whole island will be invigorated by taking the best of both health systems

@Novella4 I don't like those terms either , but you know the words used in conversation and what they mean. Not all catholics are Irish or nationalist, not all Protestant are unionist but those Protestants aren't nationalist anymore than those Irish are unionist.
I don't actually regard myself as anything as I am not religious I don't go to church and I like to just live my life however if you were to ask me I would say I don't want a united Ireland. If it were to happen I would be worried about what would change and the impact on my life and my children futures because change is difficult and we are comfortable with what we know, but my life wouldn't stop I would live my life in a united Ireland as would the majority of people.

A United Ireland would still be a cold house for unionists or maybe even also Protestants.
Protestants and Catholics have been living happily side by side in Ireland for a long, long time but obviously Irish Protestants are not unionists so that's the difference.

Actually, there are still a few orange lodges in the republic, especially in border counties, but numbers are very small now.

www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/republic-s-orangemen-proclaim-their-identity-1.3148713

@JaneJeffer

at the time of partition those Protestants often were unionists who wanted to remain in Uk. They didn’t want to be ruled by Dublin anymore than the catholic nationalist in the new Northern Ireland wanted to stay ruled by London. I remember seeing a programme once where they talked about waking up one morning and the British part of their identity had been taken away and being very distressed by it. They just became forgotten and in many cases worse in terms of being threatened and attacked. Most ended up marrying catholics and the children had to be raised catholic due to the Vatican rules on mixed marriages

and that’s why there are still orange orders in the republic

Maybe in the border areas @blubberyboo but not here in the west.

@JaneJeffer
does it matter which part of the republic it is? The point it that they are there certainly down as far as Sligo etc.
or do they not count as Irish either?

I think perhaps you have been very insular in your outlook as your comments so far have been very blunt and dismissive, and perhaps that is because you haven’t a very broad of experience of the other type of people on this island. You say Protestants and catholics have lived together well for a long time but perhaps you haven’t realised the pain and exclusion Protestants in the republic actually went through? And when unionists up north consider a United Ireland that is the experience they have to compare it to.
here is an article worth reading as a starting point

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57488544.amp

@JaneJeffer

and since you said earlier you don’t understand unionists, and never will…….here is a very good article to help you at least try!

Choyaa is an orangeman in Fermanagh and has written many very articulate articles on unionism which I recommend you google. This might be an eye opener for those trying to get into the mindset of a Northern Irish unionist.

I should point out that I am a halfa Jaffa atheist who designates as “other” and who only votes for alliance. I just think if people are seriously thinking about Irish unity they need to understand the position of all the people in NI

sharedireland.com/unionist-identity-in-ireland/

Protestant vs Catholic isn't what the troubles were about. It was about Irish vs the British planted in Ireland (who were Protestant).

One of my best friends from teenage years through to date is Protestant. She came from money but her parents never showed signs of it. They were asset rich but poor. That said, she was sent to a boarding school until she demanded to not be sent there. She met her husband through me, as one of my work colleagues. He's Russian. Not sure what religion, if any, he is.

Some of you seem to think that the planted Brits rightfully bought land off the Irish? Google my friends. They did not.

It was an occupation of Ireland. It was engineered to keep 'control' of the Irish. Anyone still here and wanting to be part of the United Kingdom is not Irish. They are British. They simply stole land off the Irish, planted Scottish (in the main) Lords into estates in Ireland. Their history of their treatment of the native Irish is incredibly cruel.

The song that you will hear Irish sing at a lot of sports events is called The Fields of Athenry.

These are the lyrics. This is what we sing at almost every international game. Trevelyan was a cruel cnut.

By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young girl calling
"Michael, they are taking you away
For you stole Trevelyan's corn
So the young might see the morn
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay"
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
"Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free
Against the famine and the crown
I rebelled, they cut me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity"
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry
By a lonely harbour wall
She watched the last star falling
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
For she lived in hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry
Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry

And the other famous Irish song which even Rod Stewart has adopted for his tours is a song called Grace.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=grace+jim+mccann

This version of it gives an introduction to the song.

And here is Rod Stewart meeting the writers of Grace

And in gratitude, the Irish giving him a first edition of a publication of poems by one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence.

He actually cried.

@JetTail

right then, sure just you keep singing romantic Rod Stewart songs to yourself and living in the past while the rest of us have a serious conversation about what a real United Ireland could look like .

Ironic though that you are giving more respect to English/ Scottish Rod Stewart than to people actually born and bred through generations on this island. Exactly what Choyaa was talking about when he described Irish Unionists being pushed away from their Irishness so thanks for proving that point.

might I add that there has been so much marriage between religions and political opinions in the north since plantation and even hundreds of years before it between the Scots and Irish ( short boat ride) you will never find someone who is solely descended from those thieves you describe. But sure keep up with your old prejudices cos it keeps you firmly stuck to your opinions

you know the old saying.. if you aren’t part of the solution you are part of the problem

Denying our history is not part of the solution. That is in fact, the entire problem.

That you wish to 'move on' is not ok.

It's the equivalent of an abusive partner accusing you of being unreasonable because you are not willing to trust the bastard after yet another beating.

No apology has ever been issued to the Irish. Either in the Republic or in Northern Ireland. One prick of a British soldier had enough evidence against him for a murder charge to be brought against him. He murdered many people on Bloody Sunday. He died before trial.

You do not get over that amount of shit, nor that level of cuntery by simply 'moving on'.

But yeah, you just move on and tell us to get over it. The brutality of the British has affected me. It has affected my father, my mother and my grandparents. It has affected every generation before them.

I am not willing to simply shut up and get on with it. Apologise!

How dare you demand that we just move on? How fucking dare you??

The continued arrogance of you is unbelievable.

2 million Irish died. 2 million.

TWO MILLION.

Why?

Are you actually for real?? I certainly am not responsible for any of those deaths so I effing won’t be apologising to anyone!

I never once above said I was British did I? If you actually read my posts you would see that I am descended from both Protestant and Catholic, unionist and nationalist heritage….but you can’t be arsed actually reading it can you? You said that a few pages back and then you sang me a few songs from a Scottish dude and said that’s why people in Northern Ireland don’t deserve to live on their own island!!!

the thing about up here is that we are trying to all live with our past and the evils that were committed on BOTH sides.
its a pity you are so full of hate and I feel sorry for you.