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Working towards Irish Unity

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Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images
Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

Persuading For Irish Unity In Britain

Welcome to IrishBorderPoll.com. This website was created by a group of first, second and third generation Irish people living in Britain and others with no blood ties whatever to Ireland. Our aim is constitutional change. The 2020s are the decade of constitutional change Without wishing to sound triumphalist or disrespectful we contend it is the beginning of the end of the union as we have known it. Brexit has shaken things up and in relation to the Irish question we think that is a positive.  We believe that a united Ireland is the way forward and seek to engage as many voices in Britain and Ireland as possible on the desirability of an Irish Border Poll.

 We have no party affiliation or financial backing from anybody. We are inspired by the explosion of pro unity groups in Ireland like Think 32, Yes For Unity, Shared Ireland and are struck by the trailblazing work of Ireland`s Future in transforming the unity debate. We are open to everyone and anyone who values self-determination. We want to engage in genuine debate and dialogue with people in Britain who support, disagree with or are undecided about a referendum on Irish unity. We issue an open invite to people of all political persuasion and none to write for us and share your thoughts on the conversation on constitutional change and Irish unity. The news articles, opinion pieces and events we organise are all part of promoting that conversation in an open and inclusive way.

 Our first objective is to put an Irish Border Poll at the centre of British politics. The second, is to help make sure it returns a majority for unity. There is an unstoppable conversation under way about Irish reunification and about what a new Ireland might look like. This conversation is not waiting for any political party be it Boris Johnson in London or Michael Martin in Dublin. The train has already left the station.

Over the coming months we at IrishBorderPoll.com will commission and publish material on the legislative and administrative measures necessary for constitutional change. We will engage civic and political unionism in Britain and the north of Ireland, organise debates and seek to persuade the `undecideds` of the case for ending partition. We want to create a shared space to look beyond the often angry voices of today and imagine what kind of Ireland we would like to see take shape tomorrow.

What would a new Agreed Ireland look like were all seven million people harnessed their collective energy, wisdom and intelligence to build a better society? IrishBorderPoll.com will go beyond the rhetoric to facilitate such debates. What would our Health service look like? What is our vision of Education? Could we build enough homes for everyone and embrace the vulnerable, sick and disabled? Could a new Ireland forge a new Enlightenment in the arts, literature and science? How best could we give the people of no property and immigrants a real stake in the new Ireland? These are a fraction of the questions we want to explore as we imagine the new Ireland.

The Border Poll debate was already stirring but Brexit and Covid have increased its intensity and encouraged a growing number of unionist voices to speak out openly about the possibility of ending the union with Britain. English ears are also pricking up with opinion polls indicating millions of people now happy to accommodate an end to the union. United Irelanders need to be cognisant of the good will that exist amongst many in Britain for a united Ireland and not just from the Irish diaspora. We at IrishBorderPoll.com will tap into that goodwill and open mindedness as we seek to persuade for a Border Poll.

There is a palpable energy and optimism in Ireland about the unity debate which we hope to transfer here. But first, United Irelanders need to be proactive and organise. We should not passively wait until the British government or political parties engage on the issue because given the choice, they won`t act. Their instinct is to preserve the union. Let us start by engaging with family, friends, workmates, our community, online and through social media and writing letters to politicians and newspapers. Subscribe to IrishBorderPoll.com. If you are at university, in a trade union, a member of an Irish Centre or the GAA in Britain organise your own conferences or forums and we will attend and provide support and assistance should you need it. These are exciting times. On the centenary of partition constitutional change is in the air. Time to put our shoulder to the wheel and be part of winning people in Britain over to supporting Irish unity.

Please sign up right now to our IrishBorderPoll.com mailing list for news of our events, articles and reports as we begin to grow the Irish unity campaign in Britain.