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# Irish Border Poll

Working Towards Irish Unity

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## Posts

- [It’s Good to Debate - Even When We Disagree. ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/07/30/its-good-to-debate-even-when-we-disagree/) - by Kevin Rooney Who would have thought it? JK Rowling and Fr Ted creator Graham Linehan talking about the Belfast Féile. Certainly not me in my 20s attending the West Belfast Festival with my republican mates to see our local heroes like Fr Des and Gerry Adams, and sitting in awe while listening to the
- [Ireland’s False Left-Right Dichotomy](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/08/05/irelands-false-left-right-dichotomy/) - by Peter Irvine Ask several people to arrange Ireland’s political parties from left to right and they are unlikely to produce the same order. This is often treated as evidence that Irish politics is unusually confused. The greater confusion may lie in trying to force a multidimensional political culture onto a single line. The left-right
- [The Irish Unity Project: Moving Forward or Momentum Stalled?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/07/26/the-irish-unity-project-moving-forward-or-momentum-stalled/) - We want to know when a border poll will come? Answering this question is the challenge we’ve set Ireland’s leading expert on constitutional change Brendan O’Leary at our upcoming August 3rd Féile debate.
- [Where are we at in the Unity debate?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/07/27/where-are-we-at-in-the-unity-debate-2/) - irishborderpoll.com debate comes to Belfast at Féile an Phobail - Festival of the People. Mon, Aug 3rd Key speaker - Professor Brendan O’ Leary. Respondents - Linzi McLaren and Kevin Meagher. As we head towards next May’s elections the Belfast Telegraph has just published the latest levels of support for the North’s political parties. So
- [THE MAYO ROUTE TO AN ALL-IRELAND ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/07/27/the-mayo-route-to-an-all-ireland/) - by Paul Breen MAYO’S road to All-Ireland victory in 2026 has been a long time coming, with a lot of heartache paving the road to joy. Throughout my lifetime I’ve watched and waited and wondered why they could never get over the finishing line. Some put it down to a curse, though for me it
- [The Dáil: Preparing for Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/07/08/the-dail-preparing-for-unity/) - By Ben Collins As a Presbyterian from a strongly Unionist and British background in East Belfast, I believe it is crucial that the Planning for Constitutional Change Bill receives cross-party support during its Second Stage in the Dáil today. The reunification of our island can only be secured through a broad coalition including political parties,
- [ I used to Feel British: Now I’m Starting an Irish Unity Campaign Group](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/07/04/i-used-to-feel-british-now-im-starting-an-irish-unity-campaign-group/) - by Claire JC “I’m NORTHERN Irish”, I would say with indignation, every time an English person referred to me as Irish. Growing up in Newtownards in the 1990s there was never any question of my Britishness. British passport, Union Jacks on every lamppost, and fully immersed in British pop culture. But having moved to London
- [Who Owns the American Revolution?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/07/02/who-owns-the-american-revolution/) - John Dunlap and the politics of commemoration By Pauline Hadaway As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, Northern Ireland's Ulster-Scots institutions have renewed a long-standing claim that Presbyterians of Ulster-Scots descent played a decisive role in founding the United States and shaping the Declaration. The Ulster-Scots Agency points to
- [What Is Sovereignty?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/28/what-is-sovereignty/) - by Peter Irvine Sovereignty is the highest political authority of a nation. It is the right of a people to govern itself, to make its own laws, to control its own territory and to determine its own future without being subject to the final authority of another power. A sovereign nation may create institutions. It
- [Review of “A Bitter Harvest”-  Book by Garbhan Downey, Published by Colmcille Press](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/27/review-of-a-bitter-harvest-book-by-garbhan-downey-published-by-colmcille-press/) - by Ray Bassett The subject matter of this book, “A Bitter Harvest”, should be of major concern to us all. The murder of Seán Brown, a friend and neighbour of Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney. was carried out as a deep and dark operation. That an individual, who cultivated cross community links and described by
- [PM Burnham on the Irish Unity Question?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/22/pm-burnham-on-the-irish-unity-question/) - By Ben Collins Andy Burnham is proud of his Irish ancestry. As the likely next British Prime Minister, this is an important factor, in what he may seek to do once he takes up office. He has previously talked about members of his family leaving Drogheda in the late 19th century and moving to Liverpool.
- [Where are we at in the Unity debate?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/20/where-are-we-at-in-the-unity-debate/) - by Kevin Rooney irishborderpoll.com comes to Belfast as part of Féile an Phobail - Festival of the People. Save the date, August 3rd, as we debate, Where are we at in the Irish Unity debate? Key speaker - Professor Brendan O’ Leary. Where are we at in the Unity project, momentum stalled or moving forward?
- [FG Move on  Irish Unity is Welcome.](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/15/fg-move-on-irish-unity-is-welcome/) - by Ben Collins The announcement by Simon Harris that Fine Gael will publish a blueprint for Irish Unity this November is a welcome development. We need to build as broad a coalition as possible for reunification and Fine Gael. The United Ireland Party, to give it its full name, has an important role within this.
- [Belfast attack and the Common Travel Area](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/15/belfast-attack-and-the-common-travel-area/) - by Ray Bassett The horrific attack in North Belfast on Stephen Ogilvie elicited a peculiar response from the Government in Dublin and also from establishment media outlets there, such as RTE and the Irish Times. While the attack made international headline news in Britain and many other places, there was a very muted response south
- [The SDLP: Give Us a Border Poll but not Too Soon](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/09/the-sdlp-give-us-a-border-poll-but-not-too-soon/) - Unless the party sets a timeframe for a poll, its words will ring hollow By Martin Burns Over the last several weeks, SDLP leaders like Claire Hanna, MP and Matthew O’Toole, MLA, have been articulate advocates for a united Ireland. For example, Hanna has been travelling throughout the north of Ireland talking to people about
- [What is a Nation?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/04/what-is-a-nation/) - Peter Irvine Originally from East Belfast and born into a Protestant family, Peter Irvine is a writer whose work focuses on Irish Republican political thought, constitutional questions and contemporary political developments Before we can speak seriously about sovereignty, unity or self-determination, we must first ask what a nation actually is. I write as someone opposed
- [Competing Visions of Union or Unity Should be Made Clearer.](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/06/01/competing-visions-of-union-or-unity-should-be-made-clearer/) - by Ben Collins As someone who believe in Irish Unity, I want to hear what the Unionist plan is for remaining part of the United Kingdom. For example, will Irish culture continue to be attacked by some people or will it be accepted and welcomed in Northern Ireland? Cultural warfare is not the answer. It
- [Will Nigel Farage and Reform UK Push Up an Irish Border poll?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/05/17/will-nigel-farage-and-reform-uk-push-up-an-irish-border-poll/) - By Martin Burns History is full of ironies and events that do not always play out in the way you think. The surge of support for Reform UK and Nigel Farage in the United Kingdom is changing the terms of the debate over an Irish border poll. In the past, the question for the people
- [New Poll Shows Strong Support for a United Ireland on Both Sides of the Border as Part of the European Union (EU)](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/05/09/new-poll-shows-strong-support-for-a-united-ireland-on-both-sides-of-the-border-as-part-of-the-european-union-eu/) - By Martin Burns European Movement Ireland’s Island of Ireland EU Poll 2026, conducted by Amarach Research shows strong support for a united Ireland as part of the European Union (EU). The research shows that if a referendum were held tomorrow on a united Ireland in the EU, 59 percent in the Irish republic would vote in favour
- [Cool Irelandia? History Doesn’t End with the Middle Ground](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/28/cool-irelandia-history-doesnt-end-with-the-middle-ground/) - by Paul Breen Tony Blair’s legacy in Britain and Ireland could be seen as a damaged shamrock; three leaves, each telling a different story. There’s the Good Friday Agreement, still the most significant political achievement in modern Irish and British relations. There’s Cool Britannia, that brief moment when Britain imagined itself as confident, modern and
- [Scottish and Welsh Elections Could Set the Stage for Irish Border Poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/27/scottish-and-welsh-elections-could-set-the-stage-for-irish-border-poll/) - By Martin Burns In theory, the May 8 elections in Scotland and Wales will determine only who will serve in their devolved parliaments. However, when you take a little bit of a deeper look into the matter, it is clear that the elections could signal something much deeper: the breakup of the United Kingdom and
- [“The Cost of Courage is Rising”](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/02/02/the-cost-of-courage-is-rising/) - by Oisín McAnenna In a recent article Professor Richard Murphy expressed his fears regarding a symptom of the crumbling “rules based order”, the killing of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathon Ross in Minneapolis. He argues that it is the feeble response of world leaders to other actions taken by the Trump regime that fly
- [Call it a ‘New Ireland’ if You Must,The Reality is That we Will Bolt 6 onto 26](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/24/call-it-a-new-ireland-if-you-mustthe-reality-is-that-we-will-bolt-6-onto-26/) - by Kevin Meagher I don’t doubt that convincing unionists about either the merits of Irish unity or acclimatising them to the reality of it will prove arduous. But we should not fall into the trap of assuming the actual business of uniting the island of Ireland is difficult, because it really isn’t. It involves dealing
- [Will the Scots Get a Second Referendum?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/19/will-the-scots-get-a-second-referendum/) - by Kevin Meagher The reason United Irelanders cannot get the British government to set out criteria for a border poll is nothing to do with Northern Ireland. If it was, they would have done so by now, keen, as they are, to offload the place at the earliest viable opportunity. No, the real reason is
- [A Functioning Executive Just isn’t a DUP Priority](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/16/a-functioning-executive-just-isnt-a-dup-priority/) - By Kevin Meagher I’ll give it another six months - the Northern Ireland executive and assembly. It isn’t going to last much longer, that much seems clear. Jockeying between the three unionist parties ahead of next May’s assembly election will see to that. It seems to be their sole preoccupation a year out from polling
- [What do Unionists Want?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/14/what-do-unionists-want/) - By Kevin Meaghar ‘You can’t always get what you want,’ the Rolling Stones insisted. ‘But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.’ If we struggle to divine what unionists might like from a reunited Ireland (because they won’t tell us), can we at least offer them what they need?
- [Aontú's Role in Maximising Irish Unity Vote](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/13/aontus-role-in-maximising-irish-unity-vote/) - By Carl DuffyMember of Aontú and Enniskillen Native A recent article by Kevin Meagher on irishborderpoll.com highlighted the importance of the next set of elections in the occupied six counties for triggering a Border Poll. Two elections will be held on the same day i.e. Council and Assembly elections. Considering that the last council election
- [Next Year’s Election is Truly Historic ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/12/next-years-election-is-truly-historic/) - by Kevin Meagher This time next year, we will be in the final run-in to the most important political event in Northern Irish politics since the Good Friday Agreement. A scheduling quirk means assembly elections will be held on the same day as all-out local elections. And in response to unionist parliamentarians (here and here),
- [The Irish Flag is Not a Frippery to be Bartered Away](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/08/the-irish-flag-is-not-a-frippery-to-be-bartered-away/) - by Kevin Meagher You can’t eat a flag, John Hume famously stated. True enough, but a flag sustains us in other ways, most obviously as the visual definition of a nation. To Korean poet Yu Chi-hwan, a flag is a ‘shout without sound…nostalgia’s handkerchief.’ Or perhaps a contract between generations, in Edmund Burke’s term. More
- [The Shared Island Initiative, a Vision; or in reality an Excuse to do Nothing on Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/04/02/the-shared-island-initiative-a-vision-or-in-reality-an-excuse-to-do-nothing-on-unity/) - by Ray Bassett The current Government in Dublin has built its Northern policy around the Shared Island Initiative. It claims that its approach is anchored in the Good Friday Agreement (GFA). Certainly, on reading through that Agreement, it is difficult to understand how an entire Irish Government approach to the North could be based solely
- [Father Des: The People’s Priest](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/03/30/fr-des-the-peoples-priest/) - by Kevin Rooney This week running five nights a play opens at the Roddy McCorley Club in Belfast about the life of Ballymurphy priest Fr.Des Wilson. Humble and quietly spoken, he took on the British government, their army and also the Catholic hierarchy in defence of his people. They called him ‘The People’s Priest’. His
- [  Liberal, Conservative and Left Wing Protestants are now Advocating for Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/03/29/liberal-conservative-and-left-wing-protestants-are-now-advocating-for-irish-unity/) - Below is the speech Claire Mitchell gave on ‘Protestant perspectives on constitutional change’ in Leinster House on Wednesday. I grew up as a Protestant Dissenter in a very religious and also very anti-sectarian home. My parents were involved in the charismatic reconciliation movement. We are Irish and have always supported reunification, which was very much
- [Protestant Perspectives on Constitutional Change](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/03/26/protestant-perspectives-on-constitutional-change/) - On 25th March 2026 Senator Frances Black held a panel discussion in Leinster House with three people from a Protestant background in Northern Ireland. These were Rev Karen Sethuraman, Claire Mitchell and Ben Collins. Below is the opening statement at the event made by Ben Collins, author of The Irish Unity Dividend and Irish Unity;
- [Latest attempt to criminalise Adams backfires.](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/03/23/latest-attempt-to-criminalise-adams-backfires/) - by Kevin Rooney For several days last week I found myself in the Royal Courts of Justice watching the civil case against Gerry Adams. Three people injured in IRA bombs dating back to the 1970s, backed by a motley group including leading Tories, right wing think tanks, ex intelligence officers and unionists were hoping to
- [Lessons from the Republic’s Media Treatment of the Troubles](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/03/10/lessons-from-the-republics-media-treatment-of-the-troubles/) - by Ray Bassett The recent passing of RTE figure, Joe Mulholland, was widely acknowledged and mourned by the mainstream media in the Republic. Mulholland was a major figure in the station, first as Head of Current Affairs and then, Director of News and, eventually, Managing Director of the station itself. He yielded enormous influence in
- [Let's End Uncertainty Around a Border Poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/02/17/lets-end-uncertainty-around-a-border-poll/) - By Paul Breen At present, a great deal of uncertainty surrounds the debate about a Border Poll. The problem is not the prospect of a poll itself, but the lack of clarity around it. Like Atlantic drift, change is coming slowly and persistently, reshaping the political landscape over time. However, in Westminster, there has been
- [The Peripherals now rule British politics](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/02/11/the-peripherals-now-rule-british-politics/) - Has our Red/Blue political system ever looked weaker or more irrelevant?
- [The Union isn’t working: How can we exit?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/02/07/the-union-isnt-working-how-can-we-exit-3/) - Fina reminder: 7.15pm. Wednesday February 11th. Betty Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, Westminster, London SW1A 2LA.
- [The old is dying the new is yet to be born](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/02/03/the-old-is-dying-the-new-is-yet-to-be-born/) - Reminder: irishborderpoll.com debate. February 11th. 7.15pm. Wednesday February 11th. Betty Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, Westminster, London SW1A 2LA
- [SNP MP to Speak at  Irishborderpoll.com Event](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/01/29/snp-mp-to-speak-at-irishborderpoll-com-event/) - We are delighted to welcome SNP MP for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East Seamus Logan, as a speaker at our forthcoming debate on February 11th - The Union isn’t working: How do we exit? Writing in the ‘National’ newspaper, Seamus argued that, “In Scotland the options of consent, choice,and sovereignty are off the menu thanks
- [Pat Cullen confirmed as speaker for our February 11th debate - The Union isn’t working: How can we exit? ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/01/28/pat-cullen-confirmed-as-speaker-for-our-february-11th-debate-the-union-isnt-working-how-can-we-exit/) - “I hope the future is one where we never again have to go begging a British government for the crumbs of their table”, said Pat Cullen recently, expressing the wish to leave the Union and achieve a United Ireland. We are delighted therefore to confirm the Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone as
- [The Union isn’t working: How can we exit?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/01/15/the-union-isnt-working-how-can-we-exit/) - Public Debate: 7pm, Wednesday February 11th, Portcullis House, Westminster.
- [We Need a New Recipe for Flags](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/01/14/why-we-need-a-new-recipe-for-flags/) - By Paul Breen John Hume once famously said that “you can’t eat a flag.” What he meant was simple. Real politics is about living standards, about social and economic development. It is not about waving bits of cloth at one another. It was a typically understated way of cutting through decades of symbolism, ritual and
- [Everyone Benefits with the 3 Rs of Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2026/01/08/everyone-benefits-with-the-3-rs-of-unity/) - By Ben Collins When I was a child at school there was talk about the three Rs. These were reading, writing and arithmetic. Clearly spelling didn’t feature prominently at the time. When I think of Irish Unity, there are three Rs which come to mind. These are renewal, reconciliation, and resilience. The reunification of Ireland
- [A key Story that flew under the radar in 2025](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/12/30/a-key-story-that-flew-under-the-radar-in-2025/) - By Martin Burns “Significant numbers of Northern Protestants who oppose Irish Unity still support planning for that possibility”. To put it mildly, a lot of things happened in 2025. There was a war waging in Europe and one in the Middle East. In Great Britain, you had a Labour government that had come to power
- [Show us you are are serious about Unity Taoiseach](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/12/28/show-us-you-are-are-serious-about-unity-taoiseach/) - by Ben Collins When I wrote my second book The Irish Unity Dividend, I wanted to focus on a small number of key messages. Firstly, everyone who lives across the island will have a better quality of life after reunification. To achieve the full benefits which are possible, we need to do two things. One,
- [Determining our own Future](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/12/27/determining-our-own-future/) - Prof Colin Harvey, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast Are you bored yet? Talk of unity is hard to ignore. What are we to make of it all? 2025 witnessed the arrival of more books, articles, podcasts, blogs, opinion pieces, public events and several striking political interventions. A gathering and formidable consensus that a serious
- [Irish Unity is not a Matter of Arithmetic](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/12/20/irish-unity-is-not-a-matter-of-arithmetic/) - By Paul Breen If 2025 has been a good year for talking about Irish unity, then 2026 must be the year when we decide what we are actually going to do with that momentum. There has been, over the past year, a quiet but noticeable shift. A sense that unity is no longer just a
- [Book review: The Traveller’s Tale](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/12/11/book-review-the-travellers-tale/) - Pauline Hadaway reviews Ray Bassett’s The Traveller’s Tale
- ["Like a scene from a medieval painting"](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/12/07/like-a-scene-from-a-medieval-painting/) - The night Tim Pat Coogan and Ray Bassett experienced The 12th - From Bassett’s new book The Traveller’s I am not sure anything or anybody could prepare an outsider for some of the unsavoury elements of the Twelfth of July in Belfast. As a young child, I had heard my mother talk about my aunt’s
- [Northern Ireland: The Union or a United Ireland?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/06/17/northern-ireland-the-union-or-a-united-ireland-2/) - On 16th June irishborderpoll.com hosted a debate between Ben Habib and Kevin Meagher on the topic 'Northern Ireland: The Union or a United Ireland?'. Watch a video of the discussion on YouTube.
- [Five takeaways from that poll on the state of the parties](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/02/21/five-takeaways-from-that-poll-on-the-state-of-the-parties/) - A few thoughts from Kevin Meagher on that University of Liverpool/ Irish News poll from last week.
- [Major’s right and Leo’s wrong: It’s time to set out border poll criteria](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/05/28/majors-right-and-leos-wrong-its-time-to-set-out-border-poll-criteria/) - It was the matter-of-fact tone that struck me. Sir John Major, when asked whether he thought it was time to set out the requirements for holding a border poll on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status, described it as a ‘credible demand.’ Those of us familiar with the former Conservative Prime Minister’s habit of linguistic understatement (things
- [The British media’s reaction to Sinn Fein’s victory will help to normalise Irish unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/09/the-british-medias-reaction-to-sinn-feins-victory-will-help-to-normalise-irish-unity/) - ‘I've never known anyone better at blowing their own arse off than the DUP,’ wrote i columnist, Ian Dunt, on Twitter yesterday, after it was clear that Jeffrey Donaldson’s party had lost the assembly election. ‘An object [sic] lesson in enthusiastic self-annihilation.’ Piers Morgan, who needs little introduction, garnered thousands of likes and retweets by
- [Just 5,000 votes separate pro-UK and pro-Irish unity parties](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/12/just-5000-votes-separate-pro-uk-and-pro-irish-unity-parties/) - I had intended to jump straight on the voting figures from last week’s elections and tot-up what they meant, vis-à-vis Irish unity. I have to say that I am indebted to Daithí McKay for beating me to it and saving me the arduous task (and eye strain) of ploughing through yet more tables of figures.
- [Sinn Féin at the Crossroads](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/17/sinn-fein-at-the-crossroads/) - Pauline Hadaway is a lifelong advocate of a United Ireland and as such we are happy to republish this article courtesy of the website Taking Back Control. The view expressed are Pauline’s and not necessarily shared by irishborderpoll.com. One hundred years after the northern Unionists seceded from the Irish Free State, Sinn Féin, the party of Irish
- [Is Donaldson about to crash the institutions in a ‘specific and limited’ way?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/01/24/is-donaldson-about-to-crash-the-institutions-in-a-specific-and-limited-way/) - ‘Watch over the next week or so as Sir Jeffrey Donaldson takes a sharp swerve to the right. In the four months since he threatened to bring down Stormont, he has hesitated to act. But he could be about to press the nuclear button.’ So began Suzanne Breen’s column in today’s Sunday Life. Spooked by
- [Election 24: Sinn Féin did OK](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/12/07/election-24-sinn-fein-did-ok/) - Opinions differ wildly on last week’s election. Here Ray Bassett offers his take.
- [So, what does 2024 look like?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/01/18/so-what-does-2024-look-like/) - Political prediction-peddling is a mug’s game. But let me nevertheless lurch forwards into the realm of pointless speculation, poring over the coffee grinds in my flat white in the process, and offer you the following. And so, 2024 begin much as 2023 ended. With Jeffrey Donaldson stood there, like a man wearing expensive new shoes
- [Sinn Féin, where now for the Party?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/06/11/sinn-fein-where-now-for-the-party/) - The Local and European elections in the Republic have proved an unwelcome shock for Sinn Féin. The outcome was not expected. Although the party’s high position in opinion polls was slipping, it could never have expected such a shattering result. It achieved only just under 12% of the popular vote in the Local contests. Not
- [Northern Ireland: The Union or a United Ireland?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/06/06/northern-ireland-the-union-or-a-united-ireland/) - What are the most persuasive arguments for the Union or Irish unity? To what extent do Brexit or the Protocol shape people's views on the constitutional question? Are shifting demographics and Sinn Fein topping the Assembly election poll something unionists should be worried about? Could there be a United Ireland in a decade? Or are United
- [Irish America Must Lobby the Irish Government to Make Irish Unity a Reality](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/11/26/irish-america-must-lobby-the-irish-government-to-make-irish-unity-a-reality/) - Martin Burns is a recent graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast. He has worked as a Congressional aide, political consultant and journalist. by Martin Burns Irish America has always been strongly supportive of the cause of Irish unity. Indeed, anyone familiar with Irish history will remember that the 1916 proclamation of the provisional government recognized the
- [BOOK REVIEW: The Irish Unity Dividend ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/11/23/book-review-the-irish-unity-dividend/) - The Irish Unity Dividend by Ben Collins Reviewed by Kevin Rooney Ben Collins’ book ‘The Irish Unity Dividend’ is focused on the benefits for all people who live across Ireland. He aims to reframe the debate about a United Ireland to focus on quality of life issues. While he acknowledges that identity is a factor
- [Sunday Independent Libel](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/11/20/sunday-independent-libel/) - by Ray Bassett Next week in Dublin sees the launch of Ray Bassett’s ‘The Traveller’s Tale’. The book lifts the veil of secrecy which has surrounded the Irish Government’s operation in the North during the Peace Process. This personal account written by Ray, who for almost two decades was a key part of that operation
- [Nearly half of Northern Ireland’s inhabitants are already citizens of the Irish Republic](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/11/19/nearly-half-of-northern-irelands-inhabitants-are-already-citizens-of-the-irish-republic/) - By Kevin Meagher Figures released last week by the Irish government got me thinking. They showed that nearly quarter of a million Brits (242,772) applied for an Irish passport last year. Of these, 53% (128,669) were people living in Northern Ireland. It’s not particularly earth-shattering as the trend has been heading in that direction for
- [Derry or Londonderry: Do you get Uptight About Names?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/11/13/derry-or-londonderry-do-you-get-uptight-about-names/) - Kevin Rooney On holiday last summer I got chatting to a couple of Irish women on the seafront in La Rochelle. It didn’t go well. One of them asked where I was from. “Ireland'', I replied. She interjected; “You mean Northern Ireland”? “No”, I said - “Ireland”. “But your accent is Northern Irish” she countered.
- [The New Maturity of the Irish Unity Debate](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/10/29/the-new-maturity-of-the-irish-unity-debate/) - Dr Paul Breen, UCL, thinks there was something different about the recent irishborderpoll.com debate on ‘The Irish Unity Dividend’ in Westminster. Below he explains why.
- [Debate: What is The Irish Unity Dividend?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/10/11/debate-what-is-the-irish-unity-dividend/) - As English Nationalism rises, support for ending Partition rises. As the North languishes in economic and political failure, support for Irish Unity rises more. Across opinion polls support for the Union falls while support for Irish Unity grows.
- [The Advantages of Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/10/04/the-advantages-of-irish-unity/) - Wednesday October 15th, 7pm, Portcullis House, Westminster
- [An opportunity missed to put Irish Unity front and centre?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/09/27/an-opportunity-missed-to-put-irish-unity-front-and-centre/) - And then there were just three. After all the shape throwing and eccentric candidates with exaggerated claims, when nominations finally closed at midday on Wednesday 24th of September, only three candidates had made it past the nomination stage.
- [What is The Irish Unity Dividend?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/09/26/what-is-the-irish-unity-dividend/) - Save the date: Wednesday October 15th, 7pm, Portcullis House, Westminster,
- [Peter Mandelson](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/09/13/peter-mandelson/) - If Tony Blair and Mo Mowlam represented a totally new and refreshing approach to Ireland, then her successor as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Mandelson, was a step right back into the dark past. He was, without doubt, a major figure in British Labour, just like Mo, but nowhere nearly as popular in
- [Negotiating a Border Poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/08/28/negotiating-a-border-poll/) - Another summer of intense reflection on reunification. Every day more people are making their voices heard. Constitutional change travelling centre stage; ideas and plans explored. Distilling themes is not easy. After immersion in multiple conversations, one matter stands out: We are now entering the phase of a winnable border poll. A time when our distinctive
- [Five Key Differences Between British and Irish Democracy](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/08/27/five-key-differences-between-british-and-irish-democracy/) - Author, Yuval Noah Harari, contrasts the differences between democracies and dictatorships in terms of information networks in his book, 'Nexus’. While a dictatorship is about one central information network dictating everything, a democracy is an ongoing conversation between diverse information nodes. The unrestricted free exchange of ideas is central to democracy as is everyone being
- [irishborderpoll debates come to Belfast courtesy of Féile](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/07/23/irishborderpoll-debates-come-to-belfast-courtesy-of-feile/) - Join our Irish Unity debates in Belfast August 5th and 6th.
- [“Making Northern Ireland work” 2025](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/07/12/making-northern-ireland-work-2025/) - Loyalist threat of violence still works in the North of Ireland argues Ciaran Hartley.
- [Bertie for President?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/07/07/bertie-for-president/) - Few Southern politicians know the North as well as Bertie Ahern argues Ray Bassett.
- [Britain’s Love Affair with Militarism and Implications for Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/06/30/britains-love-affair-with-militarism-and-implications-for-irish-unity/) - The British State is obsessed with militarism and tone deaf to its past argues Paul Breen.
- [Meet Charlie Smith](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/06/23/meet-charlie-smith/) - Unionism’s insularity and insecurity does it no favours.
- [Hilary Benn needs to tell us he has no selfish or strategic reason for preventing a border poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/06/19/hilary-benn-needs-to-tell-us-he-has-no-selfish-or-strategic-reason-for-preventing-a-border-poll/) - A statement of good faith is required from British minister Benn.
- [Building The New Republic ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/06/15/building-the-new-republic/) - Irish Unity must be built on modern culture not 20th century Ethno-Nationalism.
- [Poll positions](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/06/12/poll-positions/) - They can swing back and forth but opinion polls and election results are heading in the right direction.
- [Book Launch - ‘Rebel Notes: Popular Music and Conflict in Ireland’](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/05/28/book-launch-rebel-notes-popular-music-and-conflict-in-ireland/) - ‘Rebel Notes – Popular Music and Conflict in Ireland’ is a brilliant new book charting the history of the place of rebel songs in Irish society and politics.
- [Book Launch - Rebel Notes: Popular Music and Conflict in Ireland By Stan Erraught](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/05/23/book-launch-rebel-notes-popular-music-and-conflict-in-ireland-by-stan-erraught/) - Join us in discussion with Stan as we talk Kneecap, the Wolfe Tones, Celtic Symphony, Punk, The Cranberries, censorship and much more.
- [How do we chart a path to a Border Poll and win it?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/05/21/how-do-we-chart-a-path-to-a-border-poll-and-win-it-2/) - Debating Irish Unity in the heart of London.
- [How do we chart a path to a Border Poll and win it?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/05/08/how-do-we-chart-a-path-to-a-border-poll-and-win-it/) - Join us for this public debate on Tuesday May 20th. 7pm, Grimond Room Portcullis House, Westminster, London SW1A 2JR
- [How do we chart a path to a border poll and win it?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/05/01/how-do-we-achieve-a-border-poll-when-the-taoiseach-behaves-like-a-partitionist/) - Tuesday May 20th, 7pm, Grimond Room Portcullis House, Westminster, London SW1A 2JR
- [Despite Allister’s goading, Starmer says as little as possible on NI](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/02/05/despite-allisters-goading-starmer-says-as-little-as-possible-on-ni/) - Kevin Meagher explains how PM Starmer’s response to a question from the TUV leader shows how British politicians care little about Union with the North of Ireland.
- [The People's' Priest](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/02/13/the-peoples-priest/) - You don’t have to look to South or Central America for liberation theology in action. We witnessed it in Ballymurphy.
- [Dr Jim Donovan and the Birmingham Six Case](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/02/26/dr-jim-donovan-and-the-birmingham-six-case/) - Jim Donovan has passed away. His role in highlighting the miscarriage of justice against The Birmingham 6 deserves acknowledgement and thanks.
- [Charting a Path to Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/03/11/charting-a-path-to-unity/) - Charting a Path to Irish Unity by Colin Harvey
- [The Irish Diaspora in Canada and Mark Carney](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/03/13/the-irish-diaspora-in-canada-and-mark-carney/) - Mark Carney will soon be Prime Minister of Canada. Ray Bassett recounts how Carney and Irish diaspora Canadian politicians helped Ireland out big time during the Financial Crisis.
- [The Inch-by-inch approach towards a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/03/15/the-inch-by-inch-approach-towards-a-united-ireland/) - Carl Duffy argues the most successful route to Irish Unity is minimising the differences between the two jurisdictions in Ireland but by bit, inch by inch.
- [Preparing Britain for Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/03/19/preparing-britain-for-irish-unity/) - There is work to be done in Britain as well as Ireland in paving the way for a Border Poll argues Paul Breen
- [Irish Neutrality](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/03/22/irish-neutrality/) - Elements of Irish Government and academia want to move Ireland closer to NATO. But former diplomat Ray Bassett disagrees and sides with the James Connolly view of Neutrality.
- [Northern votes are worth more in a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/03/27/northern-votes-are-worth-more-in-a-united-ireland/) - In a new Ireland the votes of people in the six counties will be worth much more than in the UK explains Carl Duffy.
- [The Irish Unity Dividend](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/03/30/the-irish-unity-dividend/) - Former Unionist turned United Irelander Ben Collins, gives us a taste of his forthcoming book explaining the many benefits of Irish Unity.
- [Partition Suffocates Political Choice](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/04/04/partition-suffocates-political-choice/) - Reunification end the the deep freeze of partition and energise political diversity.
- [How do we solve a problem like Micheál?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/04/14/how-do-we-solve-a-problem-like-micheal/) - The great cause of a United Ireland is too strong, too optimistic and too vibrant to be held back by Free Statism.
- [Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin Derangement Syndrome (SFDS)](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/04/16/micheal-martin-and-sinn-fein-derangement-syndrome-sfds/) - The Taoiseach views Irish Unity a SF issue and hates them so much it has turned him into an opponent of Unity instead of accepting a United Ireland is for everyone.
- [Creating Northern Ireland: Remembering the Belfast Pogrom](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/05/04/the-belfast-pogrom-creating-the-northern-state-1920-22/) - The centenary of Northern Ireland is upon us. The British PM and NI First Minister told us they intend to celebrate. Yet the scale of horror unleashed upon Northern Catholics by Unionism with British supplied guns in forging the statelet should be a source of shame for those involved. Instead, the scale of atrocities that
- [Border Poll debate is unstoppable](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/04/27/border-poll-debate-is-unstoppable/) - Border Poll talk won’t go away no matter how much it irritates UUP, DUP and FF leaders.
- [Polls apart](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/04/23/polls-apart/) - Of course opinion polls will play a part in deciding when a Unity referendum is held.
- [The North is failing the South is booming . Let’s Reunite?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/04/17/the-north-is-failing-the-south-is-booming-lets-reunite/) - The North is stagnant and the South is booming. The case for Reunification has never been stronger.
- [Forget 2024 Election. Focus on 2029](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/12/06/forget-2024-election-focus-on-2029/) - There’s been some gloating from obvious quarters about the Irish election result and the relatively poor performance from Sinn Féin. Little point dressing it up
- [All I want for Christmas is a pro-unity government](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/12/14/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-pro-unity-government/) - Now that we are in December we are officially in the Christmas season. It is also this year, the start of coalition negotiations for the next Government of Ireland. To paraphrase Mariah Carey, all I want for Christmas is a pro-unity government. The recent general election is the first one where all of the mainstream
- [Where now for constitutional change in Ireland?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/12/20/where-now-for-constitutional-change-in-ireland/) - As attention turns to government formation - and the new Programme for Government in Ireland - these brief reflections are an attempt to address the question in the title: Where now?
- [A Thought for the New Year](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/12/31/a-thought-for-the-new-year/) - The referendums at the heart of this island-wide reconciliation project cannot be sidestepped forever.
- [Ted Howell: A life dedicated to reunification](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/05/ted-howell-a-life-dedicated-to-reunification/) - Ted Howell dedicated his adult life to the reunification of Ireland.
- [The Tricolour and Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/14/the-tricolour-and-irish-unity/) - Author Ben Collins responds to criticism of the Tricolour this week and argues for eyes kept firmly on the prize of Irish Unity and its benefits.
- [A Belfast Statue to Henry Joy](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/16/henry-joy-mccracken-statue-a-leader-like-no-other/) - As interest grows in one of Belfast’s most famous sons it’s time for a statue of Henry Joy in the heart of Belfast argues Sean Napier.
- [The Taoiseach and Irish Unity?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/22/the-taoiseach-and-irish-unity/) - The new Dublin government can move a United Ireland closer. But does it want to?
- [The time for running away is over](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/25/the-time-for-running-away-is-over/) - In our first Irishborderpoll.com podcast of 2025 we chat to Colin Harvey about all things United Ireland.
- [Could the farmers swing a border poll?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/27/could-the-farmers-swing-a-border-poll/) - The political choices we make are invariably a mixture of the emotional and rational. A combination of identity and utility. Principle and pragmatism.
- [Five things Sinn Fein got wrong (and four fixes)](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/30/five-things-sinn-fein-got-wrong-and-fourfixes/) - Kevin Meagher reflects on what went wrong for SF in the recent election and what they need to do right in preparation for the next election.
- [Ben Colins](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/04/ben-colins/)
- [Colin Harvey](https://irishborderpoll.com/2025/01/04/colin-harvey/) - Professor in the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast.
- [The Election: 5 takeaways](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/12/03/the-election-5-takeaways/) - Kevin Meagher reflects on that election and is already thinking about the next one!
- [Kevin Bean - a tribute](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/11/24/kevin-bean-a-tribute/) - A socialist and Irish republican but never an ideologue, inspired to political thought and action by the noble struggles of the democrats and revolutionaries.
- [The time is now to talk Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/11/21/the-time-is-now-advocates-of-irish-unity-host-landmark-event-in-westminster/) - With the clock ticking down to the Irish General Election, the event aimed to amplify the conversation about the possibility of a united Ireland.
- [A radical, more assertive SF on the offensive could still win this election](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/11/13/a-radical-more-assertive-sf-on-the-offensive-could-still-win-this-election/) - Almost every recent election shows a desire for change. Sinn Féin or Aontú needs to demonstrate that they represent real change.
- [McGuigan for President](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/12/04/mcguigan-for-president/) - Now that the Dáil election is over, it is a good time to look ahead to a possible scenario for the next Irish Presidential election, due to take place in late 2025.
- [Border Poll Conversation with Alex Kane](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/07/12/border-poll-conversation-with-alex-kane/) - Welcome to irishborderpoll.com's fourth ‘Border Poll Conversations’ video podcast. We chat to interesting people with interesting things to say about constitutional change, border polls, the future of the Union and a United Ireland. In this podcast we chat with the most famous and respected of all unionist commentators, Alex Kane. He talks about his early
- [Where is Westminster?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/11/11/where-is-westminster/) - If you were promised a fundamental choice about your future, you’d like to think you would get to exercise it. Right? While the North/NI is a complicated place, the constitutional question is at heart really quite simple. People have the right to decide their own fate: the Union with Britain or a united Ireland. The conversation about Irish unity continues
- [Michelle O’Neill at Belfast Cenotaph: Healing divisions or a step too far?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/11/10/michelle-oneill-at-belfast-cenotaph-healing-divisions-or-a-step-too-far/) - In this guest post, Dr Paul Breen reflects on the question of Remembrance and the poppy from a United Irelander perspective. Michelle O’Neill’s decision to lay a wreath at Belfast’s Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday is a powerful and symbolic gesture. By doing so, she is keeping the promise she made on the day she assumed
- [Ireland, the poppy and Remembrance](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/11/09/ireland-the-poppy-and-remembrance/) - Not infrequently, people in Britain have asked why the red poppy which commemorates British military war dead generates hostility and opposition from some Irish people and Celtic supporters. With poppy-wearing season upon us we thought it timely to release an edited extract from Chapter 5 of our book The Blood Stained Poppy which we hope goes some
- [What a Trump victory means for Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/11/07/what-a-trump-victory-means-for-irish-unity/) - By Ben Collins, author of Irish Unity:Time To Prepare First of all I don’t think Donald Trump wakes up in the morning thinking of Ireland, except perhaps when he is contemplating his golf course in Doonbeg. But like the rest of the world, President Trump’s re-election has implications for Ireland and also specifically for the prospect
- [The Perks of Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/09/11/the-perks-of-irish-unity/) - When Michael Collins, and I quote; ‘signed my own death warrant’ in the form of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on the 6th of December 1921, Irish Unity has practically been one of the most contentious issues on this beautiful albeit small island on both a political and social level. My belief is that Unity could open
- [I've change my mind. There's no need to set out border poll criteria](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/08/18/ive-change-my-mind-theres-no-need-to-set-out-border-poll-criteria/) - Should Hilary Benn set out clear criteria for the circumstances in which to call a border poll? I've always been among those suggesting that the secretary of state should. It would hold British feet to the fire over actually calling a poll and give United Irelanders something concrete to focus their energies on. And at
- [The Key Role of Alliance in a Border Poll Campaign](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/10/30/the-key-role-of-alliance-in-a-border-poll-campaign/) - Professor Jon Tonge recently reported that his survey of Alliance party members showed a majority believe there will be and should be a border poll in the next decade. Eóin Tennyson, newly elected Deputy Leader of the party, stated in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph published on 28th October that Alliance would have a ‘leadership role’ in navigating the
- [Double Standards at work here](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/10/15/double-standards-at-work-here/) - The media in the Irish Republic have been strangely convulsed lately by the events around the resignation of a Sinn Féin backbench T.D., Brian Stanley. The national broadcaster, RTE,has majored heavily on the story and the “paper of record”, the Irish Times, (always anxious to put the boot into Sinn Féin), has devoted its leading headlines to it. On the face of it, it is hard to fathom why Stanley’s resignation should elicit such
- [Ireland: Who are the populists and how popular are they?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/10/15/ireland-who-are-the-populists-and-how-popular-are-they/) - Four years ago the Irish establishment was rocked when Sinn Fein topped the poll in the General Election. Working class and young people unable to afford rents or homes voted for the party in huge numbers. Dubbed left wing populists by the media, pundits warned that if the party got into government the Republic it
- [Brexit is ending the Union of GB and Northern Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/09/29/brexit-is-ending-the-union-of-gb-and-northern-ireland/) - This article first appeared in The Northern Star here: https://thenorthernstar.online/2024/09/25/reconstituting-the-nations-britain-and-ireland-after-brexit/ This is the text of a talk given by Peter Ramsay to the Desmond Greaves Summer School 2024 in Dublin. He argues that the reconstitution of a sovereign nation-state in Britain depends on the achievement of Irish national sovereignty, and that the relation of the two nations
- [Is Simon Harris a united Irelander?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/09/28/simon-harris-has-a-choice-to-make-on-irish-unity/) - Reviewing the most recent opinion polls it is apparent that Simon Harris does not need outside advice on how to do his job as Taoiseach. In a few short months he has turned around Fine Gael’s approval rating and his own personal rating has soared in recent weeks. He is currently representing Ireland on the
- [Time for Brexiteers to face reality and support Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/09/17/time-for-brexiteers-to-face-reality-and-support-irish-unity/) - It is increasingly clear that for Britain to achieve a real Brexit in any meaningful way, the unresolved dilemma of how to manage arrangements on the island of Ireland, must be tackled. While the partition of Ireland into two small States greatly inhibited the development of true independence of the new Irish Free State, the
- [Is Sinn Féin’s new immigration policy enough to win back its working class base?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/07/24/is-sinn-feins-new-immigration-policy-enough-to-win-back-its-working-class-base/) - Sinn Féin’s new policy document “International Protection, A fair system that works” is a substantial contribution to the national debate in Ireland on the issue of political asylum and protection of refugees. It was drawn up in response to the widespread perception that the party’s steep decline in the polls was due to getting out
- [As the Union declines Unity looks even more attractive](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/08/30/as-the-union-declines-unity-looks-even-more-attractive/) - In the final week of the US Presidential campaign in 1980 the Republican nominee Ronald Reagan asked voters “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” On election day the voters gave their answer and voted to end Jimmy Carter’s presidency and to elect Ronald Reagan as President. From an Irish perspective
- [Irish Unity….. Why is it such an important issue? ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/07/21/irish-unity-why-is-it-such-an-important-issue/) - Irish Unity has been the foremost issue in my mind since becoming even primitively politically literate. Browsing maps to find the Union Jack emblazoned over the north eastern corner of the proud & ever emerging island nation of Ireland, seemed both jarring & absurd to my young mind, particularly when juxtaposed against the Irish tricolour
- [Enough of the rhetoric: Concrete steps the next Dublin government can take to prepare for Unity. (Part one)](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/08/15/enough-of-the-rhetoric-concrete-steps-the-next-dublin-government-can-take-to-prepare-for-unity/) - Author of Time For Irish Unity Ben Collins lays out practical initiatives the next Irish government should make in preparing the ground for a United Ireland. Read the second part of Ben’s article here. By early 2025 we will have a new Irish Government. Although as various commentators have pointed out, there could be an
- [Enough of the rhetoric: Concrete steps the next Dublin government can take to prepare for Unity. (Part two)](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/08/16/enough-of-the-rhetoric-concrete-steps-the-next-dublin-government-can-take-to-prepare-for-unity-part-two/) - Author of Time For Irish Unity Ben Collins lays out practical initiatives the next Irish government should make in preparing the ground for a United Ireland. Read the first part of Ben’s article here. The Irish Government should proactively show that all communities across Ireland have a stake in the country. There should be a
- [Ex-unionist will vote with his head and for Unity in a border poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/07/16/ex-unionist-will-vote-with-his-head-and-for-unity-in-a-border-poll/) - In a Border Poll Will people vote with the head or heart? Thursday August 1st, 1 pm. St. Mary’s College. Falls Road. Speakers Andree Murphy, Alex Kane, Kevin Meagher, Ben Collins. While I was brought up in a strongly pro-British and pro-Unionist household, I have wanted to see a United Ireland since the Good Friday
- [I’m a Republican but I’ve always loved the bonfires and flute bands](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/07/11/im-a-republican-but-ive-always-loved-the-bonfires-and-flute-bands/) - The ‘11th Night’ is here and that means controversy follows. Huge bonfires placed too close to people’s houses. Sinn Fein, SDLP election posters and Tricolours burnt on the pyre. The negative environmental impact of the bonfires. And what about the potential for sectarian songs, the blue bag brigade and drunk and disorderly behaviour? There’s no
- [Should United Irelander MPs sit in the British Parliament?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/06/28/should-united-irelander-mps-sit-in-the-british-parliament/) - In the mouth of the Westminster election the issue of whether elected MPs from this part of Ireland should take their seats or not inevitably arises. Republican parties are the only ones that run on an abstentionist ticket. Their logic is simple: ‘why we would want to be part of the parliament we’re trying to
- [David Adams is a good guy. But his criticism of United Irelanders on Reconciliation is misplaced](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/06/24/david-adams-is-a-good-guy-but-his-criticism-of-united-irelanders-on-reconciliation-is-misplaced/) - Last week former loyalist David Adams spoke at the Ireland’s Future conference in Belfast. He deserves praise for doing so as do the organisers for inviting him. From the platform he was forthright in criticising United Irelanders for (in his view) ignoring and dismissing talk of reconciliation as a plot by unionism to make it
- [Two visions of Belfast. But only one has a future](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/08/15/two-visions-of-belfast-but-only-one-has-a-future/) - Fresh back from a recent trip to Belfast, it occurred to me that two versions of the city have been on display this summer. In the first, Belfast was the epitome of joy and togetherness. In the second, it was a depiction of fury and division. Feile an Phobail, the annual West Belfast festival, is
- [Head or Heart in a border poll?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/08/02/head-or-heart-in-a-border-poll/) - This is the speech given by Kevin Meagher in the 'Will we vote with the heart or head in a border poll?' debate at the Féile an Phobail festival which took place on 1st August 2024 at St Mary's College, Belfast. Head or heart? Let me start by offering the politician’s answer: It can and
- [Border Poll Conversation with Rev Karen Sethuraman](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/05/31/border-poll-conversation-with-rev-karen-sethuraman/) - Welcome to irishborderpoll.com's third ‘Border Poll Conversations’ video podcast. We chat to interesting people with interesting things to say about constitutional change, border polls, the future of the Union and a United Ireland. On June 15th thousands will fill the SSE Arena in Belfast for the latest ‘Ireland’s Future - Pathway To Change’ conference. It
- [The meaning of Irishness: a letter from the diaspora](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/03/09/the-meaning-of-irishness-a-letter-from-the-diaspora/) - Gabriel McCaffrey (@gabefin) is an Irish immigrant in Canada. He wrote a dispatch for us in the run up to St. Patrick's day 2024. As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, and living in Canada, I wanted to share some thoughts on the Diaspora community here and how it experience’s the reality of life as Irish
- [Irish in Canada: A St Patrick's Day message from the diaspora](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/03/17/irish-in-canada-a-st-patricks-day-message-from-the-diaspora/) - Gabriel McCaffrey (@gabefin) is an Irish immigrant in Canada and a board member Friends of Sinn Féin Canada. Gabriel left Ireland in the 1980s during the significant exodus triggered by the economic and political instability that was caused by the policy failures and corruption of the governments of Haughey and Fitzgerald. He settled in Canada,
- [Young Fine Gael members pushing for Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/03/21/young-fine-gael-irish-unity-leo-varadkar/) - United Irelanders may have noticed over the past few months that Young Fine Gael (YFG) have been active in pushing the Unity question on a number of fronts. From publishing their All Island Transportation document and pushing for a Citizens Assembly they have made quite an impact. John Healy and Jude O`Kane have been at the
- [Irish unity will cost £20 billion? No, it really won’t](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/04/05/irish-unity-will-cost-20-billion-no-it-really-wont/) - Let me cut to the chase: the report into the financial consequences of Irish unity from Professors John Fitzgerald and Edgar Morgenroth for the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, published yesterday, is a farrago of nonsense. Nevertheless, it has dominated a slow news week, with the good professors offering a series of contentious assumptions about the costs of Irish unification, speculatingthat it
- [Varadkar’s twists and turns on Irish unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/04/10/varadkars-twists-and-turns-on-irish-unity/) - Nothing has endeared Leo Varadkar to United Irelanders like his leaving office. In a positive way, I hasten to add. In a valedictory interview with RTE, the outgoing Taoiseach was emphatic when asked about the potential costs of a united Ireland, replying that it ‘should never be about money.’ He added: ‘If you believe in the unification of your country, three or 4% of GDP is
- [Border Poll Conversation with Peadar Tóibín](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/04/11/border-poll-conversation-with-peadar-toibin/) - Welcome to irishborderpoll.com’s second ‘Border Poll Conversations’ video podcast, a new regular feature. We chat to people with interesting things to say about constitutional change, border polls, the future of the Union and a United Ireland. Following the two recent referendum results in the 26 Counties, opinion polls show a rise in support for Aontú.
- [Decolonisation and unification](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/04/27/decolonisation-and-unification/) - Every day the horror of the relentless onslaught waged on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are on our screens. What we are witnessing is colonialism in action, and in real time. It is both barbaric and ugly. Genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and theft are central motifs of colonialism. Only now do we get
- [Irish government have lost all authority on refugee crisis](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/05/02/irish-government-have-lost-all-authority-on-refugee-crisis/) - It takes something major to change the atmosphere in a country, once famous for its céad míle fáilte hospitality to one where there is widespread hostility to the arrival of some migrants. This has happened in Ireland where nobody doubts but that immigration is now in the words of former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar “a top-tier”
- [Immigration and border tensions make Unity more urgent than ever](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/05/07/immigration-and-border-tensions-make-unity-more-urgent-than-ever/) - The May 2024 local election results in England have confirmed what the opinion polls have suggested for the past year. The Conservatives are destined to lose the next UK General Election. But their actions for the remainder of their time in government can still have an impact on both Britain and Ireland. We saw in
- [The Tory Party are emotionally detached from Northern Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/05/15/the-tory-party-are-emotionally-detached-from-northern-ireland/) - When the UK Conservatives lose the Westminster election in late 2024 or early 2025, they are likely to be heavily defeated and this will lead to a significant change in their approach to many policies. We have already seen the reaction of some since the May 2024 local elections calling for the party to adopt
- [What an Irish Government should seek from a new British Government on day one](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/05/19/what-an-irish-government-should-seek-from-a-new-british-government-on-day-one/) - When Simon Harris became Taoiseach on 9 April 2024 he promised new ideas and new energy. While he is Ireland’s youngest ever Taoiseach, he comes to the role with significant experience, as he has been a government minister since 2014. Shortly before his election he stated in a TV interview that a “United Ireland is
- [UK Union looking weaker. Irish Unity looking stronger.](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/07/07/uk-union-looking-weaker-irish-unity-looking-stronger/) - The Westminster elections have delivered an extraordinary result for British politics. But their impact for Northern Ireland is also going to be significant. The DUP knew that this was going to be a difficult election for several reasons but the loss of three of the eight seats they held before the election will still be
- [The rise of the Reform party is bad for Ireland and for Britain](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/06/23/the-rise-of-the-reform-party-is-bad-for-ireland-and-for-britain/) - At a U.K. level the Conservatives own Brexit and its downsides, just as the DUP own Brexit more than any other party in Northern Ireland. They campaigned for it and signed up to a confidence and supply agreement with the Conservatives where they could influence the type of Brexit which was delivered. By voting against
- [Labour’s role in preparing for unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/04/25/labour-keir-starmer-irish-unity/) - The British Labour party are now consistently performing considerably higher in the opinion polls than the Conservatives. According to one recent poll Labour are predicted to win over 400 seats which would be a landslide victory on a similar scale to that enjoyed by Tony Blair in 1997. It is clear that Labour will have
- [Peadar Tóibín: ‘Irish unity is a great honour for this generation, because so many generations past never got the opportunity’](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/04/13/peadar-toibin-irish-unity-is-a-great-honour-for-this-generation-because-so-many-generations-past-never-got-the-opportunity/) - This edition of the IrishBorderPoll.com podcast is a belter. I’ve been fascinated by Peadar Tóibín for some time. He famously quit Sinn Fein back in 2018 after coming to a ‘strong difference of opinion’ with the party leadership over abortion before founding Aontú, with an offer focused on ‘life, unity and economic justice.’ The emergence
- [Border Poll Conversation with John Alderdice: Is The Trajectory Irish Unity?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/03/07/border-poll-conversation-with-john-alderdice-is-the-trajectory-irish-unity/) - Welcome to irishborderpoll.com's first ever ‘Border Poll Conversations’ video podcast, a new regular feature. We chat to interesting people with interesting things to say about constitutional change, border polls, the future of the Union and a United Ireland. For our first Border Poll Conversation we talk to John Alderdice, former leader of the Alliance Party
- [FAI: Start scouting players in the six counties](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/02/17/northern-irish-footballer-ireland-team-fai-scout-northern-ireland-ifa/) - This week the BBC asked First Minister Michelle O’Neill if she was prepared to attend a Northern Ireland match. “Of course, I’m happy to do so,”she replied. The BBC felt no need to ask the Deputy First Minister if she would attend a Republic of Ireland game. In football parlance it was Parity of esteem
- [How daft is the DUP?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/02/26/how-daft-is-the-dup/) - It’s a rhetorical question, of course. The answer is ‘pretty daft.’ After being buttered-up by British ministers on innumerable occasions since Brexit - only to find themselves let down more times than a well-bucket - they have now relented from their two-year boycott of the Good Friday Agreement institutions and returned to Stormont. Tail between
- [The trajectory is a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/03/04/the-trajectory-is-a-united-ireland/) - “The trajectory is a United Ireland”, Lord Alderdice told our Westminster debate on ‘The Union and Irish Unity’ last week. He explained that the English were emotionally detached from Northern Ireland and talked about how the DUP had damaged the Union. John Alderdice, was leader of the Pro-Union Alliance party from1987 to 1998. But now
- [Irish Unity: Change is Coming](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/03/07/irish-unity-change-is-coming/) - “I believe that the constitutional conversation in Ireland is like a Kettle on a gas hob - it’s just beginning to bubble - But very soon- it going to whistle”. John Finucane Below is the speech delivered by Sinn Fein MP John Finucane at our irishborderpoll.com Irish Unity debate in Westminster last week. Other speakers were Former
- [The economic case for Unity: How to win the undecideds](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/12/10/economics-of-irish-unity-border-poll-irish-economy/) - The UK is the most unequal of all major European economies. Its finances are perilous and the cost of living crisis desperate.The latest cross-party report details levels of poverty among the disadvantaged not seen since Victorian times.The north of Ireland is the poorest region in the UK. The gap in living standards between the north
- [Dublin’s 2024 resolution: starve the far-right, serve the people for once](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/01/10/irish-far-right-varadkar-martin-sinn-fein-working-class-vote/) - Fundamentally, the Republic of Ireland doesn’t have a refugee problem. It has a government problem. Since the foundation of the 26 county state, Ireland has never served its people first. Business has always been front of the queue: first it was cattle farmers, then it was landlords, and now supermassive tech multinationals have become Ireland’s
- [An Irish lesson for Gaza?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/01/15/gaza-peace-treaty-israel-irish-good-friday-agreement/) - Ray Bassett is a former Irish diplomat. He was intimately involved in preparing the groundwork for negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. Never be afraid to engage, peace is made with your enemies, not your friends. In early 1993, and against the continued conflict in Northern Ireland, a series of clandestine meetings took
- [Irish Unity - Welcome to the United Kingdom of England and Wales?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/02/05/irish-unity-welcome-to-the-united-kingdom-of-england-and-wales/) - Tuesday February 27th - irishborderpoll.com brings the Constitutional debate to the heart of Westminster. Book your ticket now via Eventbrite. Two constitutional fires burn on Westminster’s hillside. Scottish nationalism, for so long a marginal force, came within six percent of winning the referendum on independence held in September 2014. It briefly triggered a bout of
- [The Union: It’s all over bar the shoutin'?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2024/02/10/the-union-its-all-over-bar-the-shoutin/) - Last week I was reminded of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returning from meeting Hitler and holding that piece of paper declaring “Peace for our Time”. Watching Jeffrey Donaldson clutching the Command Paper "Safeguarding The Union" and declaring the Union safe felt like a similar moment of desperate wishful thinking. Rather than save the Union
- [Varadkar or Connolly’s Vision of Irish Freedom?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/10/08/varadkar-or-connollys-vision-of-irish-freedom/) - The unity debate is gathering momentum in a way we haven’t seen before. The nationalist commentariat become bolder by the day in their argument that the ‘sub-polity’, as Brian Feeny accurately describes the north, has entered its endgame. Sam MacBride says there is ‘an end of days’ feeling about the place, warning that people might
- [Baker is wrong - Eastwood is right](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/10/24/border-poll-ireland-50-plus-1-no-supermajority/) - One of the curious aspects of the Border Poll debate is how often apparently democratic commentators think it uncontroversial to propose a unionist veto in a border referendum dressed up as conflict resolution. British junior minister for NI Steve Baker is the latest character to argue this anti-democratic position. He was speaking at the British
- [Why does Ireland support Palestine?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/11/10/why-does-ireland-support-palestine/) - People in Britain ask why the Irish are such vocal supporters of the Palestinians. In this Long Read Brian Críostoir explains the bonds of solidarity between our two peoples run deep. It’s August 2006. Israel’s ‘bunker-busting’ bombs are raining down on Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, while their tanks smashed into Gaza. Veteran Civil Rights
- [Ireland and the poppy](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/11/12/ireland-and-the-poppy/) - Many good friends and associates in Britain have asked why the red poppy which commemorates British military war dead generates hostility and opposition from some Irish people and Celtic supporters. With poppy-wearing season upon us we thought it timely to release an edited extract from Chapter 5 of our book The Blood Stained Poppy which we hope
- [Why I am marching for Gaza in London today](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/11/11/why-i-am-marching-for-gaza-in-london-today/) - This afternoon I am marching in London to offer solidarity to Palestinians being murdered in their thousands by Israeli bombs supplied by their western allies. I hope it’s a small comfort to the besieged people of Gaza knowing that tens of thousands in London, huge numbers in Ireland and millions across the world stand with
- [Stormont: Ireland's longest-running pantomime](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/11/13/pantomime-drama-stormont-ireland-dup-jeffrey-donaldson/) - We are delighted to have Roy Greenslade contribute to irishborderpoll.com . Roy is one of the finest journalists, writers and media commentators of his generation. Below he reflects on the politics of the DUP and British government as farce. There is no end to the pantomime season in the Six Counties. It is, however, anything but
- [11 things on that Irish Times/ARINS Irish Unity poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/12/03/11-things-on-that-irish-times-arins-irish-unity-poll/) - 1 Let’s cut to the chase. The figures don't look good for United Irelanders in this weekend’s Irish Times/ARINS survey. 51% of people polled in the North said they would vote No to Irish Unity. Only 30% said they would vote yes. 5% said they would not vote and 15% didn't know how they would
- [Unionism and Unification](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/09/01/unionism-and-unification/) - In November 2022 Ireland’s Future, a non-party political group supporting Irish reunification, hosted an event in the Ulster Hall. What was remarkable about this event was that one of the panels consisted entirely of men and women from a Protestant/ unionist background. The group consisting of a business man, southern politician, author, a British veteran
- [Lights out for ‘our wee country’](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/09/04/dup-energy-crisis-cost-of-living-northern-ireland/) - Journalist Sam McBride penned an article in which he stated that the north of Ireland is just over a month away from a ‘blackout crisis’. The Kilroot power station just outside Belfast is scheduled to move from coal to gas powered turbines. Ageing and inefficient, and no longer fit-for-purpose, it is euphemistically apt. The allegory
- [Quite a week for United Irelanders](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/09/12/quite-a-week-for-united-irelanders/) - Quite a week for United Irelanders Leo. Colum. Wallace. Duncan. Members of Ireland’s latest boy band? Not quite, but this quartet have been singing mellifluously from the same hymn sheet this past week. Political leaders, Varadkar and Eastwood, trilling a new-found enthusiasm for Irish unity. But the stand-out performance – the lead solo – came
- [Cultural accommodation in the here and now](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/09/13/cultural-accommodation-in-the-here-and-now/) - Seán Mac Cárthaigh was one of a number of people who wrote a paper on cultural accommodation presented at Féile an Phobail Belfast in August. Below he outlines the rationale of the paper and reactions to it. The full text can be found under the resources tab of irishborderpoll.com Cultural accommodation of others can in
- [Rebel Songs in a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/09/16/rebel-songs-in-a-united-ireland/) - As conversations in Ireland progress on how and if a united Ireland is achievable, our leaders need to ensure that their positions on unification are balanced and veer away from comparing either community in Northern Ireland to distasteful regimes. In a wide ranging interview on RTE 1 on 7 September, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar informed RTE
- [The language of Partitionism is fading](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/09/23/paddy-kielty-late-late-show-ni-representation-rte-media-irish-unity/) - Partition became a reality embraced on both sides of the border by a counter-revolutionary dispensation that set out to normalise the British imposed settlement. Reflecting establishment positions, mainstream print and state media provided a means of dissemination and reinforcement. Post-partition one of the first BBC Directors in the north, Gerald Beadle, sought to persuade the
- [Hilary Benn - a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/10/07/hilary-benn-northern-ireland-secretary-profile/) - Brian Críostoir is a teacher, trade unionist and activist based in Newcastle. Originally from Derry, he regularly writes on Irish politics from a emigrant perspective. On Monday, the five largest parties (SF, DUP, UUP, Alliance and SDLP) welcomed Hilary Benn to Stormont’s Parliament Buildings, where he met with party leaders and called, as expected, for a return
- [At The Crossroads](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/08/30/economic-case-for-a-united-ireland/) - This writer read with some interest an article that asked, Is Britain really as poor as Mississippi? Pro-union advocates often cite the ‘UK’ as the fifth largest economy in the world as part of a counter argument to Irish re-unification. That Britain was overtaken to fifth place by former imperial possession, India, in 2022, certainly
- [10 Steps To Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/08/21/10-steps-to-unity/) - London and Belfast are fraught with uncertainty at the moment. Twas ever thus. But in Dublin even the most stubborn in the political class are beginning to take seriously the need to plan for unity in the not-too-distant future. Here, Brian Críostoir, argues for what a responsible but radical, non-sectarian approach could look like —
- [Mutual Cultural Accommodation in Relation to Northern Ireland: Reciprocity, Leadership, Tolerance, Generosity, Compromise, Respect, Listening, Inclusion and Balance](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/09/13/mutual-cultural-accommodation-in-relation-to-northern-ireland-reciprocity-leadership-tolerance-generosity-compromise-respect-listening-inclusion-and-balance/) - Mutual accommodation can in theory benefit any society. As part of an evolving culture of tolerance, it can help lower the temperature of contested narratives, reduce stress, and make people happier. The question at the heart of this paper is whether mutual accommodation could help in practice, here and now. And if so, starting with
- [Hate Speech Legislation and the Good Friday Agreement](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/07/08/hate-speech-legislation-and-the-good-friday-agreement/) - A guest post by Ray Bassett. The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred or Hate Offences) Bill 2022, which is currently before the Irish Senate, is expected to become the law of the land in September. It is a poor piece of legislation, which infringes civil and human rights, while masquerading as a progressive
- [The Twelfth must not be given legitimacy in a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/07/19/12-july-should-not-be-holiday-in-united-ireland/) - The 12th of July is not a unifying holiday. The year is 2030 and you’re searching for the best cultural holiday spots the world over. First appears France. On July 14th, the frogs celebrate Bastille Day. This commemoration marks the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 by the Sans Culottes during the French Revolution. The
- [Let The People Sing](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/08/08/wolfe-tones-feile-2023-celtic-symphony/) - It’s Groundhog Day again. Last August Unionist politicians and media including sections of the Dublin media went out of their way to be offended by the WolfeTones concert at Féile, in particular their song Celtic Symphony. This year howls of outrage from the usual moral entrepreneurs are in full swing before the group has even
- [Raised on Songs and Stories](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/08/14/wolfe-tones-falls-park-feile-2023-kneecap-celtic-symphony/) - By Brian Crìostoir & Meabh MacDaibhéid Outrage season is back. Anois, ar theacht an tSamhraidh. On Sunday, the Wolfe Tones played Féile an Phobail, the West Belfast Festival, which is celebrating its 35th year. The Féile is a triumph of a thriving civic spirit and an event that fosters cultural expression, debate and cross-community engagement.
- [Irish Nationalism in Britain - Book Review](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/08/19/irish-nationalism-in-britain-book-review/) - Last month the Irish community in London gathered in Islington to unveil a plaque to Michael Collins at the spot he was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood - the revolutionary organisation dedicated to achieving Irish independence. But how successful were Irish nationalists in Britain in shaping the struggle for Irish freedom? Conflict, Diaspora, and
- [United Irelanders are well on the way to having the votes needed to win a border poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/03/united-irelanders-are-well-on-the-way-to-having-the-votes-needed-to-win-a-border-poll/) - Teachers are fond of telling their pupils to ‘show their working out.’ Even if they don’t arrive at the correct answer, there is still merit in understanding the way in which they calculated it. So, just for fun - and on the back of a napkin - let me try and sketch out the emerging
- [Censored Speech or Free Speech?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/23/censored-speech-or-free-speech/) - A post by guest author Michael Hallihane. ‘Big Brother is watching’ is a well-worn cliché but it was also my first thought when reading the Republic’s new ‘Hate Speech Bill’. The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022, to give it its full name, has attracted significant media attention and
- [Taking Control – Sovereignty and Democracy after Brexit](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/23/taking-control-sovereignty-and-democracy-after-brexit/) - A book review by guest author Ray Bassett. This is a thought-provoking publication and an interesting contribution to political debate in post Brexit Britain. The four authors are all left-wing supporters of Brexit, and their central theme is that leaving the European Union was only a first, if necessary, step towards the rebuilding of a
- [If a Border Poll is to be won then the current Sinn Fein strategy will need to be radically re-calibrated](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/16/if-a-border-poll-is-to-be-won-then-the-current-sinn-fein-strategy-will-need-to-be-radically-re-calibrated/) - A guest post by writer and political strategist Jon Egan. This may seem like a strange time to offer a note of scepticism for the prospects of a United Ireland, and an especially untimely moment to question the role of Sinn Fein as a party capable of delivering the ultimate goal of the Republican struggle.
- [Britain’s just not that into Northern Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/02/britains-just-not-that-into-northern-ireland/) - John Alderice is not known for hyperbole. In fact, the quietly-spoken former Alliance leader and speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, who now sits in the House of Lords, usually keeps a pretty low profile. Until the other day. ‘It’s all over bar the shoutin'’ was the title of a post on his personal blog.
- [50%+1= a united Ireland. And that is that](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/05/29/501-a-united-ireland-and-that-is-that/) - ‘Losers’ consent’ is definitely my phrase of the week. Employed by the eminent political scientist, Professor Brendan O’Leary at an event in Cork recently, it refers to the desirability of placating Unionists if they find themselves on the losing end of a future border poll. ‘If Unionists lose, they will have to consent to that
- [Northern Protestants: Time For a United Ireland?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/11/19/northern-protestants-time-for-a-united-ireland/) - irishborderpoll.com hosted this online discussion on 5th December Is it time to ditch the misnomer ‘PUL Community’ when, since Brexit, increasing numbers of Protestants publicly reject the Union in favour of a United Ireland? Northern Protestant Claire Mitchell argues in her new book The Ghost Limb that there is a growing community of Protestants who
- [Making Sense of a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/06/making-sense-of-a-united-ireland/) - Watch this online irishborderpoll.com discussion with Professor Brendan O'Leary, author of ‘Making Sense of a United Ireland’, which took place on Monday June 12th. Pro-Irish Unity parties won more votes than Unionism in the last election but how close are we to a border poll and United Ireland? Professor Brendan O'Leary, author of ‘Making Sense
- [A simple majority for Irish unity should be <em>‘Taken’</em> for granted](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/03/25/a-simple-majority-for-irish-unity-should-be-taken-for-granted/) - ‘I think it will happen and I think Britain will be pleased.’ So replied Liam Neeson to Sky News’s political editor, Beth Rigby, when she asked him in a recent interview what he thought about the prospects of Irish unity. ‘I think it could happen, but everybody has to be appeased,’ he added. ‘The Protestants in the North of
- [Thanks for everything, Boris](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/11/thanks-for-everything-boris/) - And, so, he is gone. Finito. Ceased to be. Goodbye Boris, we shan’t forget you. Your contribution to the cause of Irish unity will not be overlooked. The day after that border poll, as the sun shines across a single, 32-county Ireland, the multitudes will rejoice. Choirs of voices will sing your praises. ‘Thank-you Boris,
- [Is a Fine Gael clear-out really on the cards?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/06/11/is-a-fine-gael-clear-out-really-on-the-cards/) - There was a fascinating piece from Miriam Lord in last Saturday’s Irish Times. She suggests, with the casual authority of the informed commentator, that Leo Varadkar, Simon Coveney and Pascal Donohue will all quit frontline politics at the next Irish general election. Big news if so, representing a clear-out of Fine Gael’s top table. They
- [Change is coming. Prepare for it.](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/05/25/change-is-coming-prepare-for-it/) - A guest post by author Ben Collins. It is often said that two things in life are inevitable, death and taxes. I would like to add a third, embarking on constitutional change without planning beforehand leads to disaster. There is significant political change happening in Northern Ireland and we want to avoid the chaos of
- [Five takeaways from THAT election result](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/05/23/five-takeaways-from-that-election-result/) - 1. Shinners on a roll This was a spectacular result for Sinn Fein, by any measure. The ambition of dominating Irish politics, North and South, as a prelude to national reunification, continues apace. A whopping 7.7% added to the party’s vote share, with an additional 39 seats, is also powerful testimony to their iron discipline
- [A Unionist veto dressed as conflict resolution](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/05/22/a-unionist-veto-dressed-as-conflict-resolution/) - Imagine people in Britain were told Brexit would not happen because only a narrow majority had voted for it? That the issue was so divisive it required a supermajority of 60 percent before it passed? Or how about divorce in the south of Ireland which won by less than 1 percent of the vote, 50.28%
- [Want a United Ireland? Then go out and vote for parties that support one](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/05/18/want-a-united-ireland-then-go-out-and-vote-for-parties-that-support-one/) - There’s something of an irony about Northern Ireland’s local elections taking place two weeks after the rest of the UK’s. So enraptured would municipal vote counters be with the King’s Coronation - so the argument goes - that they could not be expected to count votes AND organise communal screens for the Big Event 24-hours
- [Ceasefire babies have nothing to be ashamed of](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/04/23/ceasefire-babies-have-nothing-to-be-ashamed-of/) - A guest post by journalist and blogger Theo Macdonald. The term ceasefire babies describes those of us who have grown up in an era when the threat of regular bombings, shootings and other displays of violence is no longer the norm on the Island we call home. The relative stability bestowed on the younger generation
- [Reflections on Good Friday 1998](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/04/06/reflections-on-good-friday-1998/) - Ray Bassett is a former Irish diplomat and was intimately involved in preparing the groundwork for the negotiations and the GFA itself. He reflects on those momentous events of 25 years ago. In a sometimes poignant piece he recalls those who made history but our no longer with us and dismisses claims that the GFA
- [The will of Parliament smashes Unionist opposition to Windsor Framework](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/03/23/the-will-of-parliament-smashes-unionist-opposition-to-windsor-framework/) - 486. The total audience at one of Jamie Bryson’s anti-Protocol rallies? The number of Catholics Kate Hoey believes work at BBC NI? The annual millions in EU funding that Northern Ireland now misses out on, thanks to Brexit? Plausibly all of the above, however it’s actually the majority in the House Commons this afternoon that
- [Brexit and the Protocol: Bad for the Union - Good for Irish Unity?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/03/02/ni-protocol-bad-for-the-union-good-for-irish-unity/) - Watch this online Irish Border Poll discussion with speakers Kevin Meagher, Ben Collins and Brian Feeney recorded on Thursday 2nd March. How should we view the new UK-EU Protocol deal? Will it lead to NI becoming economically semi-detached from GB with a border in the Irish Sea and the North becoming more closely linked economically
- [From IndyRef2 to a border poll: Are we afraid of democracy?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/12/16/from-indyref2-to-a-border-poll-are-we-afraid-of-democracy/) - Watch this Battle of Ideas festival debate produced in association with irishborderpoll.com. For the first time in Northern Ireland’s existence, the leader of a nationalist party is in line to become first minister. In May’s elections, Sinn Fein won the most seats – leading some to argue that the prospect of a united Ireland is
- [Unionists need to accept this is as good as it gets](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/03/01/unionists-need-to-accept-this-is-as-good-as-it-gets/) - So, there we have it: the Windsor Framework. The oldest trick in the book is to rebrand a problem. It might still be the Northern Ireland Protocol (Reformed Version), but it now bears the Monarch’s secular name. It’s hardly subtle. Rishi Sunak has set a purity test for die-hard unionists: Get with the programme or
- [We need to see courage from Sunak and Donaldson this week](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/02/20/we-need-to-see-courage-from-sunak-and-donaldson-this-week/) - Amid the wreckage of the British economy, collapsing public services, sewage-strewn beaches, broken railways and interminable industrial action, Rishi Sunak has a glimmer of hope. A deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol inches into view. It’s not perfect, from his point of view, with a big chunk of his backbenchers grumbling about the residual role
- [‘Centenary broccoli’ is in bad taste](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/02/16/strongcentenary-broccoli-is-in-bad-taste-strong/) - Broccoli? A doorstop? Is it a space invader to celebrate Northern Ireland’s burgeoning video gaming industry? It appears this dreadful image is in fact supposed to be a statue to commemorate Northern Ireland’s centenary. You may recall its brief appearance last year, when Sinn Fein vetoed its proposed erection in the grounds of Parliament Buildings.
- [DUP should heed Westminster’s warnings](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/02/12/dup-should-heed-westminsters-warnings/) - ‘They [unionists] either have to get off the ice and get on with the job or the ice is going to crack beneath their feet and they are going to find themselves in pretty cold and chilly water.’ A pretty blunt warning this week to the DUP and unionist refuseniks, who, after facing humiliation in
- [The Two Elephants in the Room](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/01/21/the-two-elephants-in-the-room/) - Former Lib Dem spokesman on Northern Ireland Stephen Lloyd argues that the DUP and Catholic Faith schools are a barrier to progress in the North of Ireland. Much has been written about the numerous challenges democratic politics faces in Northern Ireland. This article is not about those myriad challenges but focusses on just two of the
- [Protocol defeat is worst setback for Unionism in 40 years](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/02/09/protocol-defeat-is-worst-setback-for-unionism-in-40-years/) - Third time’s a charm? Not if you’re trying to have the Northern Ireland Protocol struck down in the British courts. Having already lost their case in the High Court and Court of Appeal, we can be permitted a measure of schadenfreude at the host of unionist luminaries who rolled the dice a third time only
- [Hardline unionism is about to be betrayed again – they are the only ones surprised](https://irishborderpoll.com/2023/01/19/hardline-unionism-is-about-to-be-betrayed-again-they-are-the-only-ones-surprised/) - What a fool I was! I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland, in the political game that was to get the Conservative Party into Power, writes Seán Hickey in this guest post for irishborderpoll.com. The reason why Edward Carson’s famous 1921 speech hangs so prominently in the mind of
- [Predictions for 2023: The Protocol stays, Biden comes, and Donaldson goes](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/12/28/predictions-for-2023-the-protocol-stays-biden-comes-and-donaldson-goes/) - Political soothsaying is a notoriously inaccurate pursuit, yet the temptation to engage in a spot of festive prediction-making is just too enticing, I’m afraid. Here, then, in a spirit of wild-eyed optimism, and reckless fortune-telling I offer the following… So, 2023 is the unwanted year, sitting, as it does, just outside of the commemorations from
- [The Good, The Bad and the Ugly of 2022](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/12/22/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-2022/) - In 1968 Sergio Leone directed one of my all time favourite films, the classic spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly starring Clint Eastwood. As we look back on the year that was 2022 I give you my good, the bad and the ugly of the Constitutional debate. The Good: The May Assembly
- [A rationally optimistic guide to a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/12/16/a-rationally-optimistic-guide-to-a-united-ireland/) - We are delighted to give a platform to Enniskillen native Carl Duffy who writes for irishborderpoll.com for the first time. Some very unhelpful objections are often vocalised whenever there’s talk of a United Ireland. From the lazy and uncritical, ’sure, the South can’t afford us’ to describing Irish reunification as divisive – which goes against
- [We don’t need to keep Stormont in a united Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/12/13/we-dont-need-to-keep-stormont-in-a-united-ireland/) - How do you solve a problem like Stormont? I’m not referring to the current impasse that has mothballed Parliament Buildings since last February. That will resolve itself when the British government cuts a deal with the EU over the Protocol and bounces the DUP back into the executive in coming weeks. No, I am talking
- [I will ‘happily accept’ a proposition I don’t support (and would like to vote on it too)](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/12/06/i-will-happily-accept-a-proposition-i-dont-support/) - Okay, so riddle me this. Last Sunday’ poll in the Irish Times says 50% of people in Northern Ireland want to stay in the UK, with just 27% backing Irish unity. Pretty dramatic stuff, but not all as it seems, (as I mentioned in my piece yesterday). Further findings from the poll are revealed today,
- [The Seanad in a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/11/25/the-seanad-in-a-united-ireland/) - A fortnight ago British Labour leader Keir Starmer promised to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a new elected chamber as part of plans to “restore trust in Politics”. But as the Irish Unity debate intensifies, guest contributor Seán Hickey asks what should be the role and composition of a chamber many
- [The Unity Debate: How do we define Irish in 2022?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/11/27/the-unity-debate-how-do-we-define-irish-in-2022/) - Guest contributor Emma DeSousa aspires to a United Ireland, yet refuses to describe herself an Irish nationalist. Below she explains why she finds the terminology around the Constitutional debate too reductive and why we need a less binary and more inclusive terminology to better reflect the nuances and complexity of the reunification debate. Former First
- [Enough voodoo polling! Time we had proper evidence about Irish unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/12/05/enough-voodoo-polling-time-we-had-proper-evidence-about-irish-unity/) - Well then, that’s it I suppose. Irish unity is a pipedream; no closer now than ever. Let’s pack up the tent and all go home. Yesterday’s poll in the Irish Times, commissioned by the ARINS project and carried out by Ipsos is pretty conclusive. Half of people in Northern Ireland want to remain in the
- [The UK: A Union of coercion rather than consent?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/10/11/the-uk-a-union-of-coercion-rather-than-consent/) - Not long ago I was lucky enough to be among ten political party leaders and thousands of people gathered in Dublin's 3 Arena to discuss preparation for Irish unity and a border poll. It was a huge, exciting and seminal event, probably the largest gathering of United Irelanders since Ireland was partitioned. But for all
- [Sinn Fein understands that presentation matters](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/24/sinn-fein-understands-that-presentation-matters/) - As a PR type, I always shudder at those images of stern-looking middle-aged blokes stood behind one or other of Northern Ireland’s political leaders while they conduct a television interview. An equal opportunities criticism to be sure given all the parties do it. Its fine when its your negotiating team heading into talks, but as
- [It’s anti-democratic to not clarify criteria for a Border Poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/28/its-anti-democratic-to-not-clarify-criteria-for-a-border-poll/) - A difficulty of the Good Friday Agreement is the lack of clarity around the precise criteria required to trigger a border poll. Is it election results to Westminster? The Stormont Assembly? Or council elections? Or something else entirely? That the decision lies with a British government led by an untrustworthy Prime Minister Boris Johnson is
- [The UK today: A Union of Consent or Coercion?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/07/03/the-uk-today-a-union-of-consent-or-coercion/) - Join us on 18th July for this important Irish Border Poll debate. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans for a referendum on Scottish Independence on October 19th 2023. A clear majority of MSPs support the IndyRef. If Boris Johnson blocks the poll - is the UK a Union of consent or coercion? This debate aims
- [Time for Irish Unity?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/09/24/time-for-irish-unity/) - Guest contributor Ben Collins discusses the theme of his forthcoming book, Irish Unity: Time To Prepare. The results of the Northern Ireland census 2021 are seismic in the sense that a state which was created specifically to have a permanent Protestant and Unionist majority, now has neither. This will not automatically lead to a United Ireland.
- [Let The People Sing](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/08/22/let-the-people-sing/) - My wife, a CEO of a London based media charity, has two party piece songs inherited from her father, a Dublin man who emigrated to Manchester. His favourite songs were 'The Dublin Saunter' and 'The Men Behind the Wire'. The first is a sweet, sentimental ode to a Dublin of yesteryear, the second a feisty
- [A Union of consent, or coercion?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/07/21/a-union-of-consent-or-coercion/) - Willing to survive the sweltering heat of central London, ensconced in one of the air-conditioned committee rooms in Portcullis House, I was thwarted only by the possibility of melting railway lines from attending this week’s discussion in the Palace of Westminster. If I had been able to attend and participate, as billed, alongside Sinn Fein’s
- [A Protestant against partition and for a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/07/23/a-protestant-against-partition-and-for-a-united-ireland/) - Irishborderpoll.com is delighted to present this anonymous opinion piece by a young writer. ‘Ulster’s British!’ The stereotypical outcry of the loyalists who I grew up with. I grew up in a Protestant Loyalist stronghold. My mother’s side of the family were deeply entrenched in the Protestant culture of Ulster unionism. From grandparents in the Orange
- [43% ‘would vote for a united Ireland tomorrow’](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/07/27/43-would-vote-for-a-united-ireland-tomorrow/) - As any book lover knows all too well, it always pays to read to the end. There’s some fascinating stat-nuggets in the recent University of Liverpool/Irish News polling, which showed Sinn Fein extending its lead to 10% over the DUP if fresh assembly elections were held tomorrow. The main thing that caught my eye, however,
- [Former Unionist Ben Collins: Why I'm now for Irish Unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/08/03/former-unionist-ben-collins-why-im-now-for-irish-unity/) - Ben Collins' forthcoming book, Irish Unity: Time To Prepare, is due out in early October. In September he will outline the theme of his book for irishborderpoll.com, explaining how it`s time for a United Ireland and how we need to prepare for a border poll and the new Ireland. Here he explains his conversion from
- [Real votes from actual elections show growing demand for Irish unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/08/18/real-votes-from-actual-elections-show-growing-demand-for-irish-unity/) - Nearly a quarter of a century on, we are all pretty familiar with the term in the Good Friday Agreement. There can only be a border poll on Irish unity if it appears ‘likely’ to the Secretary of State that ‘a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to
- [Civil society against the partitionist mindset](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/11/civil-society-against-the-partitionist-mindset/) - The recent opinion poll by the BBC indicated that a majority of people, north and south of the Irish border, believe that a reunited Ireland is the probable outcome of future political developments. If that is accurate, then there is an onus on all to ensure that this takes place as smoothly as possible. There
- [So, is the government going to suspend the Protocol or what?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/12/so-is-the-government-going-to-suspend-the-protocol-or-what/) - ‘Don’t touch this’ sounds like an instruction to punters in a pole dancing club, but it is also advice to Boris Johnson from the Belgian PM, Alexander De Croo. Responding to continued speculation that British ministers are preparing unilateral measures to rescind parts of the Protocol, the Belgian prime minister said the EU’s message was
- [Want to see how a coalition for Irish unity is built? Follow the second preferences](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/03/want-to-see-how-a-coalition-for-irish-unity-is-built-follow-the-second-preferences/) - Today’s state-of-the-parties poll in the Irish News (in conjunction with Liverpool University), which shows Sinn Fein cruising to victory over the DUP on Thursday by the seemingly impregnable margin of 26.6% to 18.2%, should be viewed - like all polling - as a snapshot of public opinion, not as holy writ. More akin to a bookie's tip
- [When it comes to Irish unity, the SDLP needs to raise its game](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/19/when-it-comes-to-irish-unity-the-sdlp-needs-to-raise-its-game/) - ‘The SDLP’s nationalist, no question about,’ said the party’s South Belfast MP, Claire Hanna, responding to this website’s editor at an ‘Ireland’s Future’ event in the House of Commons last night. Kevin Rooney asked if it was still accurate to include them in a tally of parties committed to Irish unity. A reasonable question, given
- [Three developments that feel significant](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/18/three-developments-that-feel-significant/) - There are decades when nothing happens, Lenin famously observed, and weeks when decades happen. It’s a pretty good rule for understanding Irish history, with long periods of statis punctuated by dramatic events. Think of the period between 1798 and 1803 – with a brace of Irish revolutions, or between 1916 and 1921, with another two.
- [The political, economic and legal consequences of Irish reunification.](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/03/29/the-political-economic-and-legal-consequences-of-irish-reunification/) - Originally published on jimocallaghan.com. Jim O'Callaghan is odds on favourite to be the next leader of Fianna Fail. In 'The Political, Economic and Legal Consequences of Irish Reunification', he sketches out a blueprint for the new Ireland. Give yourself a good 40 minutes, settle down and read. Then join the conversation. Would you broadly welcome
- [Féile An Earraigh 2021 - The Economics of a Border Poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/03/11/feile-an-earraigh-2021-the-economics-of-a-border-poll/) - Published by Féile An Phobail One hundred years ago Belfast was one of the leading industrial cities at the heart of the British empire. One hundred years after partition its story is one of decline while Dublin booms. The city that built the Titanic is also holed below the waterline. This Feile An Earraigh21 discussion
- [Debating irish unity and the state of the union](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/10/03/debating-irish-unity-and-the-state-of-the-union/) - As Irishborderpoll.com in association with the Academy of Ideas prepares to debate the Irish border and state of the union at the Battle of Ideas festival on Sunday 10th October, we thought this an opportune moment to introduce you to our previous debate for those who have not yet seen it. This featured unionist Peter
- [Why Brexiters should support Irish unification](https://irishborderpoll.com/2020/11/23/why-brexiters-should-support-irish-unification/) - Originally published on spiked. Britain's union with Northern Ireland limits the sovereignty of Brits and Irish alike. Brexit represents a seismic moment in modern British history. Withdrawing from the EU has put democracy and popular sovereignty front and centre of British politics. Brexit presents the British people with an opportunity to make their state more accountable
- [How to Spot the Referendum Denier](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/03/08/how-to-spot-the-referendum-denier/) - By CIARÁN QUINN published on eamonnmallie.com As the debate on Irish Unity deepens and the demand for a unity referendum becomes undeniable, a new phenomenon is emerging: ‘The Referendum Denier’. On the unionist side, the Referendum Denier will not engage in discussion on the future, unity, or a referendum. Their strategy is simple and as effective as, “don’t look at it and hope it goes away”. The second type of Referendum Denier can be
- [Attack on the Good Friday Agreement](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/03/24/attack-on-the-good-friday-agreement/) - There is clearly huge discomfort among leading members of the Dublin establishment at the momentum developing about a Unity referendum. For many years, the three old dominant political parties in the Republic, Fianna Fáil, Fianna Gael and Labour, loudly demanded that the Republican movement accept the principle of consent, whereby constitutional change to the status
- [Unionists and Loyalists have no-one to blame but themselves](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/05/unionists-and-loyalists-have-no-one-to-blame-but-themselves/) - The final run-in to what looks set to be a momentous election in Northern Ireland has been predictably divisive and ugly. The Belfast Telegraph reported the other day that Hannah Kenny, a candidate for People Before Profit standing in the East Belfast constituency, was left 'deeply distressed' after three men attacked and threatened her while she
- [Get Involved In The Irish Unity Campaign](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/10/03/get-involved-in-the-irish-unity-campaign/) - Martin Luther King declared that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. At the centenary of partition his words are apposite. One hundred years of misery, injustice and dysfunctionality are of course nothing to celebrate. But on this centenary there has never been a more exciting time to be
- [Why British Brexiters Should Back Ireland’s Unification](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/10/03/why-british-brexiters-should-back-irelands-unification/) - irishborderpoll.com welcomes every opportunity to widen the debate on Irish unity. Hence our thanks to Brexit supporters Peter Ramsay and Pauline Hadaway, British academics based in London and Liverpool respectively who argue the case for Irish unity. They contend that Irish reunification is the precondition for real democracy in Britain. By Peter Ramsay and Pauline Hadaway
- [Answering the British Question with a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/10/13/answering-the-british-question-with-a-united-ireland/) - Peter Ramsay is Professor of Law at The London School of Economics and a founding member of The Full Brexit. He was one of four panelist’s speaking at irishborderpoll.com debate, The Irish Border Question: Can The Union Survive? It took place on Sunday October 10th as part of the Battle of Ideas festival in London.
- [The Irish border question: can the Union survive?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/11/10/the-irish-border-question-can-the-union-survive/) - Watch this debate which was hosted by irishborderpoll.com at the Battle of Ideas festival in London on Sunday 10th October. Speakers Mick Fealty, founding editor, Slugger O’Toole Andrée Murphy, columnist; Belfast Media Group and Belfast Telegraph; board member, Ireland’s Future Peter Ramsay, professor of law, London School of Economics and Political Science; author, The Insecurity
- [Register now for this irishborderpoll debate](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/12/23/save-the-date-for-this-irishborderpoll-debate/) - "Do pro-United Irelanders live in Never-never land? Or is Irish Unification inevitable?" In December 2021 journalist and commentator Ruth Dudley Edwards wrote in the Belfast Newsletter that the United Ireland dream is over and that Pro Unity supporters live in never-never land. In January 2022 author and commentator Kevin Meagher releases a fully updated copy
- [Time to face the past](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/01/13/time-to-face-the-past/) - Pauline Hadaway argues that British people need to confront their own history and join with Irish people, from every part of Ireland, to put the past to rights. "There was a lot promised initially, a lot hoped for…so many things could have happened. We could have had a coin, we could have had a stamp.
- [United Irelanders or Unionists - who's living in Never-never land?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/01/21/united-irelanders-or-unionists-whos-living-in-never-never-land/) - On 18th January, irishborderpoll.com hosted an online debate about who has the best handle on the Unity question. Our guest speakers were Ruth Dudley Edwards, Kevin Meagher and Professor Jon Tonge. Watch the discussion below...
- [A United Ireland (*Pt II)](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/01/25/a-united-ireland-pt-ii/) - (*Spoiler: It is still inevitable) An updated edition of my book, ‘A United Ireland: Why Unification is Inevitable and How it Will Come About’ is published today (25 January). A second edition is an invitation for the author to wallow in self-congratulation, or to lament their folly. Like the curate’s egg, my arguments in the
- [The strange death of the government’s anti-Protocol Bill](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/06/the-strange-death-of-the-governments-anti-protocol-bill/) - First it was there, and then it was not. The government confirmed last month that it would bring forward a Bill in the new session of parliament enabling it to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The Financial Times broke the story two weeks ago that the Bill would give ministers ‘sweeping powers to
- [Imagining education in the new Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/04/09/imagining-education-in-the-new-ireland/) - Irishborderpoll today launches a new series of articles on 'Imagining the new Ireland'. We hope to feature a diverse range of people from all walks of life, many of them writing for the first time about subjects close to their hearts. Here teacher Sean Walsh argues for an education system which draws upon the best
- [A Referendum on Irish Unity – An Economic Imperative](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/04/09/a-referendum-on-irish-unity-an-economic-imperative/) - Gerry Carlile, CEO of Ireland's Future, makes a persuasive case for Irish unity on economic grounds. This article first appeared on eamonnmallie.com. At a time when almost every part of our economy and society is trying to come to terms with the Covid-19 pandemic, the limitations of a partitioned island are being laid bare. Partition
- [The Union with Northern Ireland: A Dead End for Brexit](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/04/12/the-union-with-northern-ireland-a-dead-end-for-brexit/) - irishborderpoll.com believes in the free and open exchange of ideas as a prerequisite for a successful Unity project. In coming months we will feature contributors not everyone will always agree with. For us that’s a good thing - it’s called debate. Today Brexit supporter Peter Ramsay of ‘The Full Brexit’ argues the Protocol has to
- [Imagining a New Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/04/16/imagining-a-new-ireland/) - By Clíodhna NicBhranair I have had many conversations over the years about the notion of Irish unity – with varying outcomes, I must admit! There are those who totally oppose the idea, who are unionist to the core, who view themselves as British. There are those who claim to be ambivalent, who say that it’s
- [Northern Ireland at 100: Is Unionism emotionally ready for conversation about a united Ireland?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/04/20/northern-ireland-at-100-is-unionism-emotionally-ready-for-conversation-about-a-united-ireland/) - Monday 3rd May: register for this IrishBorderPoll debate When asked what he wanted for unionism David Trimble once answered: “To be left alone.” Writing in the Irish Times this month Peter Cardwell bemoaned that unionism feels anything but left alone by constant prodding and talk of a united Ireland. Since Brexit, the Irish unity debate
- [Towards a New Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/04/25/towards-a-new-ireland/) - In case you missed it last week this is the paper delivered by Neale Richmond TD on planning and preparing for a border poll and a United Ireland. A must read. Twenty-three years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, conversations regarding the future of Northern Ireland’s status have once again come to the
- [Northern Ireland at 100: the end is in sight](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/05/03/northern-ireland-at-100-the-end-is-in-sight/) - 3 May is not just the centenary of Northern Ireland; it is also the centenary of the United Kingdom in its current form. Prime minister Boris Johnson is keen to assure today’s Unionists that he will be celebrating the centenary, but whether they will join him is up for debate. A poll for BBC Northern
- [Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland and a politics of permanent crisis](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/05/03/arlene-foster-northern-ireland-and-a-politics-of-permanent-crisis/) - Originally published on spiked. Does Arlene Foster’s resignation signal the beginning of the end for power-sharing or just another spin of the wheel? Northern Ireland’s political hamster wheel once again turned full circle, as Arlene Foster announced her decision to quit the political stage this week. Foster had been handed the role of acting First
- [Debate video "Northern Ireland at 100"](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/05/05/debate-video-northern-ireland-at-100/) - This is a recording of the Zoom-hosted debate "Northern Ireland at 100: Is Unionism emotionally ready for conversation about a united Ireland?". Enjoy!
- [Anti-Democracy and a Border Poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/06/14/anti-democracy-and-a-border-poll/) - Imagine people in Britain were informed Brexit would not happen because only 52 percent had voted for it and that such a divisive issue now required a supermajority of 60 percent before it passed? Or how about divorce in the south of Ireland which was won by less than 1 percent of the vote, 50.28%
- [Digging a hole](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/06/17/digging-a-hole/) - So, it isn’t happening, then, this tunnel thing? You know, the one linking Larne to Portpatrick that Boris and his pals in DUP said was such a good idea The ‘fixed link’ so that Northern Ireland can be umbilically attached to what is gratingly referred to as ‘the mainland.’ They originally wanted a bridge if
- [Reg Empey’s war on capitalism](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/06/26/reg-empeys-war-on-capitalism/) - Dublin. Westminster. Brussels. Washington. The list of enemies that Unionist politicians feel are arrayed against them seems to grow exponentially. And now we can add capitalism to the list. This is the logical conclusion to Sir Reg Empey’s comments in the Belfast Telegraph the other day. The former Ulster Unionist leader says it is ‘intolerable’
- [Unionist humiliation over the Protocol doesn’t advance Irish unity](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/07/01/unionist-humiliation-over-the-protocol-doesnt-advance-irish-unity/) - Today’s High Court judgement, making clear that the Northern Ireland Protocol is perfectly constitutional and above board, is a hammer blow to unionist hopes that they can reverse the infernal border-in-the-Irish-Sea. A British judge in the shape of Mr. Justice Colton, sitting in a British court, handed down a humiliating defeat for the plaintiffs, a
- [An agreed Ireland is not a precondition for a united one](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/07/09/an-agreed-ireland-is-not-a-precondition-for-a-united-one/) - What do unionists call themselves the day after a border poll, if there is a vote in favour of a united Ireland? Commentator Alex Kane was grappling with that question the other day in the pages of the Irish News:‘I’m told my identity won’t be lost: “Did Irish nationalists trapped in Northern Ireland after 1921
- [Paradox](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/08/21/paradox/) - Ray Bassett is an advocate of Reunification. However he contends that the EU suffocates freedom and that in a new Ireland sovereignty would continue to be undermined in an increasingly Federal E.U. lacking meaningful mechanisms of accountability. Is there a danger that in exiting British rule we swap British empire for EU empire? Bassett’s scepticism
- [The GFA's 'east-west' relationship doesn't belong to Unionists](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/08/21/the-gfas-east-west-relationship-doesnt-belong-to-unionists/) - Friendly rivalries aside, there was much for the Irish to admire about England’s recent performance in the European Championship. Gareth Southgate’s understatement and modesty for a start. And although it was not a move that was to everyone’s tastes, the players’ decision to “take the knee” was at least a well-intentioned gesture in solidarity with
- [Polls show Unionism in disarray, as two-thirds back a border poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/08/30/polls-show-unionism-in-disarray-as-two-thirds-back-a-border-poll/) - Of course, fourth place does not even merit a podium spot. Not a point about the Paralympics, you understand, merely a reflection on this weekend’s LucidTalk opinion poll for the Belfast Telegraph, which has the Democratic Unionists not only trailing Sinn Fein by a massive 12 points, but also dragging along behind the other two
- [The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly Elections ](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/11/the-2022-northern-ireland-assembly-elections/) - Originally published on LSE blog. The Northern Ireland Assembly election of May 2022 was transformational, despite small shifts in the magnitudes of seats won by the two dominant blocs. John Garry, Brendan O’Leary and James Pow discuss the results. On 5 May Sinn Féin won first place in the NI Assembly elections – both in first-preference votes (29%), and in
- [The Problem with the Protocol is the Union](https://irishborderpoll.com/2022/05/14/the-problem-with-the-protocol-is-the-union/) - Peter Ramsay argues that the crisis of Ulster Unionism presents an opportunity for British democracy to demonstrate the world-historical power of national sovereignty. Our tragedy is that there is no political force in Britain able to seize it. Sinn Fein’s victory in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections marks a historical turning point. For the first
- [The Pro United Ireland family is no longer just Nationalist or Republican](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/02/25/the-pro-united-ireland-family-is-no-longer-just-nationalist-or-republican/) - While many in Ireland may be familiar with Sluggerotoole.com , readers of Irishborderpoll.com in Britain may be largely unaware of this popular website. Last month they gave a platform to Gerry Carlisle CEO of Ireland’s Future. In this seminal piece he breaks new ground in calling for a new vocabulary that better captures the many
- [Persuading For Irish Unity In Britain](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/03/20/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
- [A United Ireland: Why Unification Is Inevitable and How It Will Come About](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/03/13/a-united-ireland-why-unification-is-inevitable-and-how-it-will-come-about/) - Kindly published with the permission of Kevin Meagher. In writing this book, let me begin by explaining what it is not. It is not a history book. Clearly, when delving into the political affairs of Ireland, it is impossible for historical events not to play a significant part. Quite unavoidably, they soak onto every page,
- [A united Ireland makes economic sense](https://irishborderpoll.com/2016/11/15/a-united-ireland-makes-economic-sense/) - Published by Sinn Féin Irish Border Poll will feature a wide range of videos on every aspect of the border poll debate from as many groups as possible.For those unacquainted with the financial and economic debate, this video at 2 minutes and forty one seconds is a great place to dip your toes in the
- [A referendum on Irish unity is coming, whether we like it or not](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/01/11/a-referendum-on-irish-unity-is-coming-whether-we-like-it-or-not/) - Brexit has bulldozed the foundations of the union, so North and South need to prepare Brendan O’Leary, originally published in The Irish Times. Whoever favours keeping Northern Ireland in union with Great Britain, or prefers a united Ireland, needs to prepare for a referendum in the North on that exact choice, followed by a matching referendum in
- [Economics of a United Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2020/03/30/economics-of-a-united-ireland/) - Premiered by Feile An Phobail 2019 This Feile An Phobail debate from Belfast discusses the economics of a United Ireland, how much it might cost and why the Northern Ireland economy so dysfunctional?
- [Brexit Needs a Border Poll](https://irishborderpoll.com/2020/11/01/brexit-needs-a-border-poll/) - By Peter Ramsay, originally published by The Full Brexit Remainers’ hopes that Joe Biden will squeeze Britain over the Good Friday Agreement should convince British democrats that, if Brexit is to deliver its democratic potential, we need to support Ireland’s reunification. British Remainers have been very excited by Joe Biden’s election victory. Much is being made of
- [Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland](https://irishborderpoll.com/2020/11/15/working-group-on-unification-referendums-on-the-island-of-ireland/) - Published by The Constitution Unit, University College London The summary document below deals with frequently asked questions about the timing, wording and conduct of a future border poll. For the full report, download the PDF here.
- [Why the idea of a united Ireland is back in play](https://irishborderpoll.com/2018/11/18/why-the-idea-of-a-united-ireland-is-back-in-play/) - Originally published in the Financial Times. Economist David McWilliams argues that demography, finances and the fallout of Brexit are reviving the idea of one Ireland It seems incredible now, but in 1990 an episode in the third series of Star Trek: The Next Generation was deemed so incendiary that it was censored in Britain and
- [Work on Irish unity referendum must start now](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/02/01/brendan-boyle-work-on-irish-unity-referendum-must-start-now/) - Brendan Boyle, originally published in The Irish Times. Not a moment must be wasted as responsible efforts facilitate inclusive decision process January was a significant month for relations among and within the four nations that lie just off the west coast of Europe, perhaps the most significant in decades. First, on January 1st, the United
- [Is the tide turning on Irish reunification?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2021/02/07/is-the-tide-turning-on-irish-reunification/) - Originally published by The Independent. While most believe it's not the right time to revisit the issue of Irish unity, Ian Johnston explains how civic groups are working to attract wavering young voters Heather Wilson describes herself as a “freethinker”. Hailing from a Protestant family in North Belfast, in 2017 the 29 year-old became the first woman
- [The beginning of the end of Northern Ireland?](https://irishborderpoll.com/2020/07/28/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-northern-ireland/) - Originally published on spiked. Northern Irish politics is shifting decisively in favour of Irish unity. Have we reached the beginning of the end of the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain? Last week, University College London’s Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland announced that it will start asking residents of Northern Ireland

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