"Northern" Ireland

[Taffy]

But then again, England was last conquered by the Normans, who were French. So does that make the English French? Would you call yourself French because of this fact? No, it's a weak link. In my opinion, the Northern Irish are Irish, so they should be united with their fellow countrymen across the border. How would you like it if Southern England was seperated from Northern England? Because thats what happened in Ireland really, isn't it?

It's all a matter of opinion really.

 

[Gopha]

How would you like it if Southern England was seperated from Northern England?
.

I would be quite chuffed to be honest

 

[Taffy]

Lol I thought you would say that

 

[Cpt.Spazmo]

First:
Testuo, as we´ve been taught in history, the first time Ireland was populated was when the British were worried that the Spanish would take it over as a base to attack Britian from around the time of the Spanish Armada. Though my dad says that it´s been attacked earlier than that..

I believe your history could do with some brushing up.

c 10,000 BC earliest known settlers arrived in Ireland, in the Mesolithic period. They crossed by land bridge from what is now Scotland.
c 600 BC Celts
c 100 BC Gaels
c 300 AD Scoti
c 900 AD Vikings
1167 AD Normans


By ‘taking your country’ I assume you are making some allegory to more recent history say to the 16th and 17th century Plantations, or the Cromwellian conquest, or the Settlement Acts 1652/57/62 or is it the specifically the 1603 plantation of Armagh, Fermanagh, Cavan, Londonderry, Donegal and Tyrone? Maybe the Penal Laws, which denied political and land-owning rights to Catholics and to Presbyterians alike.

As for speaking Irish it was only in the 1840s that Irish collapsed as the dominate language. Guess why? Clue 1845.

As for list of atrocities don't even make me go there, friends and family members are included in some.

 

[Nanor]

I thought I'd inject a bit more life into this thread. But enough of the past, I'm looking at the future.

For example, it's been announced that Ian Paisley has agreed to meet Archbishop Séan Brady at Stormont later this month. (Link)

I think this is a humoungus step on the way to peace in the Six Counties. I mean, 40 years ago, the same Ian Paisley attempted to remove Terence O' Neill, the NI PM, from power because he planned to meet the Taoiseach Séan Lemass.

Could this be a step forward in the terrible history of the Six Counties?

 

[Fi$hy]

Depends whether or not catholics want to give up catholicism and Anglicans want to give up the COE.

Until then, withdrawl from Ireland would = crazy religious sect fighting imo

It's got very little to do with the concept of a "united nation", as you'll never be able to have a state church, and what with being part of the EU, that whole concept just got crushed..

What I think?

UK will eventually fully intergrate with the EU, and then the whole issue will be meaningless

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Depends whether or not catholics want to give up catholicism and Anglicans want to give up the COE.

Anglicans and CoE? Isn't that a bit of a generalisation? Protestantism in general would be a far more fitting term, unless I'm missing something somewhere? Are Unionists CoE exclusive? Are they even CoE at all?

 

[Fi$hy]

No no of course you're right, there's plenty of other protestant sects in Ireland, Non-Conformists especially

The reason I brought up Anglicans, is that's part of the reason for British intervention; British settlers in the 18th/19th century = Anglican by large

 

[Nanor]

Oh Good God. You've all majorly confused me.

 

[Taffy]

To get this debate back on track, I guess that the real solution is to find out what the people of Northern Ireland think. At the end of the day, it's their lives that the ROI and the UK are playing politics with.

Why not hold a vote to decide the fate of Northern Ireland? Or is Northern Ireland the last embers of British Imperialism that HM Government is desperately trying to keep burning?

That deepens the debate further

 

[Nanor]

I recall there was meant to be some sort of Border Commision, where every ten years they would hold a vote to let certain counties in to the ROI.

Obviously they haven't set up the border commision..

 

[Loki]

To get this debate back on track, I guess that the real solution is to find out what the people of Northern Ireland think. At the end of the day, it's their lives that the ROI and the UK are playing politics with.

Why not hold a vote to decide the fate of Northern Ireland? Or is Northern Ireland the last embers of British Imperialism that HM Government is desperately trying to keep burning?

That deepens the debate further

You are describing the Good Friday Agreement which was,

1. Unionist agreement to power sharing in a local government

2. Republican agreement to give up territorial claim over Northern Ireland.

Approved with a 71% vote in Northern Ireland, but more tellingly approved in the Irish Republic by a staggering 94%.