why isnt ireland north/south one country?

A strange anomaly is the most northern part if you take the whole of Ireland is actually in Eire not Northern Ireland

Why aren't Carolina, Dakota and Virginia, individually, just one state?

why isn't africa one country? a real head scratcher

Tiny island compared to massive continent. Solid argument.

Independence not economically viable, had there been a vote on staying/ leaving the union with Britain in the 1920s Ireland would have stayed part of Great Britain and Ireland.

How many Irish people have left Ireland, both north and south to live and work in England since independence in the 1920s...hundreds of thousands. Only the open border and the Irish keeping effective complete freedom to come to England even after independence in the 20s allowed the republic to function

only fair to reciprocate the irish welcome of centuries past

Has it ever been one country?
From 1002 to 1014 Brian Boru was High King of Ireland but that was a king among kings, an unstable situation.  Provinces had their own king.

To answer your question: why not one country?
The people of Ireland (Sinn Fein insist on calling it the 26 counties) will not accept Sinn Fein, and also are not in love with the idea of sharing with Unionists.
The Unionist like things as they are up north.  The hint is in the word Unionists.
Sinn Fein's ideal of a "32 county" Ireland is not what people "north" and "south" want.

North and South Ireland would need to vote yes in a referendum to happen.

Northern Ireland is bankrolled to the tune of £1bn a month by Westminster.

In other words Dublin would need to find £500 extra a month from each tax payer in the South to to subsidise the North.

£500 extra tax a month how many people in the South would vote for that?

Good point, NI gets more in subsidy that anywhere else in the UK,the South
would be mad to take them even if it was possible.

People in Ireland, north and south have never, and never would, vote for independence.

kincsem    22 Sep 15 11:33 
Has it ever been one country?
From 1002 to 1014 Brian Boru was High King of Ireland but that was a king among kings, an unstable situation.  Provinces had their own king.

To answer your question: why not one country?
The people of Ireland (Sinn Fein insist on calling it the 26 counties) will not accept Sinn Fein, and also are not in love with the idea of sharing with Unionists.
The Unionist like things as they are up north.  The hint is in the word Unionists.
Sinn Fein's ideal of a "32 county" Ireland is not what people "north" and "south" want.

Most recent poll I could find:

Are you in favour of a united Ireland?

Yes 60%, No 31%, Dunno 8%, We'reIrishandabitficksocan'taddupto100 1%

http://www.thejournal.ie/poll-would-you-like-to-see-a-united-ireland-2243425-Jul2015/


I'm not saying you're totally wrong, and obviously the numbers would be reversed at best if this was a poll in the north, but I do believe that a majority of people on the island are in favour of reunification. At least until they find out how much it would cost!

It will and should happen. When a Dublin administration can deal with the baggage the six counties would bring, it will.

population.
Catholics=678482
Protestants= 767924
Muslims=4000.
these figures are expected close up in the coming years.

that's the northern Ireland population

The north still won't vote for a united Ireland even after Catholics become a majority. Not every Catholic is a republican, nor every protestant a Unionist for that matter. Ultimately, the majority will vote through their pocket.

Protestants and Catholics?? I've heard of them but I don't think there's been any in Sydney since the 1950s!!

There is a difference between a telephone poll of 1000 people, and a vote for the reality.
Most Irish people in the south like the idea of a one nation Ireland in a sort of Shangri La way.
Asking them would they like to mix it with Sinn fein and the Unionists is a more difficult question.

That poll was 34k+, not 1000. Where is your evidence they'd vote to the contrary?

Only 20,000 people or so took part in the exit poll that correctly predicted the Tories would win the election so we're dealing with both a larger sample. It's even bigger in percentage terms.

These polls have been done to death by the Shinners on boards.ie.
Many of the positives were shortly after the Good Friday agreement, but have cooled since.
When people mention polls I would like to see the question posed.

I posted the question posed, and it was from July.

The question posed does not ask what is meant by a united Ireland and so is meaningless, they are trying to pull the same trick in Scotland. Ask if independence meant no longer having the automatic freedom to live and work in England and it is a different thing. Ireland and Scotland nationalists are essentially dishonest on this matter.

We are seeing now the problems of open borders in Europe, if at some future point England decided that Ireland or an independent Scotland would have to take the consequences of their decision and close the border there would  be a tide of refuges on the Irish sea.

Not as dishonest as you. Why would independence mean no longer having the automatic freedom to live and work in England? Reminds me of that scene in Blazing Saddles: "We'll take the Poles and Romanians but we won't take the Irish!"

Quite simply it would be for the English to decide, we see Hungury   Slovakia, Austria the C  republic etc all saying they will not take refugees....England may say no, we are not prroared to take thousands of Irish and Scots who cannot find work, you voted for independence so that is what you have.

Quite simply, the UK is part of the EU, so the English can say whatever they like.

There is nothing that England cannot do as a soverign nation.

brassneck 22 Sep 15 13:34 Joined: 13 Feb 03 | Topic/replies: 5,757 | Blogger: brassneck's blog
population.
Catholics=678482
Protestants= 767924
Muslims=4000.
these figures are expected close up in the coming years.


Recent polls consistently show more than half of Catholics would vote to remain in the UK, virtually all protestants would.



The public sector is huge in Northern Ireland, a lot of these jobs would go if a united Ireland came about. Northern Ireland would be turkeys voting for Xmas, Catholics know that.

Ireland never voted to leave the union in the 1920s, most Irish people even then north ans south wished to remain part of Great Britain and Ireland.

Catholics=678482
Protestants= 767924
Muslims=4000.

havent they had enough terrorist problems without those 4000 joining in

the muslims figure is expected to double for the next 8 years.
maths 4000 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2=?

So the question is do the Muslims want a united Ireland

Brassneck. Why do I think that there is something not quite plausible with your 'population explosion' figures?

I think it might be that if the Muslim population doubles from 4000 to 8000 in the next eight years it will not double again,
unless the children from age 1 to age 8 born in those eight years start having children,
or the parents have twice as many children in the next 8 years as they had in the previous 8 years?

lfc1971
     22 Sep 15 14:59   
Ireland never voted to leave the union in the 1920s, most Irish people even then north ans south wished to remain part of Great Britain and Ireland. 

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  - you seem blissfully unaware of the 1918 election. Your statement is completely and utterly false.

About 75% were pro-independence. After 1916, the union was finished.

Water cannons