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How the island of Ireland could be reunited
DUBLIN, Feb 11, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Sinn Fein’s election success has turned
the spotlight on the party’s flagship policy of calling for a referendum on a
united Ireland within five years.
Here are some of the key issues at stake:
– Why is the island divided? –
The island of Ireland joined Britain in 1801 after numerous invasions by
Vikings, Normans and then the British Crown.
But many Irish continued to campaign for independence and a Roman Catholic
group called the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began a guerrilla war in 1919.
Two years later, the under-pressure government in London split the island
into a Catholic-majority Irish Free State in the south and a Protestant-
majority Northern Ireland.
The issue of control continued to dominate, however, and from the 1970s
Northern Ireland was plagued by sectarian violence between advocates and
opponents of British rule that left 3,500 people dead.
In the 1998 Good Friday peace accords, both London and Dublin revoked their
constitutional claim to sole sovereignty in the north, saying the people of
the island should decide.
– What does the peace deal say? –
The Good Friday Agreement recognised “the legitimacy of whatever choice is
freely exercised by a majority of the people of Northern Ireland”, whether to
stay part of the UK or join with Ireland.
It acknowledged that a majority favoured British rule at that time but said
that if a referendum found this to have changed, London would agree to
legislate to allow reunification.
Britain must order a referendum if it appears likely that a majority of
those voting would prefer to join with Ireland.
– Where do the Irish parties stand? –
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald says the government in Dublin should
start preparing for a border poll within five years.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael is in favour of a united Ireland
but in its election manifesto warned that calls for a poll now would only
create division.
Likewise, its centre-right rival Fianna Fail, which had propped up
Varadkar’s government, backs unity but warned in its manifesto that it must
not be done in an “aggressive, partisan manner”.
– Is there public support? –
Polling by British Conservative Michael Ashcroft, published in September
2019, found Northern Ireland split down the middle over unification.
Some 45 percent said they would vote to stay in the UK, and 46 percent
would vote to join the Republic of Ireland. The rest did not know.
In May 2018, a study led by Queen’s University Belfast found just 21
percent backed a united Ireland, while 50 percent said they would vote to
stay part of the UK.
But the authors noted this could be affected by the terms of Britain’s
relationship with the European Union — including Ireland — after Brexit.
An EU deal addressing the immediate issues raised by Britain’s exit last
month included arrangements to keep open the border between Northern Ireland
and Ireland, but overall UK-EU trade ties have yet to be agreed.
In the Republic, there is support for Irish unity.
A Panelbase poll for The Times earlier this month suggested four in five
Irish want to see a united Ireland at some point — and 40 percent within a
decade.
– What does London say? –
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is fighting off demands from Scotland’s
nationalist government for a new independence referendum and has expressed
strong support for Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.
Asked about the possibility of unification in the wake of the Irish
election, his spokesman said: “The Belfast Good Friday Agreement is very
clear on what the conditions are for a border poll.”
BSS/AFP/IJ/1826 hrs