Gerry Adams, President of the political party Sinn Fein, has announced the launch of a campaign for a Border poll. This poll will allow voters in the North to determine the “status” of the area and “provide opportunity for a historic debate on the future of this island”.
In November last year Adams called on the Irish American community to help gain support for the border poll.
Writing in the Irish Times Adams explained that it is the Belfast Agreement which allows this poll to go ahead. The campaign Sinn Fein plans to launch will be to persuade the Irish and British governments to hold the poll.
Adams continues stating that the partition of the country, into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, has had an adverse impact on the economic potential of Ireland.
He added, “The additional and unnecessary costs of running two competing economies and states on an island this size; the inefficiencies in the duplication of essential public services; and a relatively small population have added significantly to the financial, political and social consequences faced by citizens.”
“Partition created two conservative states on the island. In the North, this led to institutionalised and structured discrimination and sectarianism, and to nine decades of division and conflict. However, despite the efforts of tiny minorities to cling to the past, the peace process has dramatically changed the situation.”
Adams commented on the recent census in Britain which shows more hope for deep rooted change. He said the results show the presumption that Protestants are unionists and Catholics are nationalists or republicans isn’t necessarily correct.
Read more: 'Most Catholics want to stay in UK' says Northern Ireland's First Minister
The census, which looked at identity for the first time, showed that 48 percent of people in the North consider themselves British and Northern Irish or Irish. Just 40 per cent said they considered themselves British only.
Adams said these figures show, “The North is in transition. It is no longer an orange state.”
The Sinn Fein leader also suggested that the major changes in the last 15 years in Ireland will give way to this Border poll being possible. He commented on “the enormous economic changes of recent decades, the diminished influence of the Catholic hierarchy, and the disclosure of corruption in the golden circles and in politics, have dramatically and fundamentally changed societal attitudes.”
He ends by saying, “Politics across this island is in flux. A new Ireland can be what we make it. The Border poll is a key element of this. It provides an opportunity to focus on the future: to build a modern, dynamic, new Ireland – in which there is genuine reconciliation, and out of which a more equitable society can emerge.”
Read more: Gerry Adams calls on Irish Americans to support referendum on a United Ireland
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.barneyjo | Jan 25, 2013, 12:00 PM EST
@Warrenpoint00 - well then we are agreed!! (there's a turn-up for the books :)!!)
warrenpoint00 | Jan 24, 2013, 10:52 AM EST
BarneyJoe,you are absolutely correct in your assessment of the Irish free state, it is and from its formation it was and it always will be a failed entity.We nationalist/republicans in the north of our country are very aware of this and we would never expect or ask anyone to do what we were forced to do ,and that is to sign up too or join something that has utterly failed the majority of the Irish people. Our country can and will be a prosperous nation again one day with the help of new emigrants to our country,that I am sure of, not by the boring old partitionist diatribe emanating from Leinster house or indeed by the premature antics,misleading empty rhetoric and political aspirations of a reformed republican political party.A new Ireland and a new constitution for all Irish people ,I hope you do live to see it Barneyjoe, it may not be that far off.
barneyjo | Jan 24, 2013, 06:43 AM EST
@Warrenpoint00 - then we seem to be reaching the same conclusion albeit by differing paths. I have to say that I remain confident enough in my own personal view that at least in the short to medium term, that sovereignty based on an inclusive 32 county model is not in the offing; and I say that for two reasons; 1) the tradition, mindset and aspiration of that section of the population of which we speak. 2)If a Nation State cannot sustain the lives and well being of its populace to the point where its brightest and best have to up and leave over countless generations, or if a Nation State cannot meet its commitments or honour its liabilities at home or abroad, then surely that State has to be deemed as a failed entity. I doubt if I will live to see it, but I have hopes for a "New Republic" which will encompass all colours and creeds and one which will treasure and value all of its children from whichever tradition they come!!
wizardofoz | Jan 23, 2013, 05:12 PM EST
This site is an absolute JOKE!
ancavker | Jan 23, 2013, 03:10 PM EST
I don't understand why Adams is calling for a border poll at this time, suely he knows it would be soundly defeated. What is the point in this? Me thinks he may have something up his sleeve. Trouble is I do not know what.
ancavker | Jan 23, 2013, 03:10 PM EST
I don't understand why Adams is calling for a border poll at this time, suely he knows it would be soundly defeated. What is the point in this? Me thinks he may have something up his sleeve. Trouble is I do not know what.
ancavker | Jan 23, 2013, 03:10 PM EST
I don't understand why Adams is calling for a border poll at this time, suely he knows it would be soundly defeated. What is the point in this? Me thinks he may have something up his sleeve. Trouble is I do not know what.
ancavker | Jan 23, 2013, 03:10 PM EST
I don't understand why Adams is calling for a border poll at this time, suely he knows it would be soundly defeated. What is the point in this? Me thinks he may have something up his sleeve. Trouble is I do not knwo what.
ancavker | Jan 23, 2013, 03:09 PM EST
I don't understand why Adams is calling for a border poll at this time, suely he knows it would be soundly defeated. What is the point in this? Me thinks he may have something up his sleeve. Trouble is I do not knwo what.
ancavker | Jan 23, 2013, 03:09 PM EST
I don't understand why Adams is calling for a border poll at this time, suely he knows it would be soundly defeated. What is the point in this? Me thinks he may have something up his sleeve. Trouble is I do not knwo what.
warrenpoint00 | Jan 23, 2013, 11:34 AM EST
Hello Barneyjoe aka??????.No Barney it must be the cold snap that we are having that is confusing your thoughts but I think you are confusing me with Sean in Melbourne another very proud and optimistic Irishman might I add.My answer to your question that I have touched on many times is not a short term fix for our country,s problems.As I have stated that right now there are no political or military solutions to those problems in my country.I think Adams call for a border poll is very premature,twenty five years premature to be exact.Of course you must be well aware that there is a huge influx of foreign nationals that continue to make our country their home and much to the distaste and anger of those same loyalist/unionist you fondly talk about.It will be the children and their children that will change entirely the demographics of our nation.Your loyalist/unionists friends will at this stage have no relevance or , have a veto over the wishes of the people of Ireland.You see barney your loyalist/ unionist friends are in rapid decline.Gone are the days they could muster hundreds of thousands of men and women to sign their names in blood, they can now only manage to assemble a few hundred in response to the exact same issues. Where are their numbers going to be in the future?I think that the loyalist/unionist people will have reverted to being plain old presbyterians at this stage and their input will be welcome in a new and prosperous Ireland.Democracy is the answer Barney, something we did,nt have in Ireland in a long ,long, time.
barneyjo | Jan 23, 2013, 10:28 AM EST
@Warrenpoint00 - This kind of feels like Groundhog day. I seem to recall that in a previous exchange that you had volunteered that although you are from the Warrenpoint area, that you do not live there at present. Has that changed? If not, then I deduce (rightly or wrongly) that you continue to seek to solve Ireland's travails from afar. I am in Ireland as I type this, and I continue to observe the ebb and flow of political life (all politics being local!!) Now, having reflected on your post, and, taking into account the recent demographic information that has come to light, let me put the same question, hypothetically this time; how do you pursuade/ coerce a significantly large section of the population of the six counties, numbering several hundred thousand, to accept or buy into a new dispensation predicated on a 32 county Sovereign idyll, particularly when that grouping has no allegiance to, or no shared values with that proposed dispensation? You speak fondly of achieving this without the help of Loyalists/ Unionists; how then? With no border poll in the offing on either side of the "frontier", how will this "New Jerusalem" emerge? I am genuinely interested in your vision of the way ahead, albeit with some more flesh on the bone than heretofore!!
barneyjo | Jan 23, 2013, 10:28 AM EST
@Warrenpoint00 - This kind of feels like Groundhog day. I seem to recall that in a previous exchange that you had volunteered that although you are from the Warrenpoint area, that you do not live there at present. Has that changed? If not, then I deduce (rightly or wrongly) that you continue to seek to solve Ireland's travails from afar. I am in Ireland as I type this, and I continue to observe the ebb and flow of political life (all politics being local!!) Now, having reflected on your post, and, taking into account the recent demographic information that has come to light, let me put the same question, hypothetically this time; how do you pursuade/ coerce a significantly large section of the population of the six counties, numbering several hundred thousand, to accept or buy into a new dispensation predicated on a 32 county Sovereign idyll, particularly when that grouping has no allegiance to, or no shared values with that proposed dispensation? You speak fondly of achieving this without the help of Loyalists/ Unionists; how then? With no border poll in the offing on either side of the "frontier", how will this "New Jerusalem" emerge? I am genuinely interested in your vision of the way ahead, albeit with some more flesh on the bone than heretofore!!
FallsRNat | Jan 22, 2013, 04:30 PM EST
a united catholic ireland, your delusional, that's not what the IRB or 1916 uprising was about producing. If you think being irish is just about being catholic, then my friend, i as a RC would rather not be a part of it. If Gerry runs his PSF campaign on that he will NEVER get voted into power.
FallsRNat | Jan 22, 2013, 04:30 PM EST
a united catholic ireland, your delusional, that's not what the IRB or 1916 uprising was about producing. If you think being irish is just about being catholic, then my friend, i as a RC would rather not be a part of it. If Gerry runs his PSF campaign on that he will NEVER get voted into power.
FallsRNat | Jan 22, 2013, 04:29 PM EST
a united catholic ireland, your delusional, that's not what the IRB or 1916 uprising was about producing. If you think being irish is just about being catholic, then my friend, i as a RC would rather not be a part of it. If Gerry runs his PSF campaign on that he will NEVER get voted into power.
FallsRNat | Jan 22, 2013, 04:29 PM EST
a united catholic ireland, your delusional, that's not what the IRB or 1916 uprising was about producing. If you think being irish is just about being catholic, then my friend, i as a RC would rather not be a part of it. If Gerry runs his PSF campaign on that he will NEVER get voted into power.
FallsRNat | Jan 22, 2013, 04:29 PM EST
a united catholic ireland, your delusional, that's not what the IRB or 1916 uprising was about producing. If you think being irish is just about being catholic, then my friend, i as a RC would rather not be a part of it. If Gerry runs his PSF campaign on that he will NEVER get voted into power.
FallsRNat | Jan 22, 2013, 04:29 PM EST
a united catholic ireland, your delusional, that's not what the IRB or 1916 uprising was about producing. If you think being irish is just about being catholic, then my friend, i as a RC would rather not be a part of it. If Gerry runs his PSF campaign on that he will NEVER get voted into power.
ToryTory | Jan 21, 2013, 09:00 AM EST
IrelandNorth: that's just flawed induction. Anyone is well within their rights to reject your conclusion because it's arbitrarily induced. You're just projecting your biases on the data.
ToryTory | Jan 21, 2013, 09:00 AM EST
IrelandNorth: that's just flawed induction. Anyone is well within their rights to reject your conclusion because it's arbitrarily induced. You're just projecting your biases on the data.
ToryTory | Jan 21, 2013, 09:00 AM EST
IrelandNorth: that's just flawed induction. Anyone is well within their rights to reject your conclusion because it's arbitrarily induced. You're just projecting your biases on the data.
seamus60 | Jan 20, 2013, 06:27 PM EST
IrelandNorth. "What ye sow so shall ye reap" could quite easily be a reflection on what happens when SF get into power. As a result of their advancements into the political arena 36 of the 40 most deprived wards in the North are Nationalist. An achievement for them by all accounts, otherwise Gerry Kelly wouldn`t have used the same figures on the Nolan show to confirm to loyalists that they were loosing nothing. Adams confirmed as below. As for age mellowing individuals outlook, that would tie in nicely with the argument of Adams and Mc Guinness grasping at the Sunningdale agreement once they had reached maturity. Not before playing out 2 of the over the hill generals who have always sent the young man ( turk or otherwise)out of the trench till the very last minute.
seamus60 | Jan 20, 2013, 06:11 PM EST
Barneyjoe. Declan Kearney was on a TV show recently along with Mike Nessbit. Kearney was dribbling out the party script about coming togetherness, when Nessbit agreed it was a nice speech he then asked Kearney "HOW". Kearney all a fluster, started dribbling out the same speech for a second time in what was clearly an attempt to zap time. Noel Thompson had to remind Kearney the viewers had already heard him first time round. The result, Kearney was the usual SF rabbit caught in the lights whilst Nessbit had to mutter but one word to win the day. Kearney should have stayed home as Adams should have instead of taking part in the VIEW programme last week. Adams admitted on air that the people he represented for so long in West Belfast wouldn`t fear the austerity in the 26 because they have never had anything. So decades of his representation has born no fruit. I call that Ruling by Fooling.
Meanolgrouch | Jan 20, 2013, 05:15 PM EST
As one visitor on Bill Moyers' PBS show remarked about GOP reaction to their recent presidential election loss: "I never saw so many people look so slapped." Because they thought they couldn't lose and we couldn't win. I expect the same sort of human reaction when Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein suceed in reuniting Ireland into the free state it was meant to be.
IrelandNorth | Jan 20, 2013, 01:49 PM EST
The Christian postulate: "What ye sow so shall ye reap!" is a very close approximation of the Buddhist law of karma or cause and effect. People who perpetuate a constitutional injustice abdicate the right to hue and cry about the inevitable violence that springs therefrom. But growing older is a moderating influence on everybody. I'm sure the older guard are now pursuing their Irish republicanism as diligently as before, only more cautiously. If younger turks have a surplus of testerone, they could always do a tricolour counter protest at Belfast City Hall, rather than detracting from those who are pursuing a more contemplative considered approach.
warrenpoint00 | Jan 20, 2013, 01:05 PM EST
Yes Meanoulgrouch I certainly do respect your interference and input in the matter of uniting our country.The Irish Americans have long been an important and helpful source in our objective.,The sentimental ones are those that I believe still have that romantic ideology that this objective can be achieved with bomb and bullet and feel ostracized and lost since the concept of armed struggle was removed.This constant ranting about a shared future by reformed republicans is also unhelpful to our objective when they know and we know that those british loyalist/unionists will never ever share anything with the Irish people.Those that cannot be truthful to their own people certainly cannot be true to our objective and must be categorized as fake.
Meanolgrouch | Jan 20, 2013, 09:23 AM EST
Dear Warren, yes - Ireland can reunite w/o the help of those you mentioned, including us 'sentimental Irish Americans'. However, I'd request that you not totally discount the occasional bit of help we in the latter group may provide. We're not all JUST sentimental; some of us care fiercely, not necessarily seeking to interfere in Ireland's valid independence, but from family ties and long memories, we can at least cheer you on. After all, the struggle for justice is worldwide and everlasting. I don't want to see Ireland remain split any more than I support America's own rightwing fascists (also known as the American Taliban) succeed in splitting this country apart by attitude or actual fracture.
warrenpoint00 | Jan 20, 2013, 01:07 AM EST
Sorry Barney...DO,NT
warrenpoint00 | Jan 20, 2013, 12:43 AM EST
Hello barneyjoe, glad you are back on the forum lad but for some reason I got the feeling that you had not gone too far from it and that you were posting under another name and yo just did not have the balls to respond to the contentious issues posted here.I am Just down the road Barneyjo,e from Warrenpoint near Narrow Water where a blast that changed the path of our nation took place and that is where you might find me in a wee humble house. Now if you beg to differ I might suspect that you are or know the administrator and if you had been following my posts you would have been educated in how we in Ireland will unite our country without unionists/loyalists, fake republicans and sentimental Irish Americans.Just to inform you Barney there are many Irish nationalist,s and Irish republicans in the world , not confined to the city of Belfast that you refer to.
Meanolgrouch | Jan 19, 2013, 08:26 PM EST
Wishing the very best for my hero Gerry Adams and ALL Ireland. (I said I'd return to the forum after re-election of my own President Barack Obama; working on his behalf took up all my free time for over a year.)
barneyjo | Jan 19, 2013, 07:26 PM EST
@warrenpoint00 - remind me again where you reside at present; Warrenpoint, Rostrevor, Newry? Do you wish to divulge to all viewing posters, where you actually reside? I seem to recall that you DONT presently reside in Ireland, is that not the case?
barneyjo | Jan 19, 2013, 07:21 PM EST
@warrenpoint00 - good call. However you still dont explain how you intend to frogmarch that unionist/loyalist rump into the political dispensation of which you speak, or how you pursuade them to buy into it. That is still several hundred thousand souls we are talking about after all. And the flag issue is hardly trivial, when it is the Union Flag and not the Tri-colour which flies over Belfast City Hall. There are many Belfast Nationalists & Republicans who would take issue with your observations on this I'll bet!!
warrenpoint00 | Jan 19, 2013, 04:51 PM EST
IrelandNorth, of trivial relevance is the flag issues that which actually still flies over Belfast and while it is a small and important step on the road to reunification it is not evactly what all the young men and women had in mind when they dedicated their lives to at the behest of the revolutionary aspirations of Gerry Adams.Of less relevance to all republicans is Gerry,s daily rant about a shared future with unionist\loyalist when he must know as we all do that live here, that those unionist]loyalists don,t want to share anything with the Irish people.
IrelandNorth | Jan 19, 2013, 02:51 PM EST
Seems the young Turks are at odds with the older and wiser Greeks on this subject. A struggle between youthful idealism and mature pragmatism. A younger Chief Crazy Horse thought the older Chief Sitting Bull a tad ponderous. A real and present danger is the more impulsive youngsters may not appreciate the complexities of the game being played. Has the union jack been lowered from over Belfast City Hall?
seamus60 | Jan 19, 2013, 02:15 PM EST
pilib04. You waste as many benefits and presumptions as you like. I am well on record as a SF basher. I will proudly bash anyone who tells people to pass information to the brits. Information on anyone who adheres to the proclamation which gives them the right to bear arms. The Proclamation SF leaders believe they have the right to rewrite in order to camoflage their jumping into bed with the brits. Information that would have gotten people executed for passing ( with exceptions depending on who you were related to of course). The brits always said the provos had no support either when they were out robbing post offices etc to finance the war. Because I don`t believe in millitary action at this time doesn`t mean anyone that does is what the shinners have called them. Funny how recently when SF`s Padraig Wilson was remanded into custody he requested to be housed in the Republican wing with all those people Gerry and Martin have called criminals.
seamus60 | Jan 19, 2013, 02:15 PM EST
pilib04. You waste as many benefits and presumptions as you like. I am well on record as a SF basher. I will proudly bash anyone who tells people to pass information to the brits. Information on anyone who adheres to the proclamation which gives them the right to bear arms. The Proclamation SF leaders believe they have the right to rewrite in order to camoflage their jumping into bed with the brits. Information that would have gotten people executed for passing ( with exceptions depending on who you were related to of course). The brits always said the provos had no support either when they were out robbing post offices etc to finance the war. Because I don`t believe in millitary action at this time doesn`t mean anyone that does is what the shinners have called them. Funny how recently when SF`s Padraig Wilson was remanded into custody he requested to be housed in the Republican wing with all those people Gerry and Martin have called criminals.
seamus60 | Jan 19, 2013, 01:16 PM EST
Spot on Warrenpoint00.
warrenpoint00 | Jan 19, 2013, 12:08 PM EST
pilib04, As you are probably aware by now all traditional republicans in Ireland agree that Gerry and Sinn Fein even though they are part of the pan nationalist front they are merely a constitutional political party now and their republican values take a back seat. As we all know they have adhered to the status quo in the north of our country.Gerry and Sinn Fein have managed to steal the nationalist voters from the SDLP and quite frankly Sinn Fein are now just a political mirror image of the SDLP. Gerry is calling for a border poll ,hoping to appease the liberal republicans and hopefully secure their vote come election time.Gerry and Sinn Fein are not going to bring about a reunited Ireland with their brand of constitutional politics, all republicans are well aware of that, of course they will contribute to it just like SDLP,Fianna Fail and Fianna Gael do.The demographics of our country are changing rapidly, the families of foreign workers streaming into our country will eventually determine the future and the unity of our country .Gerry is merely jumping on the bandwagon he is a little premature with his border poll, we republicans would call it political point scoring.
pilib04 | Jan 19, 2013, 10:04 AM EST
Seamus60, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and presume that you are not a Sinn Fein basher! That you are not a supporter of a handful of dissidents without any support in the Republic or Northern Ireland. Since Sinn Fein MLA Martin McGuinness became deputy First Minister, Republicans have begun referring to the six counties as Northern Ireland. It is not a litmus test for being a Republican, but it is certainly NOT a disqualifier for being a Republican. The dissidents in any case, have done nothing but damage the peace process.
pilib04 | Jan 19, 2013, 09:57 AM EST
Any border determination must be up to the vote of the people and NOT the "Unionist Veto." Polls, politicians, and what people think, are not plebiscites! There should be a plebiscite on partition, every 10 years MINIMUM.
IrelandNorth | Jan 19, 2013, 03:46 AM EST
ToryTory! Fair point about tortuous prose. Let be more succinct. Census returns for NI showed 6% majority who identify as OTHER than British (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NIS&RA, Household Survey, 2011). How is this Anglo-ascendent? ancavker! True, to a point. But the people in the south who did nothing are comprised of different classes, some of whome did somewhat more than el zippo. Will Hamilton! A poll for Ireland as a whole constitutionally re-connecting with Great Britain (GB) would undoubtedly get a fractional vote, not lease from Dublin 4 and environs. But the percentage would likely be a lot less than from unionist for a United Ireland (UI), however one might underestimate that to be. If the Irish taxpayer can bail out its banks, it can bail out Northern Ireland (NI). The 50th anniversary Ipsos/Marketing Research Bureau of Ireland (MRBI), 2012 Attitudes Survey showed that 69% of those polled would be willing to pay higher taxes to fund a united Ireland.
uRsSG7uy | Jan 19, 2013, 02:27 AM EST
"A new Ireland can be what we make it. The Border poll is a key element of this. It provides an opportunity to focus on the future: to build a modern, dynamic, new Ireland ... a more equitable society can emerge.” Sounds like socialist propaganda. Are you still a Frankfurt School Cultural Marxist, Gerry or have you realised Ireland is for Irish people and not every one else?
seamus60 | Jan 18, 2013, 02:49 PM EST
Bostonrugby. Good idea about Gerry looking after his voters, something he totally forgot to do for decades in WestBelfast. Sure its still one of the most impoverished wards in the North cause he`s such a smart politician. He has long since stopped contributing to the struggle from a Republican perspective otherwise he would not be telling anyone to pass information to the British. The same british he won`t trust in any truth commission but he`ll trust them to lock up and Intern Irish citizens with nothing against them except a licence, carried over from an action he more than likely gave the order for in the first place. As a Republican who does not believe in millitary action at this time I would ask you, how many Republicans are charged with drug offences as for post offices robberies we wont mention what the lads were at when they shot Mc Cabe.
cillowen | Jan 18, 2013, 02:12 PM EST
humpy dumpy can never be put put together
Will Hamilton | Jan 18, 2013, 12:20 PM EST
People in the South should be given the opportunity to vote themselves back into the UK. Mr. Adams is working from a number of delusions that a poll might just cure him of. In the south you'd be mad to want to take on the expense of the north. Some people might vote for it just for the satisfaction of seeing people in Ulster have to put up with the sea of incompetence and corruption the "Reeepublick" turned into since 1922. Most people in the South though would not be that cruel even to Orangemen. Catholics in the North who would lose money, standards, services in return for the shambles that is Dail Eireann. Mr Adams criminal mates along the border certainly wouldn't vote themselves out a the very lucrative smuggling business that the border creates. They're not that mad!
warrenpoint00 | Jan 18, 2013, 12:16 PM EST
Well Boston someone has to keep an eye on Willie Frazer and his merry band of terrorists you just never know when Willie and his friends launch an attack on our capital city and Monaghan from their terror base in Glenane
bostonrugby | Jan 18, 2013, 11:36 AM EST
Breaking News, There is no border control between the south and the north of Ireland except perhaps for some commercial entities the large British Army security checkpoints were removed years ago. Gerry Adams as an elected member of a political party ought to concentrate on serving his constituents and forget about maintaining the struggle, which at this stage is carried on by gangsters running drugs and robbing post offices.
seamus60 | Jan 18, 2013, 10:52 AM EST
Republicans would never call the place Northern Irish never mind themselves.
ancavker | Jan 18, 2013, 09:23 AM EST
Tory: The north developing into a sustained and rooted memebr of the U.K.!!! What a joke!! and you say Ireland north and Adams are delusional!! I will tell you why some may say they are northern Irish. They say it to identify themselves as the people who suffered all the violence over the years, while the people in the south sat back and did nothing. They are in no way saying they are not Irish. I am in Fermanagh evry year, sometimes s twice and all the nationalist/catholic people identify as Irish. It is what they always were and always will be. The border never will change that.
ToryTory | Jan 18, 2013, 08:48 AM EST
"Process of diverging for an oxymoronic democratised imperialism." Christ, you need to go back to school IrelandNorth, your prose is tortuous. Anyway, back to the issue: Adams is utterly deluded - what justification will there be for this border poll? When recent polling that moots the possibility of a united Ireland fluctuates between 7%-15%, the last outing being on the lower scale? Add into the mix the dire economic straits of the ROI and, indeed, the UK as whole - though not on par with the ROI - it begs the questions of how much appetite the UK, let alone the ROI, will have for this venture. Adams of course has a raison d'être, but it doesn't necessarily chime with current Irish domestic politics. Simply put, he's a political dinosaur whose ideology isn't the mainstay of the average Irishman. His reading of declared identity is subjective - if anything, it shows NI developing into a sustained and rooted member of the UK, with a particular identity - vis-a-vis 'Northern Irish' - in the ascendancy.
IrelandNorth | Jan 18, 2013, 03:32 AM EST
Jacob! Geography of scale predicates politics! There's little point in a divided island rejoining a neighbouring one which is in the process of diverging for an oxymoronic democratised imperialism. It would make more sense for both island to organically coalsce around a commonwealth. A least such would have some pretext to voluntary democracy.
seamus60 | Jan 17, 2013, 07:10 PM EST
Jacob. Nationalists boycotted the 1973 poll. Adams appeared on TV tonight trying to justify the same, he should have stayed home. Don`t ask me which one though.
Jacob | Jan 17, 2013, 03:40 PM EST
Surely the easiest solution would be to invite southern Ireland to rejoin the United Kingdom. There was a poll on sovereignty in Northern Ireland in 1973, which showed 99% preferring to remain in the United Kingdom.
IrelandNorth | Jan 17, 2013, 02:58 PM EST
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency's (NIS&RAs) Household Survey, 2011 reported 48% of respondents identifying themselves as Protestants and 40% as British only. Therefore, 8% of NI Protestants consider themselves as other than British only. Equally, 45% identified themselves as Catholics and 25% and 21% respectively as Irish only and Northern Irish only. Therefore, 1% of NI Catholics consider themselves as other than Irish/Northern Irish. Meaning that 7% more Protestants are for either for a united Ireland or an independent NI than there are Catholics who support the British union. Exactly what source is the Rt Hon 1st Min referencing?
seamus60 | Jan 17, 2013, 09:15 AM EST
Get yer bucks out folks Gerrys operation has to be paid for.