107 Comments

• STEVENSTAR | Dec 07, 2012, 08:50 AM EST

  OVER HERE IN IRELAND HIS CAREER HAS GOTTTEN HOM NOWHERE... I REALLY THINK AS HE SHOULD MOVE OVER THERE TO AMERICA AS HE SEEMS TO BE VERY POPULAR WITH THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO THINK THEIR IRISH .. JUST BECAUSE THEIR GREAT GRANNYS AUNT MOVED TO AMERICA FROM HERE 100 YEARS AGO ... IT MAKE ME LAUGH ...HAHA

• seamus60 | Oct 10, 2012, 11:16 AM EDT

  Ancavker. Thats correct. But no one can deny the lamblasting the SDLP took from SF over their support for the same. Traitors, sell-outs and many other names were attributed to them by the party who has actually settled for less.

• TayandCake | Oct 05, 2012, 04:18 PM EDT

  adams and his gang are fu*king marxists, nuf said

• citizen69 | Oct 05, 2012, 03:04 PM EDT

  How about this guys... Screw Adams and screw any armed militia. Leave it to the people to decide! We all have a vote, we don't need guns. Few people are asking for a referendum. When and if the people want it there will be one.

• mastersonjp | Oct 05, 2012, 01:10 PM EDT

  Sunningdale- Adams was biggest critic. He has now accepted a similar deal after 2000 deaths

• ancavker | Oct 05, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT

  seamus: Sunningdale could have been implementd, if the British had the backbone to stand up to the Unionists; they of course did not.And sadly had they stood behond it an implemented it, much of the suffering and violence that cam after, might have been prevented.

• seamus60 | Oct 04, 2012, 09:04 PM EDT

  Just imagine if Gerrys pretend wish was granted. Doesn`t bear thinking about. After all these big conspiricies not ever being able to dent his armour, he`d have to sit at the back of the class like the dunce he is because of his own big mouth. LOL

• seamus60 | Oct 04, 2012, 08:06 PM EDT

  Gearoid4. We all know when the Hunger strike was and we all now know why and how Adams and the kitchen cabinet allowed the last 6 men to die. He weaned the life out of those men for his new found resolve and direction.The one he caught hold of the morning Bobby Sands funeral had a turn out of proportions he had never imagined.Even at the time of lead up to the peace process vols on the ground were afforded no input to something they were unaware of. Had they been, many of them could have packed up and gone home if they so wished.Thats hardly bringing republicans on board in some sort of democrecy. Anyway the crux is we have got now what was on offer over 2000 lives back with the differance being Hume instead of Adams. Nothing to do with a Free Ireland. Its better known as Sunningdale for slow learners. We now have gerrymandering against Catholics in North Belfast at the hands of Adams party, we still have internment that the marchers on Bloody Sunday were protesting against yet Adams party don`t do protests anymore. Though they do endorse informing to the enemy on Irish Republicans who have not decented from the proclamation and its objectives. Treason is still treason.

• Gearoid4 | Oct 04, 2012, 07:20 PM EDT

  I'mi not defending Gerry Adam's overall record,but he did set out to take the Republican movement down a different path from the period of the 1980's. He realized that a pure military strategy was never going to achieve the unity of the country and resolved to wean his colleagues off a militant one-track policy. Of course, we can list the atrocities committed by the IRA and the human suffering was terrible. But the peace strategy advocated firstly by John Hume, got Adams and most of the Republican movement on board, which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. I'm not hear to canonise Gerry Adams, but his advocacy of a UI is still a valid and achievable objective. You say that it could have been achieved decades ago. What proof do you have of this, in the face of the evidence which shows unionist resistance to any concessions to the Irish Catholic community in the north?

• seamus60 | Oct 04, 2012, 07:07 PM EDT

  Gearoid4. You just can`t wash away all the suffering that has taken place and is still taking place by pouring false praise on some one like Adams who` makes out HE got you something, when it was there for the taking off the table decades earlier. Lets all praise some one for prolonging a war, long enough to build themselves a reputation as a statesman and all the rewards that come with it. Next you`ll be saying that Wilford should be allowed to keep his OBE or whatever he was awarded for his mens actions on Bloody Sunday.

• Gearoid4 | Oct 04, 2012, 06:31 PM EDT

  All those who berate Gerry Adams and think that the north's political situation will stay as it is for ever and a day, should check out the possible ramifications of a Scotland-free UK in 2014. It will have undoubted repercussions for the north and it will open an window of opportunity for those who aspire to an UI. As the former tory UK PM Harold MxcMillan once said in relation to things which effect change in politics-"Events, dear boy..Events".

• seamus60 | Oct 04, 2012, 01:28 PM EDT

  Gordon. You have to admit though that SF could not have entered the political arena in the 26 at a better time. Since the formation of the 26 its been scandal after scandal as rotating parties left terms in government. More so in recent decades due to the nature of mordern media. Most recently because of the world economic rip off on the people. The worst as it has entered into peoples living rooms and pockets. Although not all to blame the Gov of the day for... people do. Why not vote for SF they can `t do any worse for the people than whats gone before them. At the minute all is required is some one good at doing the Talk and a voluntary army to spread it.

• seamus60 | Oct 04, 2012, 01:12 PM EDT

  Kilsally. The majority of people in the north do not have the power you imply we are mere subjects to be used and abused by back room decision makers. I wouldn`t worry too much either about SF`s tendancies (communist or other) as they have more than the town clock has faces. Find me something from the USA where their litrature has the word Socialist incorporated. The comparison between their policies in the North to that in the South and actions they carry out as Gov in the North to their proposed actions should they get into power in the South have gaps as wide as that from capitalism to communism. They will wear the face to fit the audiance and not break a sweat. If Adams and Mc Guinness inside Stormont having tea and scons with the Isreali Ambassador whilst their own supporters protest outside at the mans very presence on Irish soil doesn`t fizz them what will.

• seamus60 | Oct 04, 2012, 12:47 PM EDT

  Maryo. He still has to poisture his self failed aspiration in order to keep the few Republicans he can muster on board. After all he hasn`t the head for figures or anything else that isn`t prescripted. Gone are the days when he could always fall back on his tryed and tested rebutal of " you would need to ask THEM yourself". What else has he contributed to date since elected in Louth apart from making Mary lou look the real getting FAT cat when seated next to her.

• maryosullivan | Oct 04, 2012, 11:16 AM EDT

  United Ireland, united w/whom?? England?? The man is delusional who would support him ?

• Kilsally | Oct 04, 2012, 06:01 AM EDT

  Sorry Thomas by Sinn Feins communist tendencies (they are in the communist grouping in the EU Parliament) just wouldn`t work.

• seamus60 | Oct 03, 2012, 07:30 PM EDT

  Poor THOMAS thinks SF are the best party for the country. Just like the Nationalists thought Adams was the best politician for West Belfast. Decades of his personal touch has left them worse off with some of them even wanting to know how much he really knew about his brothers kiddy habit.

• Gordan Duggan | Oct 03, 2012, 06:58 PM EDT

  Thomas84. You cast everyone who does not agree with your Sinn Fein views as a unionist. Why don't you get the message? The majority of the people of the ROI don't trust Sinn Fein to be in the "driving seat" as you describe it. Just because the Irish people welcomed Queen Elizabeth as a foreign head of state does not mean we wanted to be closer to her nor do we want to live in London, nice city though it is. I fear you will have a long wait in your own ignorance,!

• anglo-norman | Oct 03, 2012, 06:04 PM EDT

  As long as Adams is around the thought of a United Ireland will be like a red-rag to Irish Loyalists and he is losing credibility with Irish Nationalists day by day.

• Thomas84 | Oct 03, 2012, 04:48 PM EDT

  Sickens me to read all the bullshit comments on here. LKet me spell this oput to anyone who doesnt already know. Sinn fein is going to be at the driving seat of Irelandf and i for one cannot wait. They are by far the best party for the job and if anyone can name a better one please do so i can laugh at your ignorance. Sick of all the closet unionists, if you want to be closer to the queen, go to london.

• Kilsally | Oct 03, 2012, 11:52 AM EDT

  LOL great stuff for an Irish-American audience to fill the Sinn Fein coffers - the reason he doesn`t call for a referendum when at home (and it is provided for the the Good Friday Agreement that Northern Ireland can change it`s constitutional position at any time a majority votes for it) is because he knows he would lose.

• seamus60 | Oct 02, 2012, 08:03 PM EDT

  Yeah Gerry. SF voted for the bank bail outs. Just keep telling it like it really is`nt. The same SF who has shown no mercy when it came to the little guy and gal on low incomes. My heart goes out to Classroom assistants Canteen ladies and the likes. As for a referendum on a UI at this time or in the near future, Gerry would have had a better result had he adherred to the same contained within the Proclamation. The one all the vols gave their lives to maintain, the one he is trying to rewrite cause he owns the party.

• barneyjo | Oct 02, 2012, 06:23 PM EDT

  @ancavker- I deduce then that you have roots in south-west Fermanagh, in and around Belcoo and Blacklion. Its an area I know and love; particularly around Gortatole,with the Hanging Rock, and Marble Arch Caves all backed up by Lough McNean. I dunno where in the world you are (I am assuming abroad) but if you google for the UTV Player and search for a programme called "Lesser spotted Ulster (9 counties warrenpoint00) Belcoo and district was recently featured in one recent episode!!

• barneyjo | Oct 02, 2012, 06:17 PM EDT

  @Gearoid4 - More like Universal truths (for all of us in this place and time) :)

• Gearoid4 | Oct 02, 2012, 05:46 PM EDT

  Intelligent words, Barneyjo.

• barneyjo | Oct 02, 2012, 04:35 PM EDT

  @Gearoid4 - there is always the danger that if we focus too much on the splinter in the eye of another, we can forget about the mote in our own. In this situation, there is no one with totally clean hands. The mantle of "victimhood" is adopted and easily worn by those wedded to a one dimensional world and who cannot conceive that anyone else but themselves can validate that victimhood and sense of injustice. "We're still at it in our own place, still trying to reach the future through the past. Still trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone"!! (Again Paul Brady's words speak volumes, to me for sure)

• barneyjo | Oct 02, 2012, 04:19 PM EDT

  @warrenpoint - if you're intent on stretching a point just because you can, or feel the need to, then really I have little to add, save but to suggest you reflect on all the views expressed here. It may be a unique challenging and even a daunting prospect for you, but you could by your own choice, stretch yourself beyond the edge the possibility that at seems to bound your present perceptions. Thats what many survivors of the war are now doing on both sides of the fence; thats where the road to freedom to which I have eluded begins. And it is a journey that can be made by choice,though it is not an easy one by any means!!

• ancavker | Oct 02, 2012, 04:07 PM EDT

  barneyjo: All Fermanagh townlands.

• Gearoid4 | Oct 02, 2012, 03:37 PM EDT

  You make some very perceptive points, citizen and I just wish that your viewpoint was the default one across the board. True emancipation and enlightenment will only come when people treat each-other with mutual respect and love. You are correct that certain working class areas have been left behind in terms of the new dispensation granted by the Good Friday Agreement. In that respect, politicians should be more responsible and lead their communities from the front, on to a higher plain of existence, in terms of peace and understandng

• citizen69 | Oct 02, 2012, 03:25 PM EDT

  Cheers Barneyjo, i appreciate your honesty. You are correct, true freedom only comes with understanding. Some people look for victory rather than freedom. @Gearoid4: You are correct in saying that some sections of Loyalism are still mired in sectarianism and it is something that needs to be addressed. Equally though, i think there are certain sections of the working-class republican community that are still mired in hatred of all things British/Unionist. Some sections of the working classes are becoming more insular and more detached from the mainstream that are enjoying/benifitting from the 'peace', at least thats what i percieve from the loyalist side. We're putting up more walls around ourselves since the casefires and becoming more angry and feeding a paranoia. How do we go about adressing these mindsets? How do you reach out to those that may not want to be reached? People need to be pulled out of their little bubbles.

• Gearoid4 | Oct 02, 2012, 02:01 PM EDT

  Again, no problem with your comment, Barney. But it seems that some sections of loyalism are still mired in the sectarian dungheap and have never really managed to extricate themselves from it, as exhibited in the recent scenes in Belfast.

• warrenpoint00 | Oct 02, 2012, 12:07 PM EDT

  Down the road to freedom Barneyjoe? Now will that be the A5 to Dublin or the road past St Patricks and St Matthews churches in Belfast?.Just curious as too what and where your route to freedom goes.

• esatdigiwank | Oct 02, 2012, 05:14 AM EDT

  Why does he not give speeches like this when he's present in Ireland..

• barneyjo | Oct 01, 2012, 08:04 PM EDT

  @Gearoid4 - I clearly recall Gusty Spence reading a Statement from the Combined Loyalist Military Command at the outset of their announced ceasefire in 1995 in which they offered "abject and true remorse" for the deaths of "innocent victims" at their hands ( their words) I'm sure you could google to find it' its worth the reading.

• barneyjo | Oct 01, 2012, 07:23 PM EDT

  @ancavker - in reading your posts I'm wondering if the names Mullylusty, Carrontreemall, and Gortatole mean anything to you :) ?

• barneyjo | Oct 01, 2012, 07:17 PM EDT

  @Citizen69 - It is merely fate that it was not I born into the working class community in Belfast which you describe, and that you were not born into the rural mixed community which at least began to form my views of the world. In our "war" and as a young man, I was confronted with any number of reasons for joining in the struggle against the power and hegemony held by by the majority Unionist community over my own. I can assure you that I had every reason to hate, and to despise, and regrettably, I was foolish enough do so, for a time. That war came to visit my own family, and I had to help bury loved ones who became casualties of that war. What stopped me from hating though was when I was confronted with the death of a friend, a protestant fella who lived near me and who I had grown up with from childhood. He too was a casualty of the war; someone who through no fault of his own was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and paid for that with his life. I made the decision to visit his home to offer sympathy to his parents and siblings. I found that the pain and anguish in that family was exactly what I had experienced in my own previously. Those experiences changed my outlook and my views of those on "your side of the wall" totally. Since that time, I have been on a journey that has led me to the views that formed and shaped my outlook in so many ways. You yourself are on a journey; similar, but unique to yourself, that includes encounters with others in this and other forums which will take you a little further along the way. If I may, can I conclude with lyrics from Paul Brady's song "the island" which in essence are his own views on hatred, conflict, and ultimately reconcilliation; "And the twisted wreckage down on the main street, will bring us all together in the end, and we'll go marching down the road to freedom, freedom!!" As good a wish for us all as you will find I think :) !!

• leahkinsella | Oct 01, 2012, 06:21 PM EDT

  Smyrian: I lived in and visited other countries too and am fully awake, a UI at present is not a desire for the majority of my fellow countrymen. So perhaps, it is you who lost touch and needs to wake up.

• Gearoid4 | Oct 01, 2012, 05:22 PM EDT

  @Citizen69 The IRA atrocities were roundly condemned by nationalist politicians and Catholic clergy alike during the Troubles, in stark contrast to the silence of unionist politicians and protestant clergy in the wake of terrible crimes committed by loyalist terrorists. The re-emergence of the IRA grew out of the ashes of the burn't Catholic homes and the fleeing of thousands of nationalists from Belfast, in the wake of the depredations of loyalist mobs. Violence was not inevitable back in the late 60's and could have been averted if the very reasonable demands of the Civil Rights movement had been met by the unionist establishment. But unfortunately this was not to be. It is ironic that you mention that a considerable percentage of the planters who came to the north of Ireland in the 17th century had gaelic surnames. But it is the irony of ironies that many of their modern day descendants despise the indigenous language, namely Irish Gaelic, that gave rise to the vast majority of names(now anglicized) which once described the settlements, mountains, rivers and loughs of that part of Ireland.

• Smyrnian | Oct 01, 2012, 05:14 PM EDT

  Leah - you have been in Ireland too long . Lost your vision and your way Ireland united is as alive a goal ad ever. Wake up.

• citizen69 | Oct 01, 2012, 05:04 PM EDT

  @ancavker: Many Ulster-Scots have surnames that are Highland and/or Gaelic in origin. The UlsterHeritage com DNA project also confirms that R1b-M222, the so-called 'Niall of the Nine Hostages' gene is quite prevalent in Ulster-Scots. The gene is thought to have originated around the 5th century and is most common in Northern Ireland & Lowland Scotland. The Plantation also included Catholic planters settling in north Antrim and west Tyrone but the Plantation was only the beginning of Scots migration to Ulster in the modern era. Far larger numbers came in the 1690's from all over Scotland. There was another wave as a result of the Highland clearances... But it goes deeper than that... The main cultures in Scotland were Gaelic to the West, Pictish to the Highlands & the north and Celtic Briton to the south, later Angles & Saxons settled upto the Firth of Forth but these dominant tribes didn't settle in large numbers and they didn't displace the original inhabitants. Most of the genetic make-up of the British & Irish remain the indigenous Mesolithic peoples of over ten thousand years ago. These people first entered Ireland through Scotland, these are our main ancestors on these isles. This is why i regard myself as indigenous, not some colonist from a far of land.

• leahkinsella | Oct 01, 2012, 04:09 PM EDT

  Seanmor, you're too long out of Ireland ever to understand what the present generation of IRELAND think. Ireland is not the same place as when you left.The people have changed too. I agree with Citizen69's comments. We cannot cope with a dysfuntional province like Ulster, either financially or mentally. If you don't live her, you can't understand how we feel. We better off apart and being friends instead. If there was a UI tomorrow, the Unionists and Nationalists would still fight and ruin the whole of Ireland. You've got to face facts. nobody wants it. Your mist eyed dreams are just that - dreams.

• ancavker | Oct 01, 2012, 03:49 PM EDT

  citizen: I understood that the Gallowglasses were a Scots/Viking mixture that as you said fought for whoever paid them. Whatever back and forth migrations of people between these two Gaelic areas is not in question in my opinion. What is in question is the Plantation of Ulster with Scots primarliy from the Lowlands of Scotland these wer not a people who were Gaelic in culture, as the Lowlands were heavily colonized by Anglo-Saxons fleeing the Norman invasion of England and the influence of Queen Margaret who was English/Anglo-Saxon. That being said of course there was also some settlers from the Scottish higlands during the Ulster plantation, but by and large it was overwhelmingly the Scottish lowlands whp provided the settlers. As far as some of these peoples you mention from the Book of Invasions, scholars believe and it woudl make sense after reading the stories, that many of these peoples were myths, like the Firblogs and the Formonians, one or the other of these 2 groups lived underneath Ireland we are told.

• ancavker | Oct 01, 2012, 03:41 PM EDT

  citizen: I am not advocating it at this point in time. In fact it would be impossible. I am simply pointing out a number of things. One, if the south is ever able to turn it around economically, it would make sense that the two entities could be better together than apart. You are right, at this time the north offers nothing for the south and vice/versa. However, more importantly I simply state that a day may come when England or whatever is left of the UK, or new reorganized UK, may simply want to be rid of northern Ireland. That is a real possibility. And even you don't deny that the north contributes nothing to the UK economically. Also every day English people could care less about your loyalty. As far as Ulster demanding it (partition), yes they did with a threat of violence. Ulster could have said yes or even maybe prior to saying no. Finally I might even have supported a temporary partition of the country had it turned out the way that it was envisioned by Collins, after he mistakenly took Lloyd George at his word. Had the temporary partition been done correctly, Tyrone, Fermanagh, west Derry and south Armagh never would have been included in what became northern Ireland. Of course we are having a history discussion here, and whats done is done as they say. I do say it is a silly border, because in my home place it has affected us the most on both sides. As I said we are the same people. When I cross from Blacklion Cavan into Belcoo Fermanagh, it is still Ireland. Yes I aspire to Irish unity one day, and I understand that it will have to be by consent. But I stand by my belief that partition ruined Ireland, both parts, and that if it had to be done, it never should have included those above mentioned areas. It was a land grab by Carson and Craig. And the rest as they say is history.

• Seanmor | Oct 01, 2012, 03:40 PM EDT

  Leahkinsella (Sept 25): During the American War there were probably some who were bored by Abraham Lincoln when he spoke about reuniting the divided American nation, but thank God he succeeded.

• ancavker | Oct 01, 2012, 03:25 PM EDT

  citizen: And that was true anywhere in the world. People that are described as Slavic, are mixed, just like the Gaels who arrive in ireland whether they came via what is now Spain, or from north Africa as some historians now believe. Whatever peoples were living there 3 thousnad to 5 thousnad years ago we are told by historians were small populations, and were easily absorbed. Also as far as the Book of Invasions, those various peoples they refer too were most likely tribes all culturally the same at that point, as people self identified as tribes first.I would also like to point out that this was the same in many places in the world, even in England.

• citizen69 | Oct 01, 2012, 02:56 PM EDT

  @Gearoid4: "(Unionists) to be credible, must conform to a higher standard of civilized deportment and morals."... This sounds very much like the rhetoric that unionists would aim at nationalists who, in unionist eyes, seemingly did nothing while Republican terrorists committed atrocities in their midsts. I didn't mention anything about these tribes being non Gaelic Brits, it makes little difference to my point. Although it does seems reasonable that those people were there before the arrival of the Gaels and just adopted the the dominant culture, which happened all over the world. Clearly the medieval authors of the Book of Invasions didn't see the island as uniform in culture & ethnicity.

• Gearoid4 | Oct 01, 2012, 02:29 PM EDT

  Again, Barneyjo, you make some very valid points. You are correct in your assertion that an "intransigent rump" does not necessarily represent the overall viewpoint of one section of a population. But one cannot overlook the silence or excuses coming from the Unionist/orange leadership which seems to be a signal that the awful behaviour by orange bandsmen and their law-breaking in recent days in Belfast is tolerated by them. They cannot have it both days and to be credible, must conform to a higher standard of civilized deportment and morals. @Citizen 69, The Cruithin, Ulaid, and Dal nARaidi are often cited by pro-unionist historians and commentators as early evidence of contact between the northern part of Ireland and Scotland in the context of non-gaelic British tribes being present in ancient Ulster. But that is pseudo-history which creates it's own myths. These tribes were more than likely very akin to the gaelic tribes which surrounded them in the north of Ireland during the early centuries and this reality does nothing to undermine the thesis that Ireland from that time was in reality an Island nation, uniform in culture, ethnicity and language.

• citizen69 | Oct 01, 2012, 02:22 PM EDT

  @Barneyjo: Thank you for your kind words. Likewise i find your posts to be balanced, fair & open-minded. Considering that lived the last 40 years 'on the other side of the wall' from me, so to speak, i find myself agreeing with very many of your posts! I know from your posts that, like myself, you grew up in the north and experienced personal tragedy in the 'Troubles' and to not have that slant your willingness to listen to both sides of the argument is a hard thing to do. I'm not sure if i'm quite there yet but i try to understand others points of view!...

• citizen69 | Oct 01, 2012, 02:20 PM EDT

  @Ancavker: You say "northern Ireland brings nothing to the table in the U.K. and is a drain on taxpayers. To continue to expect them to subsidise the north forever is simply selfish and unfair.". So then i must ask you again; What do the citizens of the south stand to gain? Are they prepared to subsidise the north forever? Are you prepared to have your taxes drained in to an area that apparently brings nothing to the table? It's such a blight yet you seem to want it so bad. You say we are one people regardless of a silly border. Genetically we are one people, culturally & politically we are not. That 'silly border ' doesn't exist because Britain wanted it, it exists because the majority in Ulster demanded it. They clearly didn't see us as 'one people'. Your prediction that there 'may come a time when I and the rest of the Unionists may decide the 2 political entities are better together than apart.' seems as far off now as it did in 1912. I hope you believe me when i say there is nothing more i would love to see than that Unionists of Ulster and the Nationalists of all of Ireland would come to see themselves as brothers. It has happened in the past but ceasefires are not enough on their own and to me it feels like our so-called politicians are drifting further away from understanding by the day. Empty talk of Britain dumping NI isn't going to help.

• citizen69 | Oct 01, 2012, 01:50 PM EDT

  @Ancavker: I wasn't really trying to compare Dal Riada with the plantation but it is a valid point. It wasn't just the Dal Riada kingdom which had connections with Scotland. Other peoples such as the Cruithin, Ulaid & Dál nAraidi had regular contact with Scotland, both highlands & lowlands. It wasn't just pre history, it continued up through medieval times including the Gallowglass, Scottish mercenaries who would fight for whoever paid them, many settled in Antrim. At one point Queen Elizebeth the 1st put a ban on Scots migrating to Ulster. These peoples were the ancestors to the majority of Ulster-Scots that arrived during the plantation and later. Most Ulster-Scots arrived from Scotlands west coast, from Argyll & Bute to Dumfries & Galloway, the main settlement areas of Irish from Ulster in the first mellenium . Galloway still had large pockets of Gaelic speakers at the time of the Plantations. They may not have had a highland culture but many of the planters had ancient roots in Ulster.

• warrenpoint00 | Oct 01, 2012, 11:55 AM EDT

  A very fair and valid point about the break up of the british union.For Scotland to even propose independence for its own people is a huge step and a final nail in the coffin for the disintegrating british union.Now where do the british unionists of Ireland go too when that happens, who and where will they be loyal to?The English people are ashamed of these people and as many of them will tell you they want nothing to do with their stange ritual behaviour and expression of loyalism.In all fairness you do not see too many English people,proclaiming their identity by stomping past places of worship in an English city , furiously beating drums to the strains of the heavenly hymn "abide with me".

• ancavker | Oct 01, 2012, 11:06 AM EDT

  citizen: There has been movement of people back and forth between what is now Scotland and the northern part of the island of Ireland, no one is debating that. In fact the old Kingdom of Dal Riada in Scotland stretchec across both areas. My wife who is a fluent Irish speaker (both Munster and Ulster dialects) can communicate failry easily with Gaelic speakers in the Scottish highlands. To compare the platations of Ulster in the 1600's with that movment of peoples in pre historic times is simply not valid. Fast forward to today, and all I am saying is that a time may come when England dumps the north of Ireland, threatening violence again (as was done 100 years ago), simply will not be aceptable in this day and age. You can claim your Britishness all you want, but at the end of the day northern Ireland brings nothing to the table in the U.K. and is a drain on taxpayers. To continue to expect them to subsidise the north forever is simply selfish and unfair. If the south is able to get back on it's feet economically there may come a time when you and the rest of the Unionists in the 6 counties may decide the 2 politicla entities are better together than apart. As far as setting foot in Ulster, I am there avey year, and many years twice a year. Blacklion Cavan/Belcoo Fermanagh, we are one people, one place, regardless of what some silly border says.

• barneyjo | Oct 01, 2012, 11:01 AM EDT

  @Gearoid4 - again, cant disagree with your view. However, I dont think that is fair or a reasonable proposition to treat the entire Unionist/Loyalist family as one intransigent rump that will say no to just about everything. There are posters here who cite that they hail from working class Unionist communities in Belfast and elswhere and all of which have been poorly served by their political elites, almost since the inception of the State of Northern Ireland. They can speak for themselves, but I get a strong sense that other than a rump of Unionism that has vested interests to protect, that perceptions are changing, and walls are coming down (not so much in Belfast I'll grant you) I think that it is right to acknowledge those Unionist/Loyalist leaders who have stretched themselves and their communities as far as they can (or dare)And its going to fall to another generation to take the next steps on the road to reconcilliation. That said when you hear about the sudden influx of applications to the passport office in Dublin, from young people from a Unionist background in NI in order to try and qualify for free tuition in Scottish Universities, you have to wonder if that process is not already well underway??

• Gearoid4 | Oct 01, 2012, 10:46 AM EDT

  @Barnjeyjo, Likewise I broadly agree with your analysis in terms of Republicans and Nationalists having to greet the Umionist concerns. But haven't they been doing this since the enactment of the Good Friday Agreement? Martin McGuinness has been conducting a series of discussions with Unionist political, religious and business leaders to take on board their concerns over recent months. What we need is reciprocity which seems to be not forthcoming. It takes two to tango in such talks and it should not take place in a one way street. I feel that Unionists have been left stranded by the British who fail to identify with their customs e.g. orange marches. An identity crisis is at the heart of much of their intransigent insistence on the status quo.

• Gearoid4 | Oct 01, 2012, 10:24 AM EDT

  @Barnjeyjo, Likewise I broadly agree with your analysis in terms of Republicans and Nationalists having to greet the Umionist concerns. But haven't they been doing this since the enactment of the Good Friday Agreement? Martin McGuinness has been conducting a series of discussions with Unionist political, religious and business leaders to take on board their concerns over recent months. What we need is reciprocity which seems to be not forthcoming. It takes two to tango in such talks and it should not take place in a one way street. I feel that Unionists have been left stranded by the British who fail to identify with their customs e.g. orange marches. An identity crisis is at the heart of much of their intransigent insistence on the status quo that we get from them(Unionists).

• gumboil | Oct 01, 2012, 10:11 AM EDT

  Why do you keep asking me what I think but then refuse to post my perfectly reasonable comments?Dont you have free speech in America? or is what I am saying too painfully true for you ?

• barneyjo | Oct 01, 2012, 07:17 AM EDT

  @Gearoid4 - I agree absolutely with your analysis. There are new and "inconvenient" truths for the Orange Order to face up to and for a major rump of that organisation (particularly in Greater Belfast) are still in denial. They can no longer march when and where they will. The situation is much different outside Belfast, where accommodations have been reached. That said, there are also inconvenient truths that Republican Leaders know in their hearts, but have yet to fess up to in public. Chief among these is the fact that you cannot frog march upwards of one million Unionists/Loyalists into a new political dispensation on the island of Ireland, against their will and without their agreement. Citizen69 has already put that in context for all in one of his earlier posts.

• Gearoid4 | Sep 30, 2012, 09:25 PM EDT

  @Barneyjo, While the orangemen celebrate the centenary of the Ulster covenant, they should realize that constitutional matters have moved on since the dramatic days of that event. Within the next 2-3 years, the UK might take on a different complexion, if Scotland goes independent They(orangemen) still act as if they are the only population which matters in the north of Ireland and scarcely pay heed to the concerns of their neighbours who are form the Irish and Catholic tradition. The fact remains that they are resident in Ireland but fail to recognize the intrinsic Irishness of the landscape in which they live, in terms of the Gaelic Irish origins of the place-names and townlands in which they are resident. It is about time that they took stock of these realities if they want to live as fully integrated citizens in Ireland as a whole.

• barneyjo | Sep 30, 2012, 08:53 PM EDT

  warrenpoint100 - I can accept your views are sincerely held, in the same way that Citizen69's are and my own also.What I think you still do not yet fully comprehend is the very deep profound sense of Britishness inherent in the Unionist psyche. Citizen69 is a most articulate and insightful poster and I can safely say that I have learned much from the thoughts and views that he has posted in this blog. And he is right when he says that there is an inherent and entrenched opposition to any movement toward further overt integration for Northern Ireland with the Republic present within the Loyalist/Unionist population which will not change easily or quickly. You saw it manifest this weekend with 30000 Orangemen marching to commemorate the centenary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant. So, pragmatism must take hold within both communities to allow for a future in which all the peoples within the island of Ireland can have a stake. It is happening, where it can be shown to be of benefit to all. Health departments exploring models for sharing acute medical services so that cancer patients in north Donegal dont have to endure a gut-wrenching 6hr round trip to Dublin for just 20 minutes of chemotherapy; but better they cross into county Derry and receive the same treatment at Altnagelvin Regional Acute hospital. Peace comes dropping slow; painfully slow; but it comes, especially where there are people such as Citizen69 and dare I say it myself, who can be pragmatic enough to realise that change can and must come, but not at the expense of one part of society and to the advantage of the other.

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 30, 2012, 02:04 PM EDT

  Citizen I do respect and accept your point and I am sure your ancestors very genuinely purchased the land you live on.It is a fact though that the English and Scottish planters introduced to Ireland by the british did steal the land belonging to my fore fathers and then turned around and charged those same people rent to live on that land.This outrageous act aided by the English of course at the point of a sword happened in all of the nine counties of Ulster in the 17th century.I must say there were some that did not accept the offer by the English and rightly so stating that they could not have the conscience to live on land that did not belong to them.These planters may have purchased this land for a meagre sum but it did not excuse them from this blatant act of dispossesing Irish land owners from that which they owned for centuries.Some call it dispossesion I call it theft.

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 30, 2012, 01:31 PM EDT

  The people will decide and that is a huge achievment for nationalists in the six northern counties.Up until that point the unionists of Ulster had a veto on almost everything of political significance.Today as they stomp their triumphant feet past the places of worship of Irish nationalist in a most comical bigoted effort to proclaim their identity, Irish nationalists are vividly reminded of the power of that veto that they exercised.A protestant parliament for a protestant people.Righ now under all our noses whether we like it or not the transformation of Ireland is taking place.Ever peice of political leglislation coming out of stormont and Dublin is rubber stamped as an all Ireland agenda.There are so many north south inititaves going on in the corridors of power right now and they are all stamped All Ireland.See reunification is going to come like old age does, it will creep up, not with whistles and bells but with a mellow acceptance and a feeling for those concerned that there is absolutely nothing they can do to prevent it.With the movements of culture within the six counties I would expect it to come full circle within the next 20 to 30 years.A nation for all cultures not just a selfish agenda of a protestant parliament for a protestant people. A new constitution and a new identity espescially for those unionist who will be totally lost without mother England to hang on to.A very prosperous state within the united states of Europe my friends is what we will have.(Rose coloured glasses Barneyjoe)?

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 30, 2012, 12:43 PM EDT

  As a 3rd generation Yank all my travels have been within the Republic but for one trip through NI on my first trip to Ireland some 35 years ago. While travelling in the West one day back in the 1970s the matter of unification and NI arose while talking with a local. I remember his words quite clearly: "A pox on both their houses. We have enough troubles of our own down here!" That experience reminded me of how little I really knew then as well as now on the matter. However, the comments I am seeing in this blog show a considerable amount of thoughtful pragmatism, putting aside the emotional feelings many of us have acquired dating back to our grandparents. None the less, the long hope for a united Ireland seems always to elude our grasp. For all its complexities, I wonder if the matter of dual citizenship for residents of NI has been fully explored. Those of us with grandparents born in Ireland qualify for Irish citizenship while retaining our US citizenship. Perhaps it is best described as a matter of where the heart is and where the hearth is. Could this concept be applied to residents of NI under a unified Irish Republic? Would NI Unionists opt for dual Irish-UK citizenship under a united Republic? (The "UK" would be the option part.) Would Republicans accommodate such a provision? It would be a difficult political and economic model to construct, but Gerry Adams' suggestion of a plebiscite may be a little premature until some of the real difficulties cited in the thoughtful comments I am seeing in this blog are resolved. Just a thought!

• citizen69 | Sep 30, 2012, 07:42 AM EDT

  @Warrenpoint00: The government has said for many a year now that they have no selfish interest in the north, nothing new here. Point is that it's up to the people to decide... and once (if) they decide to opt for unification then it goes to the people of the Republic for their approval. Some commenters here seem to think that this is simply a problem between the Irish & the English. That if the British government were just to withdraw from the north then everything would be rosy in the Irish garden. It would make surprisingly little difference in solving the problems of NI if London pulled out. The real problem is between the north's Protestant/Unionist community and the Catholic/Nationalist community. Those who think removing the union from the Unionists will mean they will passively dissolve into a nationalist mindset are deluding themselves. It will just revert from being a British problem to an Irish one. And with the removal of the border it very easily has the potential to do to the Irish economy what the "troubles" did to NI, ie, totally destroy investment & tourism. What would the citizens of the south gain from this? Are they ready to accommodate around a million protestants who will demand a new flag, a new national anthem, a new constitution. People who will never sign upto a nation that holds the men of 1916 as heroes. Is the south ready to compromise in all of this on top of threats of mass civil unrest, increased security, thousands of lost jobs and higher taxes to pay for it all? It is no coincidence that the push for unification is more vocal with the diaspora than from those on the island for it is not the diaspora that has to live with any consequences. It seems to me that they just want that victory over the Brits above all else and to hell with the actual Irish people and what follows. Most people on both sides of the border seem to be happy with the status quo and it looks like it's going to remain that way for the considerable future.

• Towngate | Sep 30, 2012, 07:17 AM EDT

  Kilsally @ 04.00: Spot on! Notice our site host is remarkably quiet about the Covenant Gathering at Stormont. The notion of a politically United Ireland is confined to history. We must be content with our 'Three Green Fields' and a friendly neighbour in the Fourth - that will have to do!

• citizen69 | Sep 30, 2012, 07:00 AM EDT

  @Warrenpoint00: My ancestors didn't come here as invading soldiers with swords & guns, they came as farmers & artisans. And contrary to popular belief the planters did not remove catholic tenants en masse, kick them out to the gutter and take their homes. They came here, built towns, roads & markets. The area of Ulster where you will find the highest concentration of Ulster Scots (Co. Antrim & Down) where not taken from anybody and where not part of the plantation. Con O'Neill gave these lands to two Scottish lairds who in turn invited Scots to settle there. There is no doubt the Irish people were treated badly by Britain but if there is an apology to be made then that's up to the government. The Scots didn't have such a great time of it either by the way.

• citizen69 | Sep 30, 2012, 06:42 AM EDT

  @curtisjohn: If you look at the genetic evidence gathered in the last decade or so you will see that the English or Lowland Scots are no more Saxon than the Irish are Celts. If you take genetic samplings of Irish born adults right down the eastern seaboard of the island of Ireland (where the large majority of Irish people live) you will find little difference whether their cultural background is Irish, Anglo Irish or Ulster Scots. They overwhelmingly share the DNA of the indigenous people of these Islands.

• barneyjo | Sep 30, 2012, 06:02 AM EDT

  @warrenpoint100 you maybe familiar with the Julie Gold song "From a distance" made famous by Nanci Griffith (and others) of which the first lines are "From a distance the world looks blue and green and the snow-capped mountains white" you have said as much about our island, and I agree.In terms of the EU and its intervention, well its already here and in large measure impacts all of our lives. Like yourself, I imagine, I carry an Irish Passport; specifically a European standard communities model passport. Our Unionist neighbours carry exactly the same documentapart from having the British Crown on front; so on that point, you are also correct.You say that Europe will require all small nations to be self determining? By what Legislation might I ask? And consider also that the Good Friday Agreement is an internationally binding contract, underwritten by the Governments of Ireland, Britain, and the USA, a copy of which has been lodged with the United Nations in New York. So, if there is some further initiative afoot in Europe to formally re-unite the Island of Ireland that I have not been aware of up to this point, I would appreciate further clarity. A few final words from the song; "From a distance you look like my friend even though we are at war. From a distance I can't comprehend What all this war is for. From a distance there is harmony And it echoes through the land. It's the hope of hopes,it's the love of loves.It's the heart of every man." Thats EVERY man my friend; no exceptions and no exclusions!!

• curtisjohnson | Sep 30, 2012, 01:01 AM EDT

  ancavker "But I will tell you this, this more federated UK, is not going to want to keep paying for the six counties. England Scotland Northern Ireland and Wales better together you say, only northern Ireland contributes nothing to the party. If you think the savvy Scots once they have taxation and revenue collection powers are going to wnat to give that money to subsidize northern Ireland than you live in a fantasty land." Yes, and, at a minimum, England should be divided into several different regions - including separate distinctions for Cornwall and Devon.

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 30, 2012, 12:58 AM EDT

  Barneyjoe let me address your three points.Recovery= jesus lad everybody knows that when talking about land related issues recovery to an Irishman means taking back something that was stolen , it is also referred to in the christian bible to which all unionist white supremacist adhere to. Thou shalt not steal and thou shalt not covet thou neighbours goods.As for WHEN= I told you earlier lad, that has already happened when Mayhew or Mandelson I forget now which (one of these of the many bastards that have broken the commandments)stated they were releasing their british grip on our nation.HOW=European intervention.By 2020,the united states of Europe will require that all small nations shall be self controlled ONLY by those resident in that nation.Now Barney when the great nations of the world look down from above, all they see is IRELAND in its geographical beauty.They do not see your so called NorIrn a divided community within a country.Unity is a requirement within the European Union.There lays your answer to reunification. Sure Barney son if you are really Irish you should not have an identity problem, Ireland is as it was in our forefathers time before the Norse, the Dane and the Saxon plain old Ireland.

• curtisjohnson | Sep 30, 2012, 12:53 AM EDT

  citizen69 "I believe my people are indigenous to this land, there has been constant movement of peoples between Scotland & Ulster for thousands of years and indeed the evidence suggests the first settlers in Ireland came from what is now called Scotland." Genetics demonstrate the Irish and Welsh as the most indigenous people in these islands. There is simply no debate among scholars on this point. Teutonic immigrants are certainly not indigenous to any parts (despite the unsupported and desparate claim that there were german speaking parts of england before the anglo saxon holocaust - as characterized by Gildas).

• barneyjo | Sep 29, 2012, 08:01 PM EDT

  @warrenpoint100 - leaving aside the personal assumptions you make about yours truly (ie me) DONT SHOOT THE MESSENGER. It was the Irish "peeple" of all creeds and colours, north and south that voted for what we have now (including myself) I notice that we are agreed about the increased floating vote which constitutes that rump of ethnic minorities who came to our shores in the boom years and have decided to stay; we have a teacher in the family who teaches in a "Catholic" school (infer from that what you will) who has taught and is teaching children of Polish, Romanian and other migrant workers all born in this country. Like I said previously, there is no indication that these groups have been attracted by any political party of any hue. And also bear in mind the archaic political systems from which migrant workers have fled to come to Ireland. I dont think they will be sold a pup too easily even here. Me a Unionist? Not at all. Me a West Brit? No siree!!. Me a pragmatist? absolutely;one who is as much a victim of a failed political entity (Norn Iron) as you view you yourself to be; AND one who still waits in hope for a cogent response to the three points I raised in my earlier post; ie "So recover what,when and how in your view?" Always up for fresh thinking and debate, but can only laugh at this stage at anyone still trying to reach the future through the past.

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 29, 2012, 04:07 PM EDT

  Yo Barneyjoe. Is,nt it wonderful that the unionist minority in the six counties of Ireland are afforded the right of principle of consent.Is,nt it outrageous that the nationalist majority and especially the nationalists of the northern six counties of Ireland were not afforded that same basic right that saw them forced to live under a british imperialist regime in Ireland.Now Barneyjoe we all know that there will soon be more Chinese and Poles than prods in the six counties lad, get used to it. It will be descendants of other cultures along with nationalist Irish of course that will help shape the future of the six counties and you certainly will not have to wait 20, 30 or 60 years for it to happen my dear man.Your days of a protestant parliament for a protestant people are all done my friend.Now what I am suggesting is that the A5 is a much more easier route for you guys than the boat to Scotland.Take it and welcome to Ireland.

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 29, 2012, 12:21 PM EDT

  nd whistles

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 29, 2012, 12:00 PM EDT

  As an Ulsterman of Irish heritage I take great exception to the many things that those planters from the 17th century from Scotland and England have bestowed on me and my fellow Irishmen.Triumphant marching on the stolen property, land that was once owned by our Irish fore fathers is one of those many things.It would be a small gesture but at least a positive one if the descendants of those invaders would at least apologize to the Irish people of Ulster for the disgraceful way that they acquired our land.Your planter roots in our land are too strong and despite your invasive terror methods of the past aided by the English of course we do however accept you now. You also must be aware by now that mother England has not included you in their plans and the statement from their leader not to long ago that they had no more selfish interest in the island of Ireland surely must corroborate this.Behind that thin veil of devious british political statements is the answer and it seems that they are pointing you and your interests towards the nation of Ireland, wether you like it or not.Welcome to Ulster and Ireland.

• ancavker | Sep 29, 2012, 10:05 AM EDT

  kilsally: You could be right, with a more federal UK. But I will tell you this, this more federated UK, is not going to want to keep paying for the six counties. England Scotland Northern Ireland and Wales better together you say, only northern Ireland contributes nothing to the party. If you think the savvy Scots once they have taxation and revenue collection powers are going to wnat to give that money to subsidize northern Ireland than you live in a fantasty land.

• citizen69 | Sep 29, 2012, 09:10 AM EDT

  @Ancavker: "Irish people in Ireland should realize that there may come a time when a united Ireland is forced by England simply dumping the place."... I think it is highly unlikely, although i do believe Scottish independence could make things a bit more uncertain for Northern Ireland. The last time the Protestant population in Ulster feared a British government may have been planning to remove their status as UK citizens half a million of them signed the Ulster Covenant on Ulster Day (100 years ago yesterday)pledging to defend their birthright against what they saw as a treasonous government. This led to a 100,000 strong, armed militia of Ulster Volunteers. Could this happen again? Considering that nearly 100% of NI Protestants today are against a United Ireland then unfortunately i could see a situation where those days could return. That would be a huge problem for Ireland. And what exactly would the people of the Irish Republic gain out of such a deal? After all they would have to have a say.

• citizen69 | Sep 29, 2012, 08:45 AM EDT

  @Warrenpoint00: As an Ulsterman of Scottish heritage whose family has been of this soil for hundreds of years i take exception to any suggestion that i do not belong here. I also take exception to people from Munster, Connacht or Leinster (many of whom have never set foot in Ulster)who think they own the land i live on. I believe my people are indigenous to this land, there has been constant movement of peoples between Scotland & Ulster for thousands of years and indeed the evidence suggests the first settlers in Ireland came from what is now called Scotland. So please don't think we will be so easy to uproot.

• barneyjo | Sep 28, 2012, 08:02 PM EDT

  Ah Warrenpoint100 - Surely not that "oul chestnut" thrown in for good measure as well; that the Pro-Union community will be "out-bred" into a United Ireland. The birth rate projections dont support that in the short term; the overall birth rate within the the whole community is flat-lining and that of course includes the Nationalist/Republican tribe as well. Add to that the influx of ethnic minorities who are not necessarily tainted by either orange or green and who have no loyalty either way. So where do you get your majority at present within Norn Iron to agree to the "six" returning to the fold? Remember its a majority north of the line, and not island wide. So I ask again where is the majority vote? where is the grass-root movement that will support another 30, 60, or 100 year campaign to pursuade Britain to formally disengage? What town centre do you usefully bomb to ruin without putting Nationalists and Republicans out of work and on the dole? How many Catholic/Nationalist Mothers do you force to walk behind the coffins of their dead sons and daughters who chose a career in the police service to help build a better community? Nuala Kerr and Kate Carroll have already answered that one for the rest of us.So, out-breeding doesnt work. The war of attrition has been fought to a standstill. So called "Republicans" cant even move a few firearms and a box of bullets these days without one of their own community dropping a coin to the Garda/PSNI. So recover, what,when and how in your view?

• Kilsally | Sep 28, 2012, 04:00 PM EDT

  LOL the bearded one is funny. Today is Ulster Day. 100 years ago today half a million Ulster Loyalists signed the Ulster Covenant and tomorrow in Belfast will see one of the biggest rallies in decades. A United Ireland is off the cards - an independent Northern Ireland is much more likely but my bet is on a more federal UK. Scotland will vote in favour of the Union. England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland #BetterTogether

• curtisjohnson | Sep 28, 2012, 03:52 PM EDT

  Re business, the english have been correctly referred to as the carthaginians of the modern world - petty, dishonest, and treacherous merchant minded people (they also treat children and non-combatants in a similar manner).

• ancavker | Sep 28, 2012, 02:46 PM EDT

  Gavin: I have no problem copying utilizing others methods if they work. What I have noticed over the years (and I am Irish born, having come to the U.S. as a child)( I go home every year, and I have a brother and sister who live d make fthere), is that so many Irish seem to denigrate anything Irish, and copy so much of English and American popular culture.

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 28, 2012, 11:19 AM EDT

  Ho Barney joe better get that A5 up and running there mate for you british unionist guys will need a good road to Dublin on your return to a reunited Ireland.There is not much reasoning to your rose colour glasses theory my friend but what I can tell you is that the unionist minority now see us Irish nationalists in their rear view mirror and we are approaching fast lad to recover our land that was taken from us by a blatant act of theft.

• Gavin | Sep 28, 2012, 10:27 AM EDT

  @ancavker In some regards we do copy the English, im a small business owner who modelled my business on a successful business in London, I don't think there is anything wrong with looking at others successes and trying to emulate them, its what humans have been doing for a very long time..! It's odd that You should say a few Irish feel that anything English is better, i've lived here most of my life and have never come across someone with that view!

• ancavker | Sep 28, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT

  Gordon: Most Irish-AMericans understand that it is up to the people of all Ireland to decide on unification. And I agree it is not wanted by north or south at this point. However, Irish people in Ireland should realize that there may come a time when a united Ireland is forced by England simply dumping the place. It is not a far fetched idea in light of all that is going in UK politics, and in Europe.

• ancavker | Sep 28, 2012, 10:20 AM EDT

  SA: The campaign has not stalled, from what I see, and I am there a lot on business. And even the Scottish business establishment is coming around to the idea of Scottish independence. 2014 is a ways off, so who knows what ultimately will happen. But as I have often stated on this topic, even if independence is defeated, Scotland will get devo max, which is very close to outright independence, and the SNP and Alex Salmond know that. From devo max it is only a small hop to independence. My point in all of this, is at some point England will want to be rid of the six counties, it is a drain, and contributes nothing. What happens then?

• ancavker | Sep 28, 2012, 10:13 AM EDT

  Gavin:That is because more than a few Irish feel that anything English is better, and so they ape and copy the English. Plastic Limey's you might call them.

• IrelandNorth | Sep 28, 2012, 09:38 AM EDT

  Ulster TeleVision (UTV) 6 pm news yesterday evening reported the withdrawl of yet another regiment of the British Army from Ballykinlar Camp in Co Down. Senior office said Light Infantry brigade had been to Afghanistan helping in set up new national army. (Hmmm! Afghanistan or Irelandistan?) A united Ireland is a probably certainty within this decade of centenaries, 2012-'22 if only as a macroeconomic imperative. Democracy had nothing to do with union or partition. Why so for reunification. In a age of global convergence and economies of scale, first banana to leave the bunch gets pealed. Ireland wants a United Ireland. UK wants a united Ireland - but in their Commonwealth of Nations! The EU wants a united Ireland in its Federal Europe. And the US wants a united Ireland in NATO. A referendum will only be held by the respective political elites when their electorates have been economically compromised enough to manufacture consent. And Taoiseach Ó Cionnaith could expedite this unity in diversity by devolving greater political power away from Dublin in Leinster/easter Ireland to other provinces of Cork in Munster/southern Ireland and Galway in Connacht/western Ireland. This would assuage the Belfast, Ulster/Northern Irelander's. It would mirror devolution in GB from London in England to Cardiff in Wales and Edinburgh in Scotland. It may not be the united Ireland envisaged. But unity in diversitiy is a damn site better better than partition in pervisity.

• Gavin | Sep 27, 2012, 09:22 PM EDT

  I hope they do have the referendum, then either way the people have spoken and that can be that, Ireland and the UK are practically the same place these days anyway, were interdependent in so many ways and the younger generations coming through don't hold the same stigma about the border(if you could call it that) that the older generation do

• Gordan Duggan | Sep 27, 2012, 07:10 PM EDT

  Toorengreena; I am a Catholic from Co. Wicklow and now live in Dublin you gobshite. Take a reality check.

• Gordan Duggan | Sep 27, 2012, 07:03 PM EDT

  Toorregreena: I am a Catholic brought up in Co. Wicklow and now living in Dublin you eejit. You are the one with the fantasies.

• Gordan Duggan | Sep 27, 2012, 06:46 PM EDT

  Toorengreena: I am a Catholic from Dublin and certainly not a unionist) you eejit. As for "British fantasies", you need a reality check about what people in the Republic really think.

• barneyjo | Sep 27, 2012, 06:23 PM EDT

  Never mind the voters in the six counties supporting a UI or not. I have yet to see or hear a convincing rationale or argument for citizens of ROI to vote for the return of the six to the fold. In the years of the Celtic Tiger the financial base MIGHT have been there; but not now. The re-unification of greater Germany almost broke that country's back between 1990& 2000. @Warrenpoint100 - ever the optimist, and still wearing DeValeras rose tinted glasses through which can be seen comely Irish Maidens and Lads dancing jigs and reels (maybe on the road to Rostrevor :)NEWSFLASH - Dublin has withdrawn the bulk of the funding originally pledged to this road. As of now, it is the UK Exchequer that is funding two sections; Ballygawley-Omagh & Derry-Strabane. The link secctions at either end; ie Ballygawley-Monaghan & Strabane-Letterkenny have been "parked" as has the Omagh-Strabane section because Dublin "welched on its committment. Donegal is not fertile ground for Fine Gael or Labour d'you see :)!!

• barneyjo | Sep 27, 2012, 06:11 PM EDT

  @Warrenpoint100 - ever the optimist, and still wearing DeValeras rose tinted glasses through which can be seen comely Irish Maidens and Lads dancing jigs and reels (maybe on the road to Rostrevor :)NEWSFLASH - Dublin has withdrawn the bulk of the funding originally pledged to this road. As of now, it is the UK Exchequer that is funding two sections; Ballygawley-Omagh & Derry-Strabane. The link secctions at either end; ie Ballygawley-Monaghan & Strabane-Letterkenny have been "parked" as has the Omagh-Strabane section because Dublin "welched on its committment. Donegal is not fertile ground for Fine Gael or Labour d'you see :)!!

• SAirish | Sep 27, 2012, 04:57 AM EDT

  Gerry is trying to raise funds in the USA and telling people what they want to here. SF in Northern Ireland have have not requested a referendum nor are they campaigning for one. They know that that they will loose heavily. Not even the dissidants want one. In Scotland the SNP campaign has stalled. The SNP still cannot get more than a third of the population to support separation. There have been four opinion polls recently to support this.

• irishfree1916 | Sep 26, 2012, 09:27 PM EDT

  "Let Ireland be Free, from the center to the Sea" and God Bless Gerry Adams! A voice from California.

• warrenpoint00 | Sep 26, 2012, 07:28 PM EDT

  Reunited Ireland to be correct.Ireland was always and as far as Irish nationalists are concerned still is united.We did have a slight distraction in 1922 when an imaginary line was drawn through our nation by careless and scared Irisnmen who were threatened with all sorts of terror by the british administration back then.Today the british have openly stated that they have no more selfish interest in Ireland (stealing from us) etc and are actually very active in helping return what rightfully belongs to us the Irish nation.They along with the descendants of those scared Irishmen today are helping to fund the A5 and many other Irish national projects, restoring Ireland to what most nationalists would say is reunification.

• KevinKehoe | Sep 26, 2012, 06:04 PM EDT

  United Ireland will come some day with the consent of all . Posters are wrong below stating there is no appetite for a united nation of Ireland, if it were put to ALL the people on this Island it would be passed. Under the terms of Good Friday Agg. people in the North must decide and the day will come. Gerry Adams idea of a referendum is a good start, just as it was a good and brave idea Clinton sanctioned Adams visa to help pave the way towards peace.

• aloistmartin | Sep 26, 2012, 04:57 PM EDT

  Gerry Adams is digging through Hadrian s Wall with a Plastic Spoon ! And assuming he does gather enough support for a United Ireland; How many Roman Catholic Fathers in N. Ireland are gonna mind sending their Daughters to School for Eternity, with the likes of Prince Harry and Archibald Cunningham ? Peace ? Prosperity ? I. don`t care how much the Fat Cat`s in Dublin ( Belfast/Derry is the Real Capital; And could that be what "Peace" is really all about ? )have invested in It ! It doesn`t come before our Idea of God and Country ! There are still some Catholics who resent the Idea of Sharing Europe with the Lutherans, whether or not Mother Theresa is among them !

• Tooreenagrena | Sep 26, 2012, 04:44 PM EDT

  The armed conflict may be over but the propaganda and culture war is going strong as can be seen by the number of unionist who are on sites such as this trying to put their sad british fantasies across. You know who you are Gordon Duggan and co.

• Realist | Sep 26, 2012, 03:44 PM EDT

  Well, meanwhile, back in the real World....under the terms of the Belfast and St. Andrews Agreements, to which Mr Adams' party agreed, it is for the people of Northern Ireland alone to decide their constitutional future. Even the decision to hold a referendum is in the exclusive gift of the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. "Irish America", "diaspora", etc....all very interesting, but all irrelevant I'm afraid. Still, with the latest poll showing just 7% in favour of a "united Ireland" (an all time low, I might add), I can't say I'm surprised at Mr Adams' desperate attempts to talk things up. I almost feel sorry for him.

• leahkinsella | Sep 26, 2012, 02:07 PM EDT

  God, Adams is such a boring speaker always harping on about a united ireland. Not such a big attendance I see. They're on to you at last Gerry.

• Gordan Duggan | Sep 26, 2012, 01:02 PM EDT

  As usual Adams speaks out of his ass, telling Irish Americans what they want to hear. There is, at present, no desire for a United Ireland and only citizens resident on the Island of Ireland can vote in such referendums.

• Gordan Duggan | Sep 26, 2012, 12:40 PM EDT

  The four posters hoping for a United Ireland are premature as their is no appetite either side of the border for same at present. Don't hold your breath lads! Only Irish Citizens resident in Ireland will have the vote on this. Outside interference is not wanted.

• Seanmor | Sep 26, 2012, 12:23 PM EDT

  I'm reminded of what British Prime Minister Harold Wilson said on NYC T.V. in the '70s: "Irish reunification is a valid aspiration". Churchill's cmment in 1920 after the Partition Act was passed in Westminister also comes to mind: "Ireland is a nation, not two nations". But unfortunately there are many hard core Partitions south of the Border, including some who are T.D.s

• ancavker | Sep 26, 2012, 11:38 AM EDT

  Gerry: What is the point at this point?? At some point the British taxpayer will get tired of funding that failed statelet, and then both north and sount will come together. On another note it will be interesting to see what Catalonia does come November.

• IrishRyan | Sep 26, 2012, 11:23 AM EDT

  I cant wait for the United Ireland referendum, i will certainly be voting for Irish unity. I hope Irish people abroad will be able to vote in this referendum too because if a person from say France, who is working in Australia, can vote in the french elections, why cant the thousands of Irish working all over the world vote on Uniting their country? Gerry is right about the Bridge of Tears in Donegal, obviously the Irish Americans/Australians/etc alive today are the descendants of those people who were forced to leave and the vast majority never returned home or never saw their families in Ireland again.

• cillowen | Sep 26, 2012, 10:35 AM EDT

  Good on you Gerry - the uniting of Ireland should help those on the fence gandy dancers like McIlroy and such ilk. They will thusly avoid the damage they cause - by returning to momma. By so doing, and in time help to restore the health of a dysfunctional people on either side of the divide. A restoration of beings of sound mind and body is to be hoped for. The present apartheid/divide and conquer construct put in place by abuser neighbor has made the isle of Erin their own when it suits and their trash bin on their flip yer lid side. Queen regarded her visit to Republic her crowning achievement of her reign. She has been playing with her poodle people too long, its time, after 800 years or so to leave my people go. She'll still reap benefits as like the neutral Eire that was her breabasket and ready manpower resource all through WW II and then some.