106 Comments

• Gavin | Sep 28, 2012, 02:41 PM EDT

  @STEVENSTAR is your caps lock key broken?

• Bythebay | Apr 22, 2012, 06:08 PM EDT

  RedBranch, there is a move now to remove the Catholic Church from ownership/oversight of the schools in Ireland. Of course the Catholic Church wants enormous amounts of money for the buildings which the Government plans to take over. Integrated schools are very popular in Ireland. Integration in most places in the US in the 60s was rife with problems but demographics have changed there in the interim.

• RedBranch | Apr 22, 2012, 05:00 PM EDT

  Curitiba: There have been dozens of attempts to bring the community together both on the small screen and on the ground costing millions and making a good living for a few. Jokes about the Peace Process lasting twice as long as WW I & II combined arn't jokes. On education we currently have three state funded school systems, with three accompanying infastructures to maintain. They are as follows: the Catholic schools, the State schools, and the Integrated. No politician has yet, to my knowledge, made a serious move towards amalgamation. The recent decision to stop academic selection at 11 by SF was most strongly resisted by the Catholic grammars, who consistently turn out some of the best results in the UK and with some justification are resistant to change. So there you have it. You want to change education, you'd better have the panzers lined up. Anyone remember bussing in Boston? Happy days I don't think.

• STEVENSTAR | Apr 22, 2012, 09:47 AM EDT

  HAHA!!! DONT MAKE ME LAUGH THE IRISH GOVERMENT AT THE MOMENT CAN BARELY MANAGE TO KEEP THE SOUTH OF IRELAND AFLOAT...WE BORROW 40MILLION A DAY TO KEEP THE SOUTH OF IRELAND GOING.. I LIVE IN ON THE SOUTH COAST OF IRELAND MY MATE IS PROTSTANT FROM N IRELAND WHAT THESE REPULICANS NEED TO DO IS HAVE A GOOD LOOK AROUND AND REALISE MOST OF US NORTH AND SOUTH ARE HAPPY THE WAY THINGS ARE..... PLEASE I ALSO REALISE AMERICANS SEEM TO BE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF GERRY ADAMS BUT IM SORRY IM IRISH I LIVE IN IRELAND AND YOUR OPINIONS DO NOT MATTER TO ME ....

• RedBranch | Apr 21, 2012, 06:16 PM EDT

  Thanks for that BytheBay. The boys from Templemore in riot mode are to be given a wide bearth, I too speak from experience. More tomorrow.

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 21, 2012, 05:26 PM EDT

  Curitiba - not sure if being Orange4aDay would work...much of the Orange marching 'culture' seems to be triumphalist, not just in NI, but west Scotland as well...while they have a right to peaceful assembly, I just don't see them as ready to embrace inclusivity...neither indeed do many AoH...can't see many outsiders joining either club anytime soon...

• Curitiba | Apr 21, 2012, 05:09 PM EDT

  Finally Nationalist and Orange marches must be more inclusive. Just as a lot of non-Irish can be "Irish for a day" during the St Paddy's day events, why can't we engineer it so that everybody can be "Orange for a day". Some of the more overt anti-Popery would have to be toned down, of course, and it should be promoted as a celebration of Protestant/Unionist culture, rather than a triumphalist thing. Would that be a way forward?

• Curitiba | Apr 21, 2012, 05:05 PM EDT

  What you will end up with is older people with diehard, unshakeable attitudes towards the other community, but the younger people will have that view broken down by education and media influence (programming), and so will be more accepting of each other. Works in England.

• Curitiba | Apr 21, 2012, 05:03 PM EDT

  RedBranch-culture change is the key to getting people to accept a lot of things. For instance, in the UK, media such as TV, magazines and books and also education are used to program people with the prevailing values of the day. So, we could have a soap opera where the plotline could involve Protestants and Catholics being mistrustful and hostile to each other, but as time goes by they warm to each other. In schools, they could teach diversity and acceptance, just as they do in England.

• RedBranch | Apr 21, 2012, 02:56 PM EDT

  Hold your horses Curitiba, We're only on point # 6. 'Protestants are assured all their rights, including peaceful assembly'. Now I personally find a little Orange goes a long way and choose to view the annual 12th demonstrations about once a decade. I do however believe strongly in peaceful assembly. Should local lodges wish to march respectfully along a predetermined route then they should be allowed to do so. I am reminded of the Love Ulster march in Dublin a few years back which led to the biggest civil unrest in Dublin for decades with hardly a northern foot setting foot on the ground before getting back on the bus. Some inclusivity there I don't think.

• Curitiba | Apr 20, 2012, 01:46 PM EDT

  Hello RedBranch, if you are still following this thread, I would have thought that a new national anthem reflecting the two majority peoples of Ireland would have been the least contraversial and the least important obstacle to a United Ireland. I would have imagined that in the event of a union of North and South, the old anthem would have been quietly buried, and Van Morrison and Big Tom could have written another one to reflect the New Ireland (not that one next to Papua New Guinea). Ready to join forces now?

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 20, 2012, 06:57 AM EDT

  and Seano’s a couple sandwiches short of a picnic, as usual…

• seanomelb | Apr 19, 2012, 07:47 PM EDT

  Dano eats irrelevancy sandwiches for breakfast each day and regurgitates it on IC.

• sirpeter | Apr 19, 2012, 01:48 PM EDT

  lol.*Gets popcorn

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 19, 2012, 10:07 AM EDT

  Seano - you are the NITPICKER IN CHIEF - remember your referendum debacle, or the more recent inaccuracies over the PSNI insignia...a 'version' is a modification of something original...in this case the original work was in English...so any translation (eg into Irish) is a version...so not at all a chicken/egg story...maybe you need to engage that important body part of yours (ie your brain) before typing your next post?

• seanomelb | Apr 18, 2012, 08:09 PM EDT

  If it not an English language version what is it? Dano nitpicking again over which came first the chicken or the egg.Retire back to the panic room with your pal Falls and collaborate on a meaningful post if that's possible.You can swap stories on who held up the best body part for a photo op. when you served in Afghanistan.

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 18, 2012, 07:23 PM EDT

  Seano - The Soldiers Song is not a version, as it was first written as this in English, and later translated into an Irish version...and only the chorus forms the national anthem...so those Germans need not be too upset by the slight on their good name...although given the current ECB attitude, maybe the third verse has an unexpected resonance...

• seanomelb | Apr 17, 2012, 07:55 PM EDT

  The national anthem of Australia is "Advance Australia fair" (Australia the beautiful) replacing "God save the queen" an old anthem for imperialist.In typical redbranch fashion he tries to hide his bigotry,"The Soldiers song" is the English language version of the anthem if that's your problem and your choice is a northern song.When a united Ireland eventually happens I'm sure a national competition will select an appropriate anthem.

• RedBranch | Apr 17, 2012, 04:56 AM EDT

  OK point 4: Amhrán na bhFiann is a rousing anthem and I've heard it sung passionately at Landsdowne Rd., but not appropriate for a united Ireland. Its legacy is too tied up with the Independence War and the early days of the IFS. Some of the lyrics are offensive and harken back to a revolutionary period we have, or should have moved on from. A number of years back Australia voted for a new anthem and the outsiders choice of Waltzing Matilda (itself a jaded stereotype) the country went for Australia the Beautiful, a much better song. The Londonderry /Derry / Stroke City Air not only has a long and storied connection to Ireland, its cross community, it is rousing in itself, praises the land and people's links to it and reaches out to the Diaspora. Furthermore its in English so I and my neighbours can understand it

• RedBranch | Apr 17, 2012, 04:44 AM EDT

  OK Curitiba I have returned from a trip South. I crossed the border at 70mph, travelled freely throughout Dublin and its environs, never felt my car would be targeted when parked with 'foreign' reg plates. We have what John Hume called an 'agreed Ireland' and I am happy with that.

• seanomelb | Apr 16, 2012, 07:49 PM EDT

  I just asked a question and I presume you agreed as you(or falls) did not argue.If you have a point state it. My post on Apr.11 answered allan07's post and if you find any part incorrect please let me know if not keep quiet and stop making a fool of yourself and the dummy falls sitting on your knee.

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 16, 2012, 03:03 PM EDT

  Seano - why not just address the question?

• seanomelb | Apr 15, 2012, 11:15 PM EDT

  Dano and falls,which one of you is laurel or Hardy. My apologies to L&H.

• Curitiba | Apr 14, 2012, 07:58 AM EDT

  However, at the moment, given the risky economic situation, i believe a United Ireland is about as pertinent as the question as to whether Moldova and Romania should be one country. It is only when countries are prosperous and self-sustaining that these questions legitimately arise, not when people are pouring out of the country looking for work. After all, the economic reality is that reunification has to be paid for.

• Curitiba | Apr 14, 2012, 07:51 AM EDT

  RedBranch: It is indeed risky to unite two small political entities such as NI and ROI, especially as one no longer has an economy of any description, and for whom the industrial revolution never happened and the other is a former industrial power ( although not a large one compared to Britain), but is now mainly reliant on the UK public sector. Had NI retained its industries, and the Celtic Tiger actually been a real and lasting "industrial revolution" that created a permanent wealth in ROI, then I would have said it would have been imperative that both states reach an accomodation that would lead to a United Ireland, and one where future generations would feel free to live and work anywhere in the country they like,and not feel that they cannot take up a particular work opportunity, just because they are from a certain religious or political group without feeling like he is unwelcome in a different part of his own country. After all a Polish immigrant does not care what part of Ireland he lives in, so long as he has a job. Why should a native Protestant or Catholic feel that they are not welcome in certain parts of their island home. I believe that is what a United Ireland should be about.

• STEVENSTAR | Apr 12, 2012, 08:21 PM EDT

  @@allan07 | Apr 11, 2012, 03:05 PM EDT As the advert says "the future is bright the future is ORANGE". What a lovely colour. Green is cold and depressing. The bogey boys may think otherwise. (Bogey as the green and slimey stuff from your nose). Thats why you are called the bogey boys! GREEN AND SLIMEY>>>>>>>>>>>>>>YOU REALLY SOUND LIKE A TOTAL TWAT MATE..IM SOUTHERN IRISH AND HERE IS MY OPINION ON YOU..I WISH WE COULD TAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU,THE ORANGE MEN, GERRY ADAMS AND ALL THAT'NEGATIVE BITTER OLD' ATTITUDE YOU PEOPLE HAVE AND SEND YE OFF SOMEWHERE NICE..THAT GOES OUT TO BOTH CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS ON BOTH SIDES FOR THE MINORITY LIKE YOU SEEM A VERY BITTER AND HATEFUL BUNCH.LIKE MOST ENGLISH AND BRITISH PEOPLE I KNOW THEY DONT GIVE A HOOT ABOUT NORTHERN IRELAND THE SAME AS THE MAJORITY OF US IN THE SOUTH DONT GIVE A HOOT ABOUT NORTHER IRELAND..I CERTAINLY DO NOT WANT IT BACK. I WISH YOU PEOPLE WOULD GO AWAY AND LEAVE US ALL LIVE IN PEACE ON BOTH SIDES AND STOP INFLICTING YOUR OLD BITTERNESS AND YOUR NEGATIVE ATTITUDE ON THE REST OF US IRISH AND BRITISH PEOPLE, CAUSE THE END OF THE DAY MOST OF THE BRITISH LIKE THE IRISH AND MOST OF THE IRISH LIKE THE BRITISH AND NONE OF US LIKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU.

• sirpeter | Apr 12, 2012, 06:42 PM EDT

  allan07.Is 28 your age or is it you're IQ?lol.Fallsers your buddy is gearing up for nuclear war.lol You must be so proud this guy is from NI.lol

• FallsRNat | Apr 12, 2012, 05:31 PM EDT

  dano - at best seano & sirpeter are at best irritating, at worse irrelevant, Adams could get elected tomorrow, ballot the SI for a UI, their vote won't be recognised under international law as everybody else inc the EU, US signed up to an agreement where the status of NI can only be decided by the people of Ulster, my guess is that FG, Labour, Greens, FF would refuse to recognise the poll, he would be challenged by irish people in court as the whole expensive process would be unconstitutional. Even if he somehow managed to organise a ballot there would be a mass boycott, the last thing the SI need is to look totally stupid in the eyes of the world, are the people of the IR really going to elect a one issue party, i don't think so. People are much more worried by having a job, feeding their kids, saving their houses without having to find an additional €12b a year to subsidise NI & that's not including the either the reparation fees for the mass exodus that would follow or a resumption of the armed campaigns by the Loyalist paramilitaries, anyway back to the reality, we will be debating all this on this board in 20 years time.

• TayandCake | Apr 12, 2012, 04:38 PM EDT

  allan07 talking about nuclear war, what a complete saddo, get a life and get over your bitterness, be away with ya and give my head peace

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 12, 2012, 03:28 PM EDT

  Reassuring to see the Melbourne twins churning out the same old Anglophobia...they don't see the irony in decrying an 'invasion' but happily benefitting from the result..

• allan07 | Apr 12, 2012, 03:22 PM EDT

  @sirpeter your like a provo whos hiding his AK47 under the bed. What the f**k do you know about economics? In order to prevent the name calling i think the best solution would be a complete war situation. Britain/Loyalist/Unionists/UVF/UDA v Ireland/Nationalists/IRA/INLA/Real IRA. Both sides could use whatever weapons it had against each other. So it would the Irish Army/Armed Forces v British Army/Armed Forces. Nuclear weapons are allowed by both sides, laser guided missiles, nuclear powered submarines, anything goes. So on a given date the war begins. The winner has both Northern and ROI. Who would win? I know it wouldn't be the ROI/nationalist as a few nukes would solve the matter in hours. It would be a turkey shoot. You lot wouldn't last long. It would be quicker than the Battle of the Boyne. You lot lost that one as you are still crying about it? You came 2nd on 1st July 1690. Get over it. Its only 322 years ago and you still cannot believe it. Move on you seiner.

• maireadinmelb | Apr 12, 2012, 05:27 AM EDT

  ironic that Allan07 brings up all the invasions that have one thing in common - teh invaders were the BRITISH!!!

• sirpeter | Apr 11, 2012, 10:47 PM EDT

  allan07.Slow down a bit.You are like a Billy Boy on speed when he sees a catholic.You're economics are just Billy Boy fairy tales.Let me tell you the reality.Like South Africa the white minority could only keep power if they could maintain apartheid.Violence or political gerrymandering was the key but only if you don't get to much resistance.Ye got resistance bad and it's all over.Power sharing is here to stay and ye billy boys are fu*ked.Ye can't march the queens highway now.lol.Not down my street.

• seanomelb | Apr 11, 2012, 08:26 PM EDT

  Allan07 to use the word "aborigine" is a slur on the "Koori" peoples of Australia and no longer in use. True! they were here before the British invasion which committed genocide against them.The labour PM(Rudd 2007)made a national apology for the murderous actions perpetrated upon them by the British(just another oppressor) and later generations. Using wikipedia as your only source of information says heaps about your mindset.You must love been ridiculed by sirpeter.Maybe it's some form of self deprecation or just plain ignorance.

• allan07 | Apr 11, 2012, 04:45 PM EDT

  @redbranch with a 1st in economics I can tell you the Euro will fail in its present form. Greece will default on its repayments of its huge laons. (Even after 50% of its debts was written off). Pressure will be applied in the Money Markets and loans, government bonds, etc will become impossible to obtain especially to countries such as the ROI and Italy. Look at Spain last week it could raise enough on the money markets last week in the form of government bonds. Stock Markets have nose dived as a result. 14.5% of the Republics GDP is currently required to service its debts. This is dangerously high and critical. Danger warning lights should be going off in the Republic. What will happen when the grants they now receive go elsewhere. To poorer countries that have just joined the crazy EU gravy train. The ROI will lose out and this will depress their GDP and increase the unemployment levels even higher. Most financial experts say that the Euro will have to be withdrawn. Its a financial meltdown for the ROI i fear. How will they ever pay back the already huge bilateral loans to Britain, Sweden, Denmark, etc. Basically its a failed state and bankrupt. Even after 150 Billion Euros in grants since it joined and there is nothing to show for it.Property prices are 60% down with nearly everyone on mortgage sitting in negative equity. Its bust, bankrupt or skint. Choose any but its finished. Game over. Please turn out the light when the last person leaves. Here in Northern Ireland we should thank the lord that Britain did not join the Euro. Thank you god.

• RedBranch | Apr 11, 2012, 04:16 PM EDT

  Curitiba you are playing coy with that response, however we will proceed. I think #2&3 were to do with the economy. The present situation where Dublin is looking forward to the next tranche of EU/WMF funding and Stormont is merrily spending the block grant does not bode well. I'm no economist, but two broke juristictions don't make for happy nationhood. I always found Southerners saying they would welcome Protestant input somewhat patronizing. Certainly there was a time when Ulster churned out great tonnage of ships, miles of linen, rope etc. etc. but those skills and even the motivation to 'go for it' has been diluted by state subsidies, state grants, state jobs, state welfare, state contracts and on the other hand health and safety, punitive taxes and regulatation. I know of dyed in the wool capitalists who are now looking for state jobs, keep their heads down and eventually collect a pension. We do have pretty good services up here, particularly in healthcare and that keeps a lot of Catholics committed to the UK (at least privately). A cautionary tale: Germany in order to achieve reunification (and both E&W wanted it) needed vast sums of cheap money, hence the low interest rates in the EU, hence the excessive borrowing, hence the mess we find ourselves in.

• allan07 | Apr 11, 2012, 03:05 PM EDT

  As the advert says "the future is bright the future is ORANGE". What a lovely colour. Green is cold and depressing. The bogey boys may think otherwise. (Bogey as the green and slimey stuff from your nose). Thats why you are called the bogey boys! GREEN AND SLIMEY!

• allan07 | Apr 11, 2012, 02:58 PM EDT

  seanomelb your a foreigner occupying Australia as I am pretty certain you are NOT an Aborigine. The native people of Australia own Australia and your a invader. Couldnt handle it in Ireland so you pissed off. Who gave the Irish the right to steal the land of North America as it was owned by the Native Red Indians. Crow, Apaches, Soiux, etc, tribes. After all the Red Indians owned the land from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific Ocean for 10,000 years. Did the Irish pay for any of it? No they stole it. @ancavker i quote from wikipedia "Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the UK". Read it and understand. We in Northern Ireland are not same as the you Green bellies in the Free State. Different history, language, culture, background, beliefs, economies, allegiences, nationality, etc. Need I go on. Talking about the boundary commission is silly it all happened 3 generations ago. Get over it. Donegal would have been in NI if the same authority had done its job. Thats life. What about Israel. It didnt exist prior to 1948. Cyprus is divided. 2 countries and 1 island. (Changed in 1974). The north is Turkish and the south is Greek. What about Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 2 countries 1 island. Britain has three countries on the same island. Your point is silly and irrelevant. In any case the Republic of Ireland is bankrupt. Its just been bailed out to the tune of 25,000 Euros per head. (Thats 25,000 Euros for every man, woman and child). In fact Britain has provided 8 billion Euros in bilateral loans. You shouldnt bite of the hand that feeds you. After 90 years of independence the Free State has been a total failure. I wouldn't touch that lot with a barge pole. Vermin!

• ancavker | Apr 11, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT

  Oh and Allan Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were countries from 1918 up until Russian reoccupation in 1940. The entity called northern Ireland did not come into existence until 1922; against I might add the wishes of the majority of the people on the island of Ireland as a whole. And had the boundary commission done what it was supposed to do, Tyrone, Fermanagh, south Armagh, and western Derry would have voted to join the Free State.

• ancavker | Apr 11, 2012, 10:14 AM EDT

  allan: There is no country called Northern Ireland. There is an entity due to a historical injustice called northern Ireland, the North, the six counties and sometimes wrongly as Ulster that is part of the U.K. And Fermanagh along with Cavan and Leitrim is all part of the island of Ireland, we are the same people, we recognize no border. Oh and lovely Fermanagh never should have been part of your entity named northern Ireland.

• sirpeter | Apr 10, 2012, 09:22 PM EDT

  Seano.I see you found allan07 lol.Poor chap thinks Norn Iron is a country because Wiki said so.Of course Wiki also say all of Ireland is part of the British isles.But Ireland is not British isn't that true Seano? No!! say we all.And Norn Iron is not a country either!! No!! say we all again.

• seanomelb | Apr 10, 2012, 07:27 PM EDT

  Allan07 !!naming countries that did not exist to justify his bigoted anti Irish beliefs.Firstly he shoots himself in the foot as these "countries" always existed but were oppressed by imperial powers such as Britain (British oppression caused the division of Ireland) Russia,Mongols and others. I note you fail to name Palestine.Your historical comparisons are as weak as your marshmallow brain. Maybe you should post on some BNP or some unionist sites.you may get someone there to dry your orange tears.

• allan07 | Apr 10, 2012, 05:26 PM EDT

  @BrendanDunphy some people are critical of the PSNI for whatever reason. They then are also critical that Roman Catholics who join the PSNI. So if a RC joins the PSNI he/she is a traitor and if they dont join well they cant because they are still being discriminated against. How can a RC member of the community make the RC community happy. Its heads they are a traitor or tails they are still being discriminated against. Can they win the argument? No because the agenda has been set by Nationalist/SF. How can they win? Please explain.

• allan07 | Apr 10, 2012, 05:18 PM EDT

  @ancavker its called OWC Our Wee COUNTRY. THE NAME IS IN THE HEADING - "COUNTRY". Got it? Did you stay awake in Geography classes or is it just that your a dumb Fenian? A bogey boy Green and Slimey.

• Curitiba | Apr 10, 2012, 05:10 PM EDT

  RedBranch: I wouldn't have a clue about that one. I'm not Mr Adams, am I? Your other points please.

• allan07 | Apr 10, 2012, 05:10 PM EDT

  @ancavker I draw your attention to wikipedia. Its states "Northern Ireland is one of the four COUNTRIES of the United Kingdom". It is a country before my grandfather was born so thats good enough for me. Northern Ireland has been in existance longer than Armenia, Azebaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Bosnia, Israel, Egypt, etc. I have counted over 130 countries that have been created since Northern Ireland. We are even longer in existance than the Vatician city. Read your history. Geography is not your strongest skill. Time to use the computer for more than playing games. Back to school. Primary school in september.

• BrendanDunphy | Apr 10, 2012, 04:51 PM EDT

  @allan07: the percentage of Protestants is declining on BOTH SIDES of the border, a fact that obviously bothers you. Are you blaming your declining percentages in the North on this same discrimination you allege is occuring in the South? The discrimination of Catholics is what started this whole mess in the first place. I stand by my opinion that Catholics in a UI would not discriminate against Protestants despite the way their (our) ancestors were so severely discriminated against by your ancestors.

• BrendanDunphy | Apr 10, 2012, 04:40 PM EDT

  @allan07 ... I'm not sure what Ronan Kerr has to do with the price of tea in China, but to answer your direct questions: No, I certainly do NOT support his murder and yes, I DO support RCs enlisting in the PSNI (why wouldn't I??). Re-read my original post and explain to me why my comments would even take you down that path. Very strange.

• FallsRNat | Apr 10, 2012, 03:35 PM EDT

  logics would support that NI is viable for the UK exchequer as they have subsidised it for so long as a majority of the people wish to remain british, Ireland will have to pay reparations (as enshrined under international law) if a UI meant a mass exodus back to the UK of a near majority of the people in the event of a UI vote, in reality never likely to happen, but if it did, then all of the evacuated housing, businesses would have to be paid for by the Irish state, since the likelihood historically of any SI people who previously emigrated wanting to return to a UI is next to nil, then the drain of least resources will severely impact on the irish economy, if that is even agreed by the German exchequer

• peterson | Apr 10, 2012, 02:35 PM EDT

  A united Ireland could benefit both. It would take a lot of forgiving and forgetting, but could be done. The U.S. united after their civil war and still maintained their customs and identity.

• RedBranch | Apr 10, 2012, 01:55 PM EDT

  OK Curitiba lets deal: Point by point. 1. I have no doubt Mr. Adams was integral to PIRA policy from its inception to present. Many have stated this and yet no liable writ has appeared against these allegations from Mr. Adams to support his public position. To come forward would be significant as it would show honesty. Protestants like straight talking. Can we expect this?

• Curitiba | Apr 10, 2012, 11:00 AM EDT

  Reading your points earlier, RedBranch, I don't see any reason why they couldn't be a starting point for negotiation. After all, at the end of these hypothetical negotiations, neither party will get everything they want, but hopefully there will be enough agreement to make it work. The input of the Unionist/Protestant community would be a great boost to the future economic success of a United Ireland.

• Curitiba | Apr 10, 2012, 10:51 AM EDT

  RedBranch: Thanks for pointing that out. I don't mean they are "supremacists" in the contraversial meaning if the word, I just mean that all of the state facilities provided by London are to empower them to run NI as they wish. Without state funding for the police, civil service, govt, the NI economy would not be able to sustain that level of spending and they may be forced to pool their resources with the Republic.

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 10, 2012, 10:50 AM EDT

  IrelandNorth – If partition is unaffordable, surely reunion must be even more so? The ‘New Ireland’ would be expected to take on the NI proportion of the UK National Debt …some per capita quota is normal; The current UK subvention to NI would end, and a population of 6M, (ie 10% of the current UK Pop) would per capita have to fund TEN TIMES the current UK per capita amount…given current financial constraints, how can this work? There may be some savings from a ‘one state’ solution, but also some extra costs – services currently funded centrally by UK Gov…eg in Health, Defence, Central IT systems, Air Traffic, etc. etc. which would no longer be available…and that’s assuming a best case scenario, and all parties peacefully accept the changed situation…

• RedBranch | Apr 10, 2012, 09:50 AM EDT

  Curitibia: Correct on all points save 'white Unionist superority' you make these people sound like supremicists. The UK does however support the bizzare political arrangement that is devolved Stormont. History is littered with central powers paying off troublesome peripheries to keep the peace, NI is no different, although the currency SF / DUP deal in is power. I believe we already have an arrangement with our neighbours, we go there for holidays and they come here for holidays and just about everything else. May I refer you to my earlier post regarding unification, particularly points 2&3.

• ancavker | Apr 10, 2012, 09:33 AM EDT

  allan: Northern Ireland is not a country.

• Curitiba | Apr 10, 2012, 07:35 AM EDT

  Very interesting stuff, allan07. But your position depends entirely on funding directly from westminster, funding that taxpayers in England are paying for. The roads in NI are beautifully paved, however, the roads in England are full of potholes, which suggests that NI is like the spoilt child of the UK. Should a future UK government, especially one that is comprised of ethnic minorities, decide that NI is not very multicultural and diverse and the money is better spent on diversity projects in England, rather than maintaining white Unionist superiority in NI, what are you going to do then? You're going to have to come to some arrangement with your neighbours then, aren't you? There's a lot of things I don't like paying for with my taxes and maintaining the priviliged position of a certain group of people in a picturesque part of the UK, while the rest of the UK suffers, is not one of them.

• IrelandNorth | Apr 10, 2012, 07:27 AM EDT

  Partition is an unafforable neo-imperialistic luxury which even the radically individualistic English Tories are no longer willing to subsidise. Big Ian (now Lord Bannside), despite his sectarian melting pot stirring to establish his career in the early days, to his credit warned off Ian junior and little imperialist drummer boy Jeoffrey Donalson (Mhic Dhonall) from interefering in the redemocratisation of the UK and Scottish independence.

• citizen69 | Apr 10, 2012, 05:00 AM EDT

  @Allen07: You make quite a lot of assumptions and state things as fact when they aren't. Barry McGuigan boxed for the Republic in the Olympics & for Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Games. He's very non-sectarian and enjoyed great support from Protestants & Catholics. Why mention petty things like medal tallies anyway? It's hardly the root cause of all our problems! Your opinions may be as valid as anyone else's but you need to grow up a bit lad.

• DanOLoingsigh | Apr 10, 2012, 12:06 AM EDT

  Barry McGuigan still fighting the good fight...as manager and advocate...see various on Ytube...well done, champ!!!

• sirpeter | Apr 09, 2012, 08:22 PM EDT

  BTW.AllanO7.I'm not from NI.One comment to me and already so many mistakes.See your re-education is already up and running.I won't be long sorting your Billy Boy ass out don't you worry.

• TayandCake | Apr 09, 2012, 08:10 PM EDT

  Allan07 go and get laid and chill the fu*k out

• sirpeter | Apr 09, 2012, 08:07 PM EDT

  allan07.I didn't see any question you asked me.But now that you have asked me I'll answer you.You're not here long so most people know my opinion on that.Yes!!I support the GFA.I'm disappointed more Catholics are not joining.Allan I'm delighted NI win gold medals at the Olympics.But Allan I count 5 gold medals that the Republic won at the Olympics.That's taking out Michelle Smith 3 because I know what you are going to say about her.Pat O'Callaghan 2 Gold,Bob Tisdall,Ronnie Delaney,Michael Carruth.We also have many other medals.You know Allan are these mistakes going to be a habit?Also speaking of Barry McGuigan.Since when did Clones County Monaghan,Ireland become part of NI?Been so near the border Barry McGuigan chose not to take sides.I respect him for that.AllanO7 He would have told you to go and have a good crap for yourself.Btw I'm also delighted you are not totally anti-catholic.I guess you are just a half bigot so.Dose that make you are 50% Billy Boy?Because I am 100% Anti-Billy Boy.

• TayandCake | Apr 09, 2012, 07:48 PM EDT

  Well good luck to this, it'll need it

• seanomelb | Apr 09, 2012, 07:39 PM EDT

  Allan the idiot!! Ireland has won 23 medals at the modern Olympics and many more claimed by Britain. N.I. does not exist as a separate entity under the IOC, therefore you have never won a medal in your own right.I am glad to read you are not "Totally anti catholic" you bigot.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 07:21 PM EDT

  I am not anti-Irish i like the Rev Ian Richard Kyle Paisley and Mr Peter Robinson. Lovely fellas and very truthful. Honourable men.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 07:17 PM EDT

  @sirpeter and citizen69 i would support his 7 point plan when the Rev Ian becomes the next pope. If the Rev Ian was not around then when I would become the next pope.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 07:13 PM EDT

  @sirpeter i see you didnt answer my question. Are you happy for RC people to join the new shiny PSNI? I am not totally anti-catholic because i said I agree with the views of Mrs Kerr. I do like Rory McIlroy as hes a good golfer and hes going to be playing for Our Wee Country at the Olympics in the summer. Looking forward to that. How many gold medals will the Republic of Ireland win. Let me count just how many gold medals the Republic of Ireland has won ever since time began. I make that 0. Yes big fat zero. Northern Ireland have won many. Mary peters, lots of boxers and I believe a certain Barry McGuigan. Lets hope Wendy Hovenaghel from Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland can turn the silver she won last time into Gold. Go Team GB. Go like Wendy go man go. Lets hope you Northern Ireland lads sirpeter and citizen69 will be shouting for our gorgeous Wendy! Just like Redbranch, Towngate and me. How about you ancavker?

• sirpeter | Apr 09, 2012, 05:20 PM EDT

  citizen69.He won't either!! Allen07 is on a comment rampage.lol I'm waiting for him to get it all off his chest.He's totally Anti-Irish and Anti-Catholic in every article.This is a new level of Loyalism that I haven't seen on IC.Interesting ;))

• RedBranch | Apr 09, 2012, 05:19 PM EDT

  OK Mr. Adams, you grizzly old warlord I accept your challenge and will vote YES for a UI. If and only if the following 7 points can be answered with an unequivocal YES. 1. Were/are you Mr Adams a member of a certain paramilitary outfit? 2. Are the books balanced in the Republic. 3. Are the books balanced in NI. 4. Has the Derry Air/ Londonderry Air/ Stroke City Air replaced the current national anthem which I cannot understand? 5. Has the tricolour (which has been discraced by republicans over the decades) been replaced by a new flag of a golden harp on either a blue or green field? 6.Protestants are assured all their rights, including peaceful assembly and finally, 7. Uncle Hugo to be broadcast nationally. So until all these seven can be answered with a resonding YES let not my epitaph be written, (sorry wrong speech) Let not my X be set beside a vote for a UI. Keep her lit 'til we get out!

• citizen69 | Apr 09, 2012, 04:38 PM EDT

  @allen07: Of course i believe Catholics should join the police service. Now, you haven't answered my question yet.

• Towngate | Apr 09, 2012, 03:00 PM EDT

  Gerry missed his true vocation as a comedian if he thinks there is even a 'snowballs chance in hell' of his seven-point plan coming to anything. ~ He has simply built a massive mountain which nobody will ever ( or want to )climb! > > @DaithiSuibhne; well said! ... and add to his Stormont ill-gotten gains; the salary,Expenses and Pension he stole from the British Taxpayer by not taking his Seat at Westminster. Psssst, personally I think he knows the game is up ... but just doesn't quite know what the feck to do with himself!

• ancavker | Apr 09, 2012, 01:45 PM EDT

  Fall: Some argue that the best left. And looking at how well the Irish prospered in Australia, Britain, and of the course the U.S., there may be a lot of truth to that, when looking at what those who did not leave created.

• FallsRNat | Apr 09, 2012, 01:12 PM EDT

  seano - still trading insults instead of arguments, pity your family ran away to australia, couldn't last the pace in ireland.

• ancavker | Apr 09, 2012, 12:26 PM EDT

  allan: The free state as you call it although in theory at least it's name is the Republic of Ireland may be a failed state, but so is The six counties, Ulster, the north of Ireland, the north whatever you want to call it. And as far as being bailed out, well the north is just a giant welfare state subsidized by the British government since its inception. Your entity had from 1922 to at least 1968 to show the south how to run a successful modern statelet, that was inclusive of all its people, and your 6 county home rule state failed. Your entity was no better than the entity created in the south. The Protestants/Unionists also had an opportunity in 1973 with the Sunningdale Agreement to step forward and build a new state, that most Catholics/Nationalists would probably have supported it, and yet it took another 25 years of mindless violence before the Unionists finally agreed on the Good Friday settlement. Whatever about a united Ireland, but with the whole constitutional arrangements of the U.K. up in the air over Scotland possibly leaving, the people in the north may have to look at other possibilities, including a united Ireland. Personally I think residents in both the north and south should be ashamed of the mess they created. The north because of the institutionalized sectarianism and discrimination, and the south because they failed to live up to the ideals of the men and women who fought for their independence.

• DaithiSuibhne | Apr 09, 2012, 12:11 PM EDT

  Gerry, Just go home and live off of your Stormont pension,you've already disgraced yourself enough concerning a United Ireland.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 12:03 PM EDT

  @BrendanDunphy I dont know what you base your theory on. The Protestant people in the ROI have been enthically cleansed. (Once 10% in 1922 now 3% today). Discrimination exists in all forms. The RC Church claim that the children from all mixed marriages as Roman Catholic. Fact! Why? Its just to increase their power base and influence. They are like the mafia and state controlled. A United Ireland would not be united as the protestant people would leave over time in any case. So it wouldn't be united. If a man and woman are forced together as in an arranged marriage how are they united if the woman walks out. You cant force an United Ireland on anyone. Lots of Roman Catholics like it here in NI. What about Rory McIlroy being called a traitor by the RC community. @BrendanDunphy it sounds to me like you are probably one of those who supported the murder of Ronan Kerr in Omagh. Just because he was a Roman Catholic in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. @citizen69 i agree with the mother of Ronan Kerr that Roman Catholics should join the PSNI. Do you? Does @marysullivan? Do you @BrendanDunphy? Possibly not as Ronan's beliefs differ from your own therefore wrong? I look forward to your replies with interest of course.

• BrendanDunphy | Apr 09, 2012, 09:51 AM EDT

  Unlike the centuries-old Protestant discrimination against Catholics in the North (and elsewhere), I'm convinced that a UI will not result in a Catholic discrimination against Protestants. Even their parades would be considered less antagonistic, and their culture would be preserved as it is part of the island's combined history, whether we like it or not, so essentially their history is part of "our" history. Stay the course Gerry. We're almost there.

• maryosullivan | Apr 09, 2012, 09:51 AM EDT

  Gerry; your last brilliant idea only gave away six counties. Are you now trying to unite Ireland by giving the remaining twenty six counties away?

• citizen69 | Apr 09, 2012, 09:39 AM EDT

  @allan07: It is in the interest of yourself and all Unionists to breakdown the differences between Protestants & Catholics wherever possible. It is vital for all the people of Northern Ireland to have some common interests in thinking, allegiances and culture, while having total respect for each others remaining differences if they want to remain part of the UK. The very future of Northern Ireland depends on it. For it is not just Protestants who will decide the future of NI. Catholics in NI are in the majority for the ages group of 35 and under. In only a few decades there will be a Catholic majority overall. At the present only around 33% of RC's in the North want a United Ireland and you should be aiming to keep it that way by creating bonds & friendships, not by focusing on differences or alienating people. I have little doubt that Gerry Adams knows fine well he can't convince a sizeable amount of Protestants to sign up for a U.I. but he will certainly think (rightly or wrongly) that Republicans have a chance to sway a Catholic community that will soon make up the majority of the population. You quote the Good Friday Agreement. If in the future the majority in NI vote to unite with the south will you accept the agreement then?

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 09:19 AM EDT

  @dibble2008 the Good Friday Agreement 1998 states that the ROI do not have a claim on NI. 98% of the ROI voted in favour, 96% in NI. The constitution was changed in ROI. No claim on NI can exist ever. None of the protestant people in NI want it, lots of Catholics dont want it either. The ROI has just been bailed out to the tune of 25,000 Euros per head (man, woman and child) from Europe/IMF, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, USA, etc. So Britain has provided 8 billion in loans to the ROI otherwise it would run out of money this June. The ROI is bankrupt. The RC Church cannot pay its compensation to its victims of the sex scandals, Bertie Ahern's caught taking bribes, etc. Need I go on. Ok. Property values have crashed (40-60%), negative equity is common throughout the country, every school leaver is leaving the country as unemployment soars, Only 50% are willing to pay the new property taxes, etc. Need I go on. Ok. The EU will be in the future reducing grants to the ROI as poorer countries in Europe join the EU, if Greece defaults on their repayments of their loans Ireland will find it impossible to obtain further loans at low interests rates, A financial disaster awaits. I will stop. @oldboreen who says that the ROI would be welcomed back into the commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth 2 is head would nationalist accept that? Unlikely. The Republic of Ireland is a total failure and I am afraid to say this @oldboreen so are SF. They offer nothing only death and destruction. Your view of Gerry Adams is misguided. Gerry Adams is the Osama Bin Laden of Irish Politics.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 08:53 AM EDT

  @citizen69 the protestant people like myself in Northern Ireland will never be convinced that a United Ireland is acceptable or in their interest. Our background, history, religion, beliefs, allegiences, sport, language, culture, thinking, politics, etc are completely different. Oil and water dont mix and never will. I accept they are both liquids but they are not the same. You mention the protestant people in the ROI. Well after 1922 the protestant population was about 10% of the Free State. Today its 3%. Both FF/FG parties discriminated against the protestant people in employment, land rights, Roman Catholic Church which remains stated controlled, human rights, etc. In short ethic cleansing occurred and continues to this very day. The protestant farmers were threatened by nationalist/IRA. Of course the Roman Catholic Church exploited the situation by claiming the children from mixed marriages as their own. In any event the ROI do not have a claim on Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement addressed this matter. It was accepted by the ROI voters (98%). So thats the matter ended. For those who argue otherwise well I guess these are the 2% whom didnt accept the Good Friday Agreement. The Republic of Irelands Constitution has changed and no claim can be made on NI. EVER! Thats democracy.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 08:33 AM EDT

  @FallsRNat I am glad to hear it that you are happy to live in the United Kingdom. As a person from the Protestant community its good to hear that. WE all have to live here in Northern Ireland. Anyway the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 makes the 7 points issued by Gerry Adams redundant. These are the same points he raised then. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement was voted on both in Northern Ireland and in the Irish Republic at the same time. I think it was 98% of the ROI voted in favour and this meant the constitution of the Republic was changed. This change included the removal of any claim on Northern Ireland, its land, assets or people. (Not just for a given time but for ever). So the ROI do not have any claim on Northern Ireland now or in the future. @seanomelbourne you dont accept the choices of the people who voted on the Good Friday Agreement thats just too bad. If your so Irish why have you invaded Australia as its clearly not your country? Its the land of the aborigines. Typical provo speaking with fork tongue.

• citizen69 | Apr 09, 2012, 08:05 AM EDT

  Adams says Republicans should try to convince Unionists that their identity, self-interest and quality of life will be best served, secured and guaranteed in a united Ireland. I don't know if that can be achieved. In the early 20th century Republicans said the very same thing to Unionists and what actually transpired when they got an Irish Republic was just the opposite. Unionism was not respected, their culture & identity was not nurtured or recognized, nor did it prosper. in fact a unionist culture was all but wiped out in the Republic. Catholic, Gaelic, Republican culture was the only show in town. The Republic turned out to be the very thing of unionists nightmares. The Protestant population was decimated, the state was controlled by the Catholic church, all traces of British influence was removed & dismantled and history whitewashed & rewritten. Of course things are different now in the south but i believe it's still going to be a long while yet before unionists are convinced.

• FallsRNat | Apr 09, 2012, 06:50 AM EDT

  a reasoned debate on this board brought to a new low by the non sensical ravings of seanomelbourne throwing insults around because he can't present a meaningful argument, he hates it that normal nationalists like me are happy to live in the UK. He has insulted all of my family from the 1916 uprising, those who were at Curragh Interment Camp in the 40s up to the 60s when the RA decided to turn their back on political violence to try to achieve peace through democracy, he reserves special vitriolic hatred for me as I was in the British Army, but as Cathal Goulding said to me, Seamus you choose your own life & are free to do whatever you please as long as you do it within the law. I can take all this abuse if this person was living on the island of Ireland, but of course, his family slunk away to Australia, typical Provie fighting talk from someone who is removed from harm's way.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 05:35 AM EDT

  If your a citizen of the Free State the affairs of Northern Ireland need not concern you in any way as its none of your business. So unless your a citizen of Northern Ireland your a foreigner as far as i am concerned. Leave the wounds of Northern Ireland to heal and stop picking at the scabs of our wounds and insulting our people.

• allan07 | Apr 09, 2012, 05:23 AM EDT

  The Republic of Ireland is a total failure. After 90 years of independence it is a joke. Gerry Adams is a left wing thug who continues to throw out the same old rubbish. Northern Ireland do not want his failed agenda. He cannot move from timers to taxation or from bombs to budgets. SF know nothing about economies. The ROI has been bailed out to the tune of 85 billion Euros. Thats 25,000 Euros for every man, woman and child in the Republic. Thats 100,000 Euros for a family of 2 adults and 2 children. Failure 100%. The people of NI do want his failed manxism. He is a second Robert Mugabe. Left wing policies do not work. Cuba, Russia, every former eartern block country, etc. Now SF want a Che Guevera statue in Galway! Get real Gerry. Never, never and never. Your a joke! (Britain has recently loaned 8 billion Euros in bilateral loans to the ROI). Why should we in Northern Ireland have our VAT increased from 17.5% to 20% to bail out the Republic of Ireland. Its not fair for us in Northern Ireland to pay for their failed state!

• PhlutiePhan | Apr 08, 2012, 10:14 PM EDT

  Gerry Adams fools most but not me. He is a radical socialist who tells everyone that he is wearing "green underwear" when in reality, it is as "red" as that worn by Che Guevera who is up for sainthood in Galway. Adams is working with Iran and China to bring Ireland into the socialist network with the overthrow of religion. I am a Navy vet who talked with Brit officers who came on my ship for anti-submarine warfare training in 1975. The Brits have wanted to unite Ireland but were fearful of a socialist intervention to make it a paradise along the lines of Cuba. All that Adams is is a radical anti-Catholic socialist who is working with world socialists for that elusive world government. Read Martin Martin. He is just another Oliver Cromwell who wants to come in and board up the churches and destroy Irish culture.

• pilib04 | Apr 08, 2012, 09:13 PM EDT

  Gerry Adams TD, continues to move the peace process forward. This man has spent a lifetime dedicated to reuniting Ireland. Sinn Fein has embraced the task of peacefully reunifying our country. This is a daunting task but Sinn Fein leaders from Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adam to our younger leaders like Niall O'Donnghaile and Pearse Doherty are up to the job.

• aloistmartin | Apr 08, 2012, 08:47 PM EDT

  Bravo Gerry Adams ! You are an Irish Patriot and Hero of the First Rate ! Hurray for the Irish, and for Catholic`s from Edinburgh to Canterbury !

• aloistmartin | Apr 08, 2012, 08:44 PM EDT

  1. Lets start by moving the Capital from Its Condescending Bourgeois Presence in Dublin; To the more pressing Social Relevance of Belfast. 2. Lets start "The New Government" with a "Clean Slate" by granting Amnesty and Free Elections for All Political Parties 3. Lets let the Capitalist World know that The Irish are Free to Decide for Themselves, their Position on Questions regarding Her relations with Mother England, and Big Brother CNN 4.

• seanomelb | Apr 08, 2012, 07:45 PM EDT

  Bythebay like falls live in a spiteful anti Irish world spewing meaningless crap.Cathal goulding was a Marxist and turned his back on Irish nationalism and formed the Workers party. My father was interned with Goulding(Curragh) and knew him well.The IRA did not revoke the armed struggle has history has proven.The only knee you ever sat on was your mothers and even that's in doubt. He told you stories of the past and the RA revoked violence "because you were sitting on his knee" so you were the main player,Your full of it falls.

• sirpeter | Apr 08, 2012, 07:17 PM EDT

  Inthebay.Try and not be a dope with every comment you make.Who do you think he is speaking too when he makes statements like this?.He has to be seen that he is doing and planning re-unification.That's a peaceful seven-point plan.He's just continuing to nurture the peace process.

• FallsRNat | Apr 08, 2012, 03:49 PM EDT

  green, white & orange means nothing if people need to be persuaded to join a UI - it's supposed to be a Irish Free State, he still doesn't get it, I remember that much from sitting on Cathal Goulding's knee at Easter listening to stories from a distant past, that's why the RA revoked violence in 68.

• Curitiba | Apr 08, 2012, 02:55 PM EDT

  When you think about it, we're all ruled from Brussels anyway, independent states within the EU exist only as props to make people think that they live in separate countries, when the truth is that every bit of legislation passed now comes from Brussels. You can go and live anywhere you want in the EU, the only thing stopping you is the rubbish economies of most EU countries, which mean you'll never get a job there. So a United Ireland exists already, but it's just basically a local authority more than a national government. The same goes for every other state in the EU.

• oldboreen | Apr 08, 2012, 02:32 PM EDT

  I respect Gerry Adams as a serious statesman-we should take him seriously,particularly in an Ireland of political non-entities. His seven-point United Ireland Plan should be considered, not least because no one else in Ireland, north or south, has addressed the situation with such clarity. But how about an alternative means of eventually bringing about a United Ireland by degrees,a slow process admittedly? Let the Republic apply for admittance to the Commonwealth-yes I can hear the outrage from some even as I write this-but wouldn't it make sense? The border would become irrelevant,both traditions, north and south would enjoy equal status. Let's face it,all things considered,the Republic hasn't exactly been a total success since 1922!

• ciaradexy | Apr 08, 2012, 02:15 PM EDT

  Seamus, get a grip.

• barneyjo | Apr 08, 2012, 01:47 PM EDT

  @Seamusmor - Where you lead, others MAY follow :) To be serious though, the days are long gone when the Parish Priest would ridicule his parishoners for the lack of new births and the ominous shadow of contraceptive methods being used. Speaking of which, has anybody heard about the Jewish Drummer who was so proficient in the "Rhythmn Method" that he was made an honorary Catholic?? (I thought not)

• barneyjo | Apr 08, 2012, 01:46 PM EDT

  @Seamusmor - Where you lead, others MAY follow :) To be serious though, the days are long gone when the Parish Priest would ridicule his parishoners for the lack of new births and the ominous shadow of contraceptive methods being used. Speaking of which, has anybody heard about the Jewish Drummer who was so proficient in the "Rhythmn Method" that he was made an honorary Catholic?? (I thought noe :(

• barneyjo | Apr 08, 2012, 12:58 PM EDT

  White, Orange and Green not just a dream. Blessed be the peacemakers.

• Sparklet | Apr 08, 2012, 12:07 PM EDT

  Superfly, maybe I'll move to Belfast. Our potholes (in England)are never fixed! Re unification (see what I did there :) )a lot of supporters dont realise that times, and people, have changed. After so much violence, all people want now is the means to look after their families, to have the same rights as their neighbours, and to live in peace. The violence wore everyone down and the IRA, instead of rallying the nationalists to the cause, actually turned them against it. I want a united Ireland as long as the majority of people there want it. If they don't, and it was forced on them, there would be more violence, more deaths. As a nationalist, I'd choose to move across the border rather than see anyone else die on my behalf.

• SeamusMor | Apr 08, 2012, 11:44 AM EDT

  Ballots, not bullets will be the means to unification. To unite Ireland, Nationalists must procreate and educate a majority. Irish men and women should work on this patriotic task with gladness! What could be more fun?

• SAirish | Apr 08, 2012, 10:07 AM EDT

  Weather you support a united Ireland or not, this has got to be the worst possible time to advocate it. The ROI Government have already said that it is on the back burner due to the bad economic conditions in the republic. The fact that no political party in NI is requesting a border poll is proof that there really is not much support for holding one.

• SUPERFLY9898 | Apr 08, 2012, 09:46 AM EDT

  I'm a catholic living in Tyrone. I never want a united Ireland. We are better off financially as part of the UK and our roads get fixed when potholes appear.Things are cheaper to buy, and when someone is breaking into our house when we phone a cop we get one, not waiting hours. The Irish government is an utter disaster even when they had money to spend. Mabye the republic of Ireland should unify with the UK!!! Gerry people want ojbs and money. What flag we are under is the least of my worries and others. Gerry you're actually a small percentage of people who care about this issue. Sooner you realise it, the better.

• dibble2008 | Apr 08, 2012, 09:20 AM EDT

  Well people who respect both traditions say yes.

• ciaradexy | Apr 08, 2012, 08:37 AM EDT

  Gerry, in all recent polls, the majority says NO!