Queen Elizabeth says Irish spirit of friendship fills her with hope

AS AN IRISH PERSON LIVING IN DUBLIN IRELAND THIS WAS MOST CERTAINLY THE HIGHLIGHT OF MOST IRISH PEOPLES 2011 AND WE WERE JUST SAD THAT MY GRAN DIDNT LIVE TO SEE HER COME OVER ON HERE VISIT ... HERE TO OUR STRONGER BOND WITH THE UK ...

Interesting how she referred to relationship between her UK, and Ireland at the ooutset, and concluding with reference to the Commonwealth and the "importanbce of family." To anyone with theier ear to the ground, it's fairly clear what she may have on her mind.

Well said eiriamach I have not seen the poll that you mention,but if that is the case I suppopse the devil will be in the detail.I agree there would have to be some way of recognising all symbols maybe the four province cartouche on a plain background.A form of autonomy for the north of Ireland defeats the purpose of unification.

Gearoid4 - some well-argued points. If the two parts come together as equals, then all the old symbols - on each side - will be up for review. This includes the flag, National Anthem, role of the languages, etc etc. The question really is - how high a price are we prepared to pay for unity? Discuss...

I believe that Ireland will be united but the complexion of that unity may not be along the same lines as advocated by Irish nationalists in the past i.e national parliament in Dublin administering over the whole Island. A devolved parliament in the north with considerable autonomy may be the way forward. I admit that the current economic facts, north and south, act as a sobering argument against contemplating such a political set-up but the illogicality of two government systems with their duplicated bodies/agencies in the Educational,Health,Tourist and Employment sectors etc across the Island, mitigates against the people of Ireland reaching their full potential as a people. A comprehensive program of socio-economic reform and re-alignment and amalgamation of competing government bodies north and south, could greatly help this process.

ciaradexy, of course the Republic cannot afford to take on NI problems now, and people in the 6 counties don't trust the Republic to regain control of its own economy, so the flow of money through the UK umbilical cord will continue for now. But so will investment and sales for NI from the Republic. A majority of Protestants and near-half of Catholics were content with the progress of devolution, if I recall the stats from recent polling. A sense of fair treatment can defuse anger from memories of the Troubles, and that era may take its place in the centuries' old volatile history. On June 17, 2011, the Belfast Telegraph reported that 82% of Protestants would accept re-unification if a referendum yielded that result. But I wonder: is the Catholic-Protestant split the best way to read the polls going forward? How long will this split continue to determine how people imagine their future? I now leave this topic with these questions raised because, as an American, I don't get any vote in the matter. Best New Year wishes!

There is no god given right for the island of Ireland to become a single state under one Irish administration. Regardless of the unjust or undemocratic processes that were suffered in history surely the most important question now is what is the right thing to do today? Isn't the fairest thing to let the people affected by this choose for themselves and not be told by Britain or the Republic where their future will lie? The future of the people of Northern Ireland is now in their own hands, and rightly so. it's population is split equally between Catholics & Protestants, there is no clear majority of one over the other. Most of the people who describe themselves as Irish in the North do not want to be part of a United Ireland, not at the present at least. They do not need a United Ireland to be Irish, Gaelic or free.

Ciaradexy is obviously one of those free-staters that has turned her backs on her FELLOW COUNTRYMEN from the North. The leaders of '16 would not be impressed. Up Armagh.

That poll is in the journal.ie of anyone is interested in reading it. ''A NEW POLL has shown that a clear majority of people in Northern Ireland want the province to remain part of the United Kingdom - with 73 per cent of respondents favouring remaining part of a single state with Britain. Perhaps surprisingly, however, the majority of the Catholic community in the North – which has traditionally been perceived as being in favour of unification with the Republic of Ireland to form an all-Ireland sovereign state – now also seems to prefer remaining in the UK. Just a third of Catholic respondents to the Northern Ireland Life and Times survey said they wanted to join the Republic – down from 56 per cent five years ago – while 52 per cent of Catholics wanted either to be directly ruled by London or to retain the status quo of devolved power within the UK.''

Why would you feel that people in the Republic want to take on the problems in the North of Ireland?

ciaradexy, the 2011 poll showed such a huge shift that no one knows what to make of it except that it reflects economic woes and uncertainty (and probably a breakdown in Catholicism as a political bonding agent). Until there is a referendum, can anyone really know people's preferences? The polls conducted by newspapers, for instance, are keyed to and reflect then-current political and economic troubles. But to put it in simple terms, there's no future for the six counties as part of the UK. The UK will be wrestling with post-colonial multi-cultural- assimilation problems in major cities for generations, and that situation, I'm sure, was known to the people who, as you say, are "living in NI who made the decision to move to the UK." If they thought they were getting any guarantee of national identity, they did not know what they were doing! The question that a referendum would pose is whether an international border could better promote long-term stability and economic viability for the entire island than re-unification could. As economic indicators strengthen, opinion will shift again. I'd bet on unification sentiment solidifying by the centenary of partition, and it makes sense to prepare for it.

Why wont IC allow me to post the link on here?

Eiriamach-The most recent poll that I heard of which was taken a few months ago showed that the majority in NI wanted to stay as they were. They didnt want a united Ireland, they wanted to stay in the UK. There are people in Ireland who dont want a united Ireland and others who dont care! You may find that hard to believe. There are people from all over the world living in NI who made the decision to move to the UK. Do you think that theyd vote to unite the country?

FallsRNat, you may be right that the Brit visitors are savvy about the history of NI conflict, but they see it as past. "The brits live for the future," as you say. What strikes me about your way of viewing the situation is that you ignore the fact that any poll on reunification is a polarized split vote, with two completely opposed sides. So when you write of "their undying commitment to the principle of democratic right of the people of NI to settle their own future whether it be in a UI or as part of the UK," you are giving only one side, one way of perceiving the choice, viewed through only the most recent history (the past century). A vote for unification would not "hand over part of their country to a marginalised PIRA who can't command the majority support." A vote for unification would put a tremendous economic burden on both the 6 counties and the 26, but the long-range economic and political benefits are undeniable. I too had ancestors from NI. They were Irish speakers who spelled their names in Irish on every US Census taken during their lifetimes as immigrants in the US. Their people had been Irish speakers during plantation times, when, historians tell us, most newcomers also spoke some Gaelic language and could communicate with Irish-speaking natives. I agree with you that the future should be subject to a democratic vote, but that vote needs the help of education about history, as well as cultural sharing and institutions in common. That process must reach much deeper into the past than 1922. Now that Catholicism has lost its political grip on the Republic and the UK is functioning as the employment agency for another generation of Irish both north and south, there'll be no better time to work on the deeper roots in the hope of facilitating a united island.

Sure when are you going to STOP taking them! I think you missed the point of my message FallsRNAt. I never said we 'have the ascendancy in terms of trade', I just stated facts: The UK does more trade with the Republic than it does with China, India, Russia and Brazil -combined. We are the UK's 5th most important market (a country with 4.5 million people). So we are very important to them trade wise. However, my main point was that the UK have provided a loan of about 7billion to ensure that the current policy of the state covering the bad debts of private banks continues. Considering that RBS (one British bank) has an exposure of £40 billion it is easy to see why. Later the loan will have to be repaid plus interest. Must I draw you a picture?