141 Comments

• IrelandNorth | Feb 12, 2013, 01:50 PM EST

  One only has to view SKY TV news - TV3 - RTE1 - UTV - BBC1NI - to see just how little difference there is in the topics. Exact same crises in respective economies. Same bankster largesse. Same crises in health services. But one essential distinction is that the UK remains outside European Monetary Union (EMU) whilst paying one of the lowest doles in Europe. Hmmm! £ vs €?

• ancavker | Feb 12, 2013, 10:56 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR: TO finish my deleted reply from a few days back. The Irish in the north know that if there were a UI tomorrow, their dole payments would be cut drastically, sa the south would not be able to pay the generous dole amounts they pay now. And of course those dole pymts would be cut for those in the south as well. So right now it makes sense for them to stay within the U.K.,and have the English govt subsidize their basket economy which is primarily just the public sector. Meanwhile the Germans will continue to run things in the south. But the Germans are some what fond of the Irish. They love the Guinness and the music.

• ancavker | Feb 12, 2013, 10:56 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR: TO finish my deleted reply from a few days back. The Irish in the north know that if there were a UI tomorrow, their dole payments would be cut drastically, sa the south would not be able to pay the generous dole amounts they pay now. And of course those dole pymts would be cut for those in the south as well. So right now it makes sense for them to stay within the U.K.,and have the English govt subsidize their basket economy which is primarily just the public sector. Meanwhile the Germans will continue to run things in the south. But the Germans are some what fond of the Irish. They love the Guinness and the music.

• ancavker | Feb 12, 2013, 10:55 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR: TO finish my deleted reply from a few days back. The Irish in the north know that if there were a UI tomorrow, their dole payments would be cut drastically, sa the south would not be able to pay the generous dole amounts they pay now. And of course those dole pymts would be cut for those in the south as well. So right now it makes sense for them to stay within the U.K.,and have the English govt subsidize their basket economy which is primarily just the public sector. Meanwhile the Germans will continue to run things in the south. But the Germans are some what fond of the Irish. They love the Guinness and the music.

• ancavker | Feb 12, 2013, 10:55 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR: TO finish my deleted reply from a few days back. The Irish in the north know that if there were a UI tomorrow, their dole payments would be cut drastically, sa the south would not be able to pay the generous dole amounts they pay now. And of course those dole pymts would be cut for those in the south as well. So right now it makes sense for them to stay within the U.K.,and have the English govt subsidize their basket economy which is primarily just the public sector. Meanwhile the Germans will continue to run things in the south. But the Germans are some what fond of the Irish. They love the Guinness and the music.

• Brenn69 | Feb 11, 2013, 11:38 PM EST

  And what reason on Earth do we have to trust a poll about Irish affairs conducted by the British Broadcasting Company? None. It's too soon to vote on this, given the shattered economies everywhere today. In a while, when still more Irish babies are outnumbering babies who bow to the Empire, the island will be all-green, again. (Or, humanity will get over flags and money and all work together, but that's probably a few centuries away, the way things are going...)

• Brenn69 | Feb 11, 2013, 11:38 PM EST

  And what reason on Earth do we have to trust a poll about Irish affairs conducted by the British Broadcasting Company? None. It's too soon to vote on this, given the shattered economies everywhere today. In a while, when still more Irish babies are outnumbering babies who bow to the Empire, the island will be all-green, again. (Or, humanity will get over flags and money and all work together, but that's probably a few centuries away, the way things are going...)

• Brenn69 | Feb 11, 2013, 11:38 PM EST

  And what reason on Earth do we have to trust a poll about Irish affairs conducted by the British Broadcasting Company? None. It's too soon to vote on this, given the shattered economies everywhere today. In a while, when still more Irish babies are outnumbering babies who bow to the Empire, the island will be all-green, again. (Or, humanity will get over flags and money and all work together, but that's probably a few centuries away, the way things are going...)

• Brenn69 | Feb 11, 2013, 11:38 PM EST

  And what reason on Earth do we have to trust a poll about Irish affairs conducted by the British Broadcasting Company? None. It's too soon to vote on this, given the shattered economies everywhere today. In a while, when still more Irish babies are outnumbering babies who bow to the Empire, the island will be all-green, again. (Or, humanity will get over flags and money and all work together, but that's probably a few centuries away, the way things are going...)

• Brenn69 | Feb 11, 2013, 11:37 PM EST

  And what reason on Earth do we have to trust a poll about Irish affairs conducted by the British Broadcasting Company? None. It's too soon to vote on this, given the shattered economies everywhere today. In a while, when still more Irish babies are outnumbering babies who bow to the Empire, the island will be all-green, again. (Or, humanity will get over flags and money and all work together, but that's probably a few centuries away, the way things are going...)

• Brenn69 | Feb 11, 2013, 11:37 PM EST

  And what reason on Earth do we have to trust a poll about Irish affairs conducted by the British Broadcasting Company? None. It's too soon to vote on this, given the shattered economies everywhere today. In a while, when still more Irish babies are outnumbering babies who bow to the Empire, the island will be all-green, again. (Or, humanity will get over flags and money and all work together, but that's probably a few centuries away, the way things are going...)

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 11, 2013, 07:47 PM EST

  @@@LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:40 PM EST >>>>>>>>>>YOUR AMERICAN .. WE DONT TEND TO USE THE PHRASE ..NO BRAINER OVER HERE AND WE ALSO DONT SAY THINGS LIKE .......SOCIAL PROGRAMMES ........JUST ONE OF MANY THINGS ITS EASY TO TELL WHEN ITS AN AMERICAN POSTING THESE COMMENTS AS OPPOSED TO AN IRISH PERSON :-)

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 11, 2013, 07:46 PM EST

  @@@LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:40 PM EST >>>>>>>>>>YOUR AMERICAN .. WE DONT TEND TO USE THE PHRASE ..NO BRAINER OVER HERE AND WE ALSO DONT SAY THINGS LIKE .......SOCIAL PROGRAMMES ........JUST ONE OF MANY THINGS ITS EASY TO TELL WHEN ITS AN AMERICAN POSTING THESE COMMENTS AS OPPOSED TO AN IRISH PERSON .... :-)

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 11, 2013, 07:46 PM EST

  @@@LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:40 PM EST >>>>>>>>>>YOUR AMERICAN .. WE DONT TEND TO USE THE PHRASE ..NO BRAINER OVER HERE AND WE ALSO DONT SAY THINGS LIKE .......SOCIAL PROGRAMMES ........JUST ONE OF MANY THINGS ITS EASY TO TELL WHEN ITS AN AMERICAN POSTING THESE COMMENTS AS OPPOSED TO AN IRISH PERSON .... :-)

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 11, 2013, 07:43 PM EST

  @@@@@LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:40 PM EST THATS INCORRECT CAN YOU GIVE ME FIGURE MATES?? .. HERE YOU GO .. IRISH DOLE FOR A SINGLE PER WEEK IS 188EURO DOLE .. 54 RENT ALLOWANCE.. 20 EURO FUEL ALLOWANCE.... MEDICAL CARD AND DENTAL WORK.. ALSO CHILDRENS ALLOWANCE IS 120EURO PER MONTH PER CHILD ... THE UK DOLE IS £65 PER WEEK YOU CAN COME BACK TO ME WITH RENT ALLOWANCE ETC.. THE WELFARE IN SOUTHERN IRELAND IS THE BEST IN EUROPE THATS WHY WE HAVE MOST OF THEM MOVING OVER HERE FROM EASTERN EUROPE.. WE NOW HAVE 1 IN 4 POLISH LIVING ON WELFARE IN IRELAND..

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:40 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland, unemployment, children's allowance, etc., far exceed that of Southern Ireland. It's a no brainer.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• LiamtheDream | Feb 11, 2013, 06:35 PM EST

  All the social programmes in Northern Ireland far exceed those of Southern Ireland. They pay more money on unemployment, children's allowance, etc., etc, It's a no brainer when it comes to a vote.

• FallsRNat | Feb 11, 2013, 04:05 PM EST

  IrelandNorth - it is only the politicians & rich who class themselves as brits, as long as I've known English or Scots working class, they don't ally themselves as brits, it really is a collective term used by the irish/US, there is a substantial majority in favour for keeping Scotland in the union from polls north of the border. I can't see a UI unless they leave the EU, after all, what's the point of the Germans running it as they do the south nowadays.

• IrelandNorth | Feb 11, 2013, 02:39 PM EST

  FallsRNat! Interesting that you should differentiate Ulster-Scottish from Englishness. Whatever happened to that flag of convenience called Britishness, the figleaf behind which Old Angle-Saxonia conceals her imperial eros. But a Ulster-Scottish union could be an interesting experiment on the road to full blown independence. After all, devolution is independence for beginners. Realist! I'm a teetotaller and don't frequent bawdy taverns, or discourse with public house philosophers. It ended in tragedy anytime I tried it. I'm also vegantarian, so the price of fish is way down my shopping list before orse burgers. Scouse Tony! Why defer the inevitable. Procrastination is the thief of time. "Now is the time [this decade of centenaries]. Now or never. A nation once again!" Sir Winston Lord Churchill in secret wartime telegram to Taoiseach De Valera offering 6 counties back in lieu of neutrality.

• ancavker | Feb 11, 2013, 01:16 PM EST

  STEVEN: To make long story short, and in the hopes of not having my comment deleted. Irish born came to the U.S. when I was eight. Two of my siblings returned to Ireland; ironically one of them was the American born one. I know more about Irish history than you ever will. Two, comparing the U.S. with Ireland is a joke. The fact is with all of your so called education, the Irish people in Ireland have made a mess of the place, since independence.

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 11, 2013, 01:10 PM EST

  @@@ancavker | Feb 10, 2013, 10:50 AM EST DELETED .. HOW MANY REPLIES DID YOU SEND ME? HAHA WAS IT A BOOK YOU WROTE ... OH I KNOW ALL TOO WELL HOW WHEN AN AMERICAN WANTS TO GET HIS OPINION ACROSS OH HOW THEY LOVE A GOOD RANT ... WELL MR KNOW IT ALL I SUGGEST YOU GO AND PUT YOUR ENERGY INTO SORTING OUT THE PROBLEMS IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY AND CULTURE LIKE THE CRAZY AMERICAN GUN LAWS THAT YOU HAVE.. AMD FORGET ABOUT IRISH WELFARE PAYMENTS ... HOENST TO GOD YOU PEOPLE AND YOUR OPINONS .. HOW MANY IRISH PEOPLE ON HERE ARE AS VOCAL AS YOU? VERY FEW THATS FOR SURE AND THATS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I COME ON HERE AS AN IRISHMAN BORN HERE WHO LIVES HERE AND HOLDS AN IRISH PASSPORT I COME ON HERE TO GIVE AN IRISH OPINION FROM AN IRISH PERSON .. BECAUSE IM SO SICK OF ALL THIS AMERICAN BALONEY AND OPINONS BEEN POSTED HERE EVERY DAY ABOUT IRELAND AND THE IRISH PEOPLE ..

• timbobdennehy | Feb 11, 2013, 11:14 AM EST

  they can keep the north,it is unsustainable for Ireland to have it,besides they sold off the rest of the country,and its being ruled by Germany and Brussels, i don't want a cut in my social welfare,it's a pittance as it is with the prices here, for Eg. Tv licence €160.

• ancavker | Feb 11, 2013, 09:27 AM EST

  Why was my reply to STEVEN deleted??

• Scouse Tony | Feb 11, 2013, 02:44 AM EST

  Curtisjohnson, lumping stats together to justify a premise does not really work although you can carry on believing that all unionist groups were under the control of Whitehall if you like it just does not make it so. Both sides had so many splinter groups that briefings often reminded me of a scene form Monty Pythons Life of Brian and they did expend a remarkable amount of time offing each other for not being Republican or Unionist enough. What you call ethnic cleansing worked both ways unless you assume that all protestant families moved out of catholic areas through choice. There are plenty of people from both sides with blood on their hands who continue to walk free that’s the GFA for you. I had family over for the Everton Man U match yesterday, their opinion on unification was “eventually yes” but now “are you mad”.

• curtisjohnson | Feb 10, 2013, 09:02 PM EST

  Should have read “non-government personnel.” “Ireland is obviously lucky in that respect otherwise you could find the English in SI pushing for SI to be reunited with the UK & ruled from Westminster. Are you joking – how do these numbers work??? Maybe they should give the Irish living in Liverpool or sections of Manchester and London the right to vote to give sovereignty there to the ROI? Moreover, there was absolutely no land grab by Dev (like their arguably should have been given the amount of the land that was stolen by anglo squatters). Compare the treatment of the british after Irish independence versus their treatment in an after the American revolution – their own ethnics were far more harsh.

• curtisjohnson | Feb 10, 2013, 08:57 PM EST

  @fallstherat “The murders committed by the shankill butchers were savage, but no worse than PIRA's Teebane murders, no form of democracy can condone political murders carried out by either side” Nice try – the workers killed at Teebane died as the result of a bomb blast not being slowly and methodically before a cheering squatter crowd for hours. While I certainly don’t condone the Teebane incident, at least they had some connection to the conflict other than being random non-combatants – they were working for a british army base (the british intentionally began using government personnel for these services for obvious reasons). Moreover, it appears the RUC intentionally left the route unprotected after being provided logistics by the construction company and later lied about this. Of course, rather than actually retaliating against the IRA, the cowardly UDA retaliated by killing five random Catholics at a betting shop. It should be noted that in the months leading up to Teeban loyalists had murdered a number of non-combatants in the area.

• Realist | Feb 10, 2013, 06:08 PM EST

  IrelandNorth: "The Irish Times arts critic Donald Clarke (of Co Armagh planter stock) says that you're Irish if you live in Ireland and British if you live in Britain"? Lol....well, Big Bird from Sesame Street (of chicken stock) says, "who's Donald Clarke and what's he got to do with the price of fish?" Who next, some bloke you met down the pub?

• seamus60 | Feb 10, 2013, 06:02 PM EST

  IrelandNorth. Why then would we see troops from a variety of origions when according to the brits they don`t need any apart from a few EO`s on the ground. House raids recently in Derry have uncovered quite a lot of EO`s though.

• FallsRNat | Feb 10, 2013, 05:55 PM EST

  The 112,000 mostly English residents living in Ireland has i'm afraid absolutely nothing to do with the scots/ulster connection, the English assimilate themselves into a country & their children take that national identity, a similar trait followed by Germans, it is an interesting fact that if these 2 races identified themselves as such Anglo or German-American they would outnumber the Irish/Scots/Jewish yanks by almost 3-1, Ireland is obviously lucky in that respect otherwise you could find the English in SI pushing for SI to be reunited with the UK & ruled from Westminster.

• anglo-norman | Feb 10, 2013, 05:24 PM EST

  jacersagain- Do you realise how idiotic your last post was?

• jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 05:02 PM EST

  I was fascinated seeing old photographs of Dublin recently, seen on u-tube. One photo, obviously taken from St. Stephen’s Green looking down at the top of Dublin’s Grafton Street, showed huge Union Jack flags (two storeys deep, mind ya!) hung from the tall buildings. Clearly, the occupants of Grafton Street were happy to be ruled by a Regent living in a foreign country. No wonder I don’t shop in Grafton Street, giving my money to foreign-owned shops in me dear Dublin City. But my wife and I bought our wedding rings from a Jewish jewellers shop on a street just off Grafton Street. Through bargaining, they gave us 50% off and still made a handsome profit.

• IrelandNorth | Feb 10, 2013, 03:38 PM EST

  Seamus 60! The British Government were quoted recently as saying that there are no British military personnel on the ground in Northern Ireland other than explosive ordinance disposal teams. FallsRNat! Census of Ireland, 2011 reported 112,000 British citizens (mostly English) living in the 26 counties (many in and around Cobh, County Cork (formerely know as Queenstown, due to the Anglo plantation of Munster). It's possible to be British in a united Ireland. The Irish Times arts critic Donald Clarke (of Co Armagh planter stock) says that you're Irish if you live in Ireland and British if you live in Britain. Scouse Tony! Shankill is the anglicised Sean Cílle (Old Church). H's and K's are anglo-saxon. ancavker! Only ones pushing for reduced dole payments anywhere in Ireland are the the Irish political right (whch they usually blame on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and/or European Central Bank (ECB)).

• FallsRNat | Feb 10, 2013, 02:40 PM EST

  we nationalists have to hold our hands up at the ethnic cleansing of Dev's govt when they removed the land from anglo-protestant landowners in the south, not our finest hour & a legacy which we still live with today. The murders committed by the shankill butchers were savage, but no worse than PIRA's Teebane murders, no form of democracy can condone political murders carried out by either side.

• curtisjohnson | Feb 10, 2013, 11:35 AM EST

  Scouse Tony – “Ultimately a death is a death and more catholic civilians died as a result of actions by Republican paramilitaries than by the likes of the Shankill Butchers,” Yes, but the statistics show overwhelmingly that british state forces and loyalists (actually one in the same as many of the loyalist terrorist organizations were created and sustained by the State) were responsible for more deaths of non-combatants than the P_RA. Also, you cannot say intent has no relevance, particularly in the context of ethnic cleansing (as well as a history of State sponsored ethnic cleansing going back centuries). Moreover, the manner of murders committed by the Shankill butchers is almost unimaginable – I believe one or more of them still walk free.

• curtisjohnson | Feb 10, 2013, 11:33 AM EST

  Scouse Tony – “Ultimately a death is a death and more catholic civilians died as a result of actions by Republican paramilitaries than by the likes of the Shankill Butchers,” Yes, but the statistics show overwhelmingly that terror state forces and loyalist (actually one in the same as many of the loyalist terrorist organizations were created and sustained by the State) were responsible for more deaths of non-combatants than the P_RA. Also, you cannot say intent has no relevance, particularly in the context of ethnic cleansing (as well as a history of State sponsored ethnic cleansing going back centuries). Moreover, the manner of murders committed by the Shankill butchers is almost unimaginable – I believe one or more of them still walk free.

• ancavker | Feb 10, 2013, 10:50 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR:For all your education, you are an ignorant man. I know well that the dole is better in the south than the north. My point was that if Ireland were united tomorrow, the dole payments for all in the entire island would be cut.There is no way the Irish governmnet would be able to continue its generous dole policies for the people in the north. And so the people in the north today don't want to have a cut in their dole payments and other benefits that they currently teceive from the British government. Do I really need to spell it out for you? And I most certainly am Irish born. I came here when I was 8. Myself and my sister are still living here. My 2 broters wnet back. Ironically one of the two was born here in the U.S. AS far as knowing everything, well noone knows everything, but I know a lot. And I know a lot more than you do. That is quite obvious.

• ancavker | Feb 10, 2013, 10:50 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR:For all your education, you are an ignorant man. I know well that the dole is better in the south than the north. My point was that if Ireland were united tomorrow, the dole payments for all in the entire island would be cut.There is no way the Irish governmnet would be able to continue its generous dole policies for the people in the north. And so the people in the north today don't want to have a cut in their dole payments and other benefits that they currently teceive from the British government. Do I really need to spell it out for you? And I most certainly am Irish born. I came here when I was 8. Myself and my sister are still living here. My 2 broters wnet back. Ironically one of the two was born here in the U.S. AS far as knowing everything, well noone knows everything, but I know a lot. And I know a lot more than you do. That is quite obvious.

• ancavker | Feb 10, 2013, 10:50 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR:For all your education, you are an ignorant man. I know well that the dole is better in the south than the north. My point was that if Ireland were united tomorrow, the dole payments for all in the entire island would be cut.There is no way the Irish governmnet would be able to continue its generous dole policies for the people in the north. And so the people in the north today don't want to have a cut in their dole payments and other benefits that they currently teceive from the British government. Do I really need to spell it out for you? And I most certainly am Irish born. I came here when I was 8. Myself and my sister are still living here. My 2 broters wnet back. Ironically one of the two was born here in the U.S. AS far as knowing everything, well noone knows everything, but I know a lot. And I know a lot more than you do. That is quite obvious.

• ancavker | Feb 10, 2013, 10:49 AM EST

  STEVENSTAIR:For all your education, you are an ignorant man. I know well that the dole is better in the south than the north. My point was that if Ireland were united tomorrow, the dole payments for all in the entire island would be cut.There is no way the Irish governmnet would be able to continue its generous dole policies for the people in the north. And so the people in the north today don't want to have a cut in their dole payments and other benefits that they currently teceive from the British government. Do I really need to spell it out for you? And I most certainly am Irish born. I came here when I was 8. Myslef and my sister are still living here. My 2 broters wnet back. Ironically one of the two was born here in the U.S. AS far as knowing everything, well noone knows everything, but I know a lot. And I know a lot more than you do. That is quite obvious.

• FallsRNat | Feb 10, 2013, 06:34 AM EST

  Willie, nobody in England & Wales gives a 2nd thought to NI on a daliy basis, different in Scotland, where true protestant church is & 1 only has to look at Glasgow & the furore around the Rangers v Celtic derbies to see the 6 county problem in its darkest form, if Scotland became independent & I don't think it will then there will probably be a re-alignment of scots/ulster territorial politics.

• Scouse Tony | Feb 10, 2013, 02:32 AM EST

  Curtisjohnson, If you want to argue the manner of death I would largely agree that the various republican factions did not use torture as part of sectarian killings, they tended to save that for some of the victims of the internecine disputes that accounted for the majority of deaths of republican combatants. Ultimately a death is a death and more catholic civilians died as a result of actions by Republican paramilitaries than by the likes of the Shankill Butchers, there is no “H” in Shankill by the way.

• Woodman | Feb 10, 2013, 12:44 AM EST

  So why is Adams pushing for this vote?

• Willie Frazer | Feb 09, 2013, 11:44 PM EST

  Lets be honest here brothers, I think the people of the free state have more time for us protestants than the people of Great Britain do. Now I am not sying lets go an join up with the state but we could do worse, we have to go all the way over to London to be British like them in England and sure we only have to go a few miles down the road to Dublin and we get a great reception from Mr and Mrs Mc Aleese. The truth is the En glish stuck us presbyterians into the middle of this and we have to fight their battle s, just like what happened in Burma and the Sudan.My grandfather told me ,us presbyterians are the lost tribe of Israel , nobody will want us in the end.

• curtisjohnson | Feb 09, 2013, 11:20 PM EST

  Incidentally, the brit trolls have yet to post a solid example of the IRA randomly targeting any unionist the way the british terror state and loyalist allies target indigenous non-combatants. Comparing the random Robert McCartney incident to the systematic ethnic cleansing and the shankhill butchers is absurd (although his murder was unquestionably wrong).

• curtisjohnson | Feb 09, 2013, 11:10 PM EST

  Dr. Trollawney - “There is no evidence whatsoever that the BBC has a unionist bias” The BBC itself may or may not at this point but this is not accurate historically – they are controlled by the State which imposed censorship and control which was reminiscent of the apartheid government of South Africa. In at least one known instance a journalist was threatened with jail time for work on a documentary exploring the atrocities committed by british forces and their collusion with loyalists – much of which has since been exposed.

• jacersagain | Feb 09, 2013, 05:46 PM EST

  I’m a born, resident in the Republic of Ireland and I while I would dearly like to see Ireland’s 32 counties united under one flag (the blue Irish Republic’s President’s Flag with the Ulster Harp in the middle), I don’t want a load of UK allegiants as my fellow countrymen. If they want to be UK people, perhaps they should do the honourable thing and go back across the sea from Ireland where I’m sure they will be welcomed with the same open arms as all of the Pakistani, Indian, Egyptian and Jamaican UK allegiants were.

• FallsRNat | Feb 09, 2013, 04:43 PM EST

  IrelandNorth - when i did my training in Germany with NATO, we talked of such a plan, the French are very much aware of their own history with the flight of the Huguenots to Britain during the anti protestant persecutions of the 17th century in a Catholic France, they have no stomach for any intervention along EU lines & as they would make up the bulk of the EU force, it is a non starter, also there is a general misunderstanding of the the English working class, they are not obssesed with Ulster, but don't take this as a sign of weakness, they believe in a UK. The complete absence of any sectarism in England throws up complete oddities such as the biggest non Scot/Ulster support of Glasgow Rangers is English Catholics. There will be no foreign boots on the ground in Ulster until the brits leave, this will happen 1, 2 or 3 ways, when & if the people of the 6 counties agree to a UI or the UK hold a referendum saying that they are withdrawing from the 6 counties & offering the population a chance to move to the UK if they want to remain british or the status quo continues, given the likely exodus of the NI pop to the UK of 49.9% on option 1 or 75% in option 2, i guess that for £10b a year, this is a small price to pay for the upkeep of NI. A mass influx of refugees from NI would also lead to a mass exodus from mainland UK of SI back to Ireland, its all frankly 'pie in the sky' stuff, no SI govt would countenance option 2, option 1 may be a dream, but in reality most Irish are happy to blame the brits for the irish problem, but are happy for option 3 to remain as they voted for in the GFA.

• seamus60 | Feb 09, 2013, 04:37 PM EST

  Apoligies. Left out "confused" in last post.

• seamus60 | Feb 09, 2013, 04:35 PM EST

  IrelandNorth. To allow that to happen we would first need the brits to admit they can not control the situation themselves. Not going to happen. The fleg issue exposed them for what they are and whose interests they side with. Please don`t get can`t control" with "won`t control".

• IrelandNorth | Feb 09, 2013, 02:41 PM EST

  FRN! On keeping my ear to the ground, I discern that recent European Union (EU) inspired military restructuring of various member states may lead to hybrid patrollings thereof. We could yet see Kerry lads patrolling Shankill/Tiger's Bay as much as vice versa in respective uniforms. I'm sure many a 'southie' already did so in the uniform of a British Army Irish regiment. Two English lads were in the same company of an Irish Army battalion as me in the late 1970s based in and around Dublin and further south. One a cockney plastic Paddy. The other a Brummie of Co Down planter stock.

• anglo-norman | Feb 09, 2013, 01:20 PM EST

  Steven-Stop posting while drunk son..

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 09, 2013, 10:30 AM EST

  @@@ ANCAVAKER YOU ARE NO MORE IRISH THEN IM THE MAN IN THE MOON MATE... SO I DONT KNOW WHY YOU ARE POSTING ALL THESE NASTY COMMENTS ABOUT A UNITED IRELAND ETC ECT CLAIMING YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IRELAND AND THE IRISH ... YOUR AMERICAN BE HAPPY TO BE AMERICAN BESIDES GOING AROUND PRETENDING YOUR IRISH .. I MEAN HOW SILLY IS THAT... I THINK ITS VERY SILLY INDEED.. YOU HAVE COMMENTS ALL OVER THIS NEWSPAPER CLAIMING YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING.. I CALL THATS BEEN A LOUDMOUTH !!!

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 09, 2013, 10:26 AM EST

  @@@@ancavker | Feb 08, 2013, 02:10 PM EST The people in the north know the dole and other benefits are better as part of the U.K. Sad but true. >>>WRONG !!! NOW I KNOW YOU ARE NOT IRISH AND YOU ARE NOT LIVING IN IRELAND LIKE YOU HAVE CLAIMED IN AN EARLIER POST ..YOUR AMERICAN...PEOPLE OVER HERE KNOW THE DOLE IN IRELAND IS 3 TIMES BETTER THEN IN THE UK ...DOLE IN IRELAND IS 188EURO A WEEK AND IN UK ITS £65 PER WEEK THE SAME WITH PENSIONS AND RENT ALLOWANCES ALL FAR BIGGER IN SOUTHERN IRELAND...SO MATE YOU ARE VERY WRONG INDEED !!!

• DrTrelawney | Feb 09, 2013, 09:39 AM EST

  Can I just respond to one fairly feeble complaint that has been raised several times? There is no evidence whatsoever that the BBC has a unionist bias. Indeed, that organisation has repeatedly had to field accusations from the Daily Mail that its has a bias towards nationalists (after Peter Taylor's series "Brits" for instance). I don't think that accusation is fair either, incidentally. But I see no signs of Unionist bias. This is a standard response to unwelcome information. If you don't like the results question the methodology.

• Realist | Feb 09, 2013, 07:26 AM EST

  "I don’t recall the IRA kidnapping random people and then slowly torturing them before baying bar crowds"? I sugest you ask Robert McCartney's sisters.

• FallsRNat | Feb 09, 2013, 04:03 AM EST

  Bloody Friday, Teebane, Claudy i could go on, but your not worth it. if you want to open your eyes, read Lost Lives, your see my OIRA cousin listed, shot by BA in disputed circumstances, Aunt killed in PIRA explosion targetting prods, but bomb went off early in Markets area.

• curtisjohnson | Feb 08, 2013, 07:59 PM EST

  @fallstherat – “the loyalist terrorists targeted PIRA/SF successfully throughout the Troubles” A blatant and utter lie by an ex squaddie who was likely in collaboration with loyalist terrorists in oppressing the indigenous population. Nearly every murder by the loyalists was of a non-combatant and there are very few instances where the IRA targeted civilian non-combatants. I don’t recall the IRA kidnapping random people and then slowly torturing them before baying bar crowds (the british security forces froze areas to facilitate these types of kidnappings). You’re crying about “demonization of the Orange Order?” This is akin to mourning the decline of their cousins in the Ku Klux Klan. In the end, there is no defending a supremacist ochlocratic statelet, even by dishonestly labeling it a “democracy.”

• FallsRNat | Feb 08, 2013, 05:51 PM EST

  IrelandNorth - what you say maybe true but only the 6 counties can decide whether they want to be part of a UI, i just don't see, ehen i worked on the cross community interface, most working class prods held up people like McKeag, Adair as people to be admired, the republican obsession of getting rid of the Union Jack, demonisation of the Orange Order does not augur well for the future relationship of north & south, i'm sorry, i cannot see the Garda/IDF handling the situation at all, they haven't done a very good job containing localised republicans gangs in Dublin. To attempt to marshal the streets of Shankill, Tigers Bay you will end up having heavily fortified police stations replicating what the RUC had in the Troubles.

• puffin | Feb 08, 2013, 03:40 PM EST

  Oh my god must go to bed,

• ancavker | Feb 08, 2013, 02:14 PM EST

  Falls; Hijacking the Civil Rights movement?? That is a stretch! It was precisely the unionist and British response to the civil rights movment that led to the establishment of a new IRA.

• ancavker | Feb 08, 2013, 02:13 PM EST

  Falls; Hijacking the Civil Rights movement?? That is a stretch! It was precisely the unionist and British response to the civil rights movment that led to the establishment of a new IRA.

• ancavker | Feb 08, 2013, 02:13 PM EST

  Falls; Hijacking the Civil Rights movement?? That is a stretch! It was precisely the unionist and British response to the civil rights movment that led to the establishment of a new IRA.

• ancavker | Feb 08, 2013, 02:10 PM EST

  The people in the north know the dole and other benefits are better as part of the U.K. Sad but true.

• IrelandNorth | Feb 08, 2013, 01:56 PM EST

  FRN! If the working class/lower middle class Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) can share power with Sínn Féin (SF) in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive (NIA&E), why would unionists/loyalists not be able to do so in an agreed Island of Ireland one? As an ex-Irish Army MP NCO, I actually agreed with east Belfast one time Ulster Defence Association (UDA) brigidista - Jackie McDonald when he was quoted as saying that it would be hypocritical of the southern political establishment to discriminate against a Mc Guinness presidency, while considering his Deputy First Ministry in the NIA/E kosher? Enforcing peace in an agree Ireland and dealing with loyalist dissidence would be well within the capabilities of Defence Forces Ireland (DFI), as they are now called. ST! Your macroeconomic prognosis for a United Ireland are generally considered to be unduly pessimistic, intra-jurisdictional shopping notwithstanding.

• FallsRNat | Feb 08, 2013, 10:14 AM EST

  curtisjohnson - purile, childish, name calling shows your ignorance of the facts that living in NI in the 70s onwards, you must be a yank, the loyalist terrorists targeted PIRA/SF successfully throughout the Troubles & it was once of the basic tenets of the move to PIRA's ceasefire, McIntyre, O'Rawe et al can vouch for the offer to the UVF not to target quid pro quo in terrorist outrages, de facto, ok to kill/maim catholics as long as their not shinners, i was there once A & C companies of the UFF went on their rampages after the shankill bombing, the future of a UI was gone, i don't care what you call me, its a democracy after all, but i have seen the aftermath of terrorist activity from both sides, the pain of the innocents, its easy to sit on the sidelines shouting insults, but you had to be there to live it & at the end of the day, the lost of 1 life in the pursuit of a UI wasn't worth it, a vote in a ballot box in a free & fair election will always trump the armalite

• STEVENSTAR | Feb 08, 2013, 07:32 AM EST

  NOT SURPRISED AND IM SURE IT WOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE 7% DOWN HERE IN SOUTHERN IRELAND... WE IRISH ARE HAPPY WITH OUR GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT AND THE ONLY FAN BASE GERRY ADAMS HAS IS ON HERE WITH ALL HIS AMERICAN FANS...WHO ARE BY THE WAY SOOOO FAR REMOVED FROM WHAT GOES ON HERE IN IRELAND IN 2013...

• puffin | Feb 08, 2013, 02:50 AM EST

  Nether Sinn Fein, or the SDLP have questioned the credibility of the opinion poll,despite the name the BBC has a history of of showing an anti unionist bias,even given a 10% margin of error,it shows that SF have a mountain to climb.

• Scouse Tony | Feb 08, 2013, 02:38 AM EST

  Curtisjohnson,the last couple of lines in your last post seem delusional to me, sectarian killings were tit for tat and while the IRA didn't have a monopoly on bombings they certainly did have the largest market share. The people living in the six counties know that unification would mean those living just above the poverty line like the unemployed and those dependant on tax credits to supplement their income basically the majority would take a financial hit they could not cope with and the South could not afford to replace. Unification now would mean a lower standard of living for the majority regardless of political outlook. Have you seen how busy the boarder is on Friday evening and Saturday with shoppers from the south heading north to save money on their weekly shopping idealism is fine but it does not put food on the table or shoes on children’s feet.

• curtisjohnson | Feb 07, 2013, 09:50 PM EST

  Fallstherat with more of his ex-squaddie delusions. The entire statelet was founded on ethnic cleansing and near genocide of the population. It was never a democracy but a supremacist ochlacracy premised on controlling the indigenous population with unrestrained violence against non-combatants, torture, pogroms, gerrymandering etc. – standard british nation mugging procedure. The loyalist terrorists were too cowardly to take on the IRA even with the full support of the state forces of a security council member – instead they targeted women and children with all manner of unrestrained barbarism.

• seamus60 | Feb 07, 2013, 07:24 PM EST

  Looks like Adams and Co have copperfastened peoples mindset as well as the union.

• FallsRNat | Feb 07, 2013, 05:37 PM EST

  The SI won't vote for a UI based on Adams vote, the resulting upsurge in violence would leave a unprepared Garda & Irish Army steeped in non combatent roles with a potential insurgency of the majority pop of ulstermen disaffected by an undemocratic process that rewarded a violent PIRA with a UI based on a marxist state, though i must admit it would be interesting to see how a govt led SI SF leadership would try and coax to forces of law & order into a new bloody conflict, after all if the message is violence pays then the loyalists also have a long and violent past of their own, the UVF never really went away either, no the 32 counties has too much to lose & would never vote the shinners in anyway, now that FF are making a comeback in the polls. they also like my southern cousins who support FG will never hold a poll to please SF, they will only do so when it is right & that my friends is decades away

• seamus60 | Feb 07, 2013, 02:07 PM EST

  IrelandNorth. Even though I belieeve this poll must have been carried out on the Malone Road, theres just as much disparity between the correct figure you have quoted of 10.5 billion to that of adams 5 billion (without explanation)when making his argument for a UI. Is it any wonder polls seem to be heading the wrong way.

• Gearoid4 | Feb 07, 2013, 02:03 PM EST

  FallRnat, don't count your chickens concerning the Scottish poll which could end up being a "damned close run thing" to paraphrase General Wellington. In fact I would not be surprised if the Independence option won out, as Cameron and his tories seem to be more keen on a "little England" mentality rather than a UK-wide one. This will have a positive knock-on effect for Scottish nationalism which Alex Salmond , as a very astute and canny politician will use to his full advantage. "Northern" Ireland is no compensation for a UK wit no Scotland. Events like this will dramatically effect the configuration of the so-called UK and there is not much unionists in the north can do about it.

• IrelandNorth | Feb 07, 2013, 01:35 PM EST

  There's considerable disparity between this poll and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency's Household Survey, 2011 (ie 46% Irish only/N Irish only/40% British only). Populist instruments like public opinion polls conducted by commercial agencies tend to be less rigorous than state agencies. The disparity between this poll and last years census is telling, not least the exclusion of a third option like an independent NI. Looks like pollesters are attempting to predicate the outcome by controlled questions.

• seamus60 | Feb 07, 2013, 01:34 PM EST

  Sparklet raises a very good point that may give credance to such a result. The people of the North are war weary and have been for a long time. Look what happens over a flag.Imagine taking down the border. People voted for peace above and beyond everything else. People see politics in the South as in a total mess and a waste of time if left to SF to make a differance. Voters in the North aren`t stuck with the Souths hope that they can`t do any worse than went before them, so nothing to loose. As for Adams high profile atempt at a poll, he can`t loose just as long as no one grants the same. Even then with a bad result he`ll have an excuse to drop his pretence Republicanism. In between times he`ll avail of many Dollars from the easy taken in Irish Americans as a booster to one of his private pension funds. Its called Ruling by Fooling and no shortage of Fools.

• anglo-norman | Feb 07, 2013, 01:09 PM EST

  The nationalists in the 6 counties despise the people in the 26 counties so they are in no hurry for unity. The 26 simply cannot afford the 6.

• FallsRNat | Feb 07, 2013, 11:57 AM EST

  It really is irrelevant, Ireland simply couldn't afford to pay for a UI

• Jcs | Feb 07, 2013, 11:08 AM EST

  I find it amusing that so many people rush to judgement because of the findings of a poll by a British company in Ireland.Is it not the case, that all Irish people are quite unreceptive to any findings ,by any British institute regarding the Irish or Irish nationalism.I would be of the opinion that this poll, may have been conducted in a major unionist domain, and a 17% return on the subject of Irish unity is indeed quite a shock to everyone.

• Realist | Feb 07, 2013, 10:54 AM EST

  Tooreenagrena: Lol....the fact that you want to believe that is much more revealing.

• Tooreenagrena | Feb 07, 2013, 10:48 AM EST

  The number of unionists posing as Nationalists is very revealing

• FallsRNat | Feb 07, 2013, 08:26 AM EST

  IrelandNorth Interesting that you mention a federalist British Isles, this proposal was put forward in the lates 60s, but with the hijaxking of the civil rights marches by PIRA, this opportunity was lost to a generation. Now it simply won't work as Ireland is part of the Euro & has it budget joint underwritten agreed by the Bundesbank, this sort of compromise will eventually see GB leave the EU & join both EEA & NAFTA. If Ireland were to join the brits in their exodus, there maybe a case for the sort of federalist system that you touched on below. The scots voters are unlikely to vote for an independent Scotland & Salmond has already started to complain about the HS2 rail project terminating at Carlisle, English money for England, Ulster & Scotland will be wedded to the English taxpayer for years to come, Ireland has to choose what future they want.

• Realist | Feb 07, 2013, 05:32 AM EST

  Eamonn McCann: "What the Catholic community wanted was full equality, so the settlement has delivered.""Many would think Adams has some nerve, citing deprivation in West Belfast. Surely that's an admission of failure by Sinn Féin?" "Republicans abandoned the ideals over which the armed struggle had been fought, what people were sent out to die for, and what people were killed for."

• Realist | Feb 07, 2013, 05:29 AM EST

  Anthony McIntyre: "What have the people got to be optimistic about? Adams abandoned them and went south (where he sits in the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland). Republicans display confidence, but what have they got to look forward to? I think, deep down, they know they've got nothing but equal representation and a mini-minister oiling the wheels of British rule in Ireland."

• Realist | Feb 07, 2013, 03:49 AM EST

  Lol....I have to admit it is most amusing watching the likes of IrelandNorth and warrenpoint struggle to find a "narrative" in response to this poll. I think the use of the word "Shock" in the title of this article only further exposes how ridiculously out of touch IC is with public opinion in Northern Ireland. So, what has Sinn Fein actually delivered? Winding up a few predictable hot heads over a flag effectively copper fastening a DUP win in East Belfast come the next Westminster election, and now only 17% in favour of a "united Ireland". All part of the plan? I'd be asking questions....but then I guess you know best :)

• IrelandNorth | Feb 07, 2013, 03:07 AM EST

  FallsRNat! The currently constituted neo-provincial statlet of Northern Ireland and the province of Ulster are not conterminous. The Ulster provincial capitol of Belfast is less geographically distant from the Leinster and Irish national capitol of Dublin than it is from the English, Great British and/or United Kingdom capitol of London. And culturally too, more than the average Ulster-Scottie cares to admit. People of different provinces and/or regions share similarities whatever their political or religious affiliations. This holds true for Ireland's other counties and/or provinces as much as within and between currently constituted UK regions. Devolution is good, which is why I encouraged An Taoiseach to follow UK regional precedent with his three plus provinces. My thesis is that resolution of the age old antipathy between the British and/or Irish Isles is in the common ground between them - ie provincial federalism/island confederalism/and intranational commonwealth.

• warrenpoint00 | Feb 06, 2013, 11:12 PM EST

  IrelandNorth, very good point, and a point that I have been so eloquently espousing on this site so many times.You have a 20% influx of foreign nationals to the Irish free state, and another 20% foreign nationals currently antagonizing the british unionists in the north of our country by their residence there, and may I add, that all of us Irish nationalist that live in Ireland welcome.IN another few years the children of those foreign nationals, born in Ireland will become part of the majority that will deliver the unity that we so longingly cherish.It is laughable to see so many of the old right wing bigoted posters,free staters and narrow minded religious fanatics post their old fashioned repetitious views about the future of our country.I t is a welcome relief to know that the future of our nation will be determined by the input of new blood and not by the useless, boring ,yellow generics of the free staters and british unionists that have plagued our nation for the last number of years.

• cillowen | Feb 06, 2013, 10:34 PM EST

  Once a slave always a slave. -King Neyl of old Erin wrote to this pope on the goodness the good fella laid on Ireland: after driving us by violence from our spacious habitations, from our fields, from our paternal inheritances, and compelling us, in order to save our lives to make our abode in the mountains, the marshes, the woods, and the hollows of the rocks, they are now incessantly harrassing us in these miserable retreats, to expel us from them, and appropriate to themselves the whole extent of our country. Hence results an implacable enmity between them and us: and it was a pope, who placed us in this miserable condition. They had promised that pope, that they would fashion the people of Hibernia to good morals.

• CitizenWhy | Feb 06, 2013, 08:00 PM EST

  Perhaps the vote Adams wants is his way of having unification with Ireland defeated and the issue put to rest, so Sinn Fein can become a regular political party concentrating on how to make Ireland a better nation. Or taking care of friends.

• pndirishandprou | Feb 06, 2013, 05:41 PM EST

  @WoundedKnee: Your reaction is not atypical for an Irish-American consumer of Murdoch tabloids. FYI: not joining the euro has quite a different impact than leaving the EU or even the EEA. The UK may be ok if they leave the EU but stay in EEA. But they are totally deluded if they think they can avoid EU laws. Take Norway and Switzerland, both of whom are not EU members but firmly integrated in the EU economy, and solidly bound by most EU laws without having any say in EU lawmaking. They are defacto EU members without a vote. Conservatives's wishful thinking is a conversion of the UK into a HongKong on the Thamse. They are utterly delusional. Outside the EU the UK will be marginalized, and not even Washington will take them seriously anymore.

• merefalow | Feb 06, 2013, 05:10 PM EST

  that will be the same pollsters running the vote on the falklands then,oh yes,how many Argintinians are living there last time you polled?or was the last time when the british m.o.war evicted the original argies.why bother with a stupid poll when you know there are no argies living there.just a bit of illegally gained empire left over 9.000 miles away,must have drifted off the mainland.

• FallsRNat | Feb 06, 2013, 04:06 PM EST

  anglo - the reality of the situation is that the NI nationalists have more in common with their NI unionists, then they realised, why swap Westminster rule for an equally distant Dublin rule, when you find out after all these years that you may identify yourself as Catholic Irish like your southern counterparts but don't actually share much in common with them, now we actually hold a semblance of power within Ulster & can influence events without the use of the gun, a win win situation.

• Sparklet | Feb 06, 2013, 03:19 PM EST

  I'm guessing it's still not perfect there, but vastly improved from the 70s and before, so people just want to get on with their lives, in peace, and without the uncertainty and aggravation that division brings. The people of Northern Ireland know that integration back into the Republic would bring more violence and bloodshed.

• Redneck56 | Feb 06, 2013, 02:55 PM EST

  OBPiper...."Scotch" is a whiskey, a "Scots" is a human being !!!

• IrelandNorth | Feb 06, 2013, 02:47 PM EST

  WoundedKnee! Point taken. But Census of Ireland, 2011 resported 20% foreign nationals in currently constituted 26 county jurisdiction. To my certain knowledge, Irish and British nationals can vote in Local COouncil and state elections, and all Europeans nationals in EU Parliamentary (Federal?) ones. I imagine foreign nationals would be excluded from voting on the Irish national constitutional issue, as Irish are from Polish ones etc.

• WoundedKnee | Feb 06, 2013, 02:47 PM EST

  pndirishandprou--What you say is nonsense. I bet a few years back you would have been predicting the British would face "isolation" and "a free fall of sterling" if they stayed out of the Euro.

• WoundedKnee | Feb 06, 2013, 02:47 PM EST

  pndirishandprou--What you say is nonsense. I bet a few years back you would have been predicting the British would face "isolation" and "a free fall of sterling" if they stayed out of the Euro.

• WoundedKnee | Feb 06, 2013, 02:47 PM EST

  pndirishandprou--What you say is nonsense. I bet a few years back you would have been predicting the British would face "isolation" and "a free fall of sterling" if they stayed out of the Euro.

• WoundedKnee | Feb 06, 2013, 02:46 PM EST

  pndirishandprou--What you say is nonsense. I bet a few years back you would have been predicting the British would face "isolation" and "a free fall of sterling" if they stayed out of the Euro.

• WoundedKnee | Feb 06, 2013, 02:43 PM EST

  " 'Unidded Ayerlan'". What's with the misspelling, Towngate? Is that ignorance or an attempt at wit? If the latter, I see no humor in a person from Belfast speaking with a Belfast accent. What kind of accent do you speak with Towngate? I bet it's pretty ugly.

• WoundedKnee | Feb 06, 2013, 02:39 PM EST

  Ireland North--Chomsky is not Canadian. As to the substantive issue, the fact is that Mass Immigration has killed off any prospect of a United Ireland. Poles, Russians, Turks etc, have no concept of Irish nationality or a United Ireland--why would they want one? There's more chance that the 26 Counties will unite with Poland than with the North.

• IrelandNorth | Feb 06, 2013, 02:26 PM EST

  Public opinion polls rarely reflect public opinion, but rather the opinions the political establishment want the public TO have. Jewish-Canadian political scientist Noam Chomskey referred to the "manufacturing consent" that is gerrymandering (aka UK democracy). Or to paraphrase American novelist Gore Vidal, [NI] may be "the best democracy [the British taxpayer] can buy!" Given that unity of any kind is a two way street, what percentage of the electorate of the island of Great Britian do we suppose would vote for independence from NI? £10.5bn p/a worth?

• OBPiper | Feb 06, 2013, 02:08 PM EST

  Losing a war, and being occupied/planted, can and did here have long consequences. Of primarily Irish, but a lot of Scotch-Irish, descent, and being an American, I hope for all the isles there to eventually reconfigure on par with my country. The ould ways and misstakes are already well into rehabilitation. Good luck.

• anglo-norman | Feb 06, 2013, 02:03 PM EST

  In fact northern nationalists hate the 26 counties & the 'freestaters' who live in it.

• Gearoid4 | Feb 06, 2013, 01:46 PM EST

  The outcome of this straw poll holds no surprises only capturing a snapshot in time in relation to the attitudes north of the border in view of the desperate economic straits that both jurisdictions are in. While the Republic is struggling to pay off a mountainous debt the north is back to where it was 10 yrs ago in terms of economic performance and that is a very woeful outcome by any measure. The dictum of the late Harold MacMillan the earl of stockton and ex-British P.M. in the 60's, that "events, dear boy, events" is still relevant in relation to the things which destroy government plans and change the course of world affairs. In 2014 a referendum will be held to decide Scotland's future within the UK and it could yet prove to be the undoing of that political framework. This could have obvious repercussions for the north of Ireland which many would not have foreseen.

• Searlit | Feb 06, 2013, 01:17 PM EST

  I suppose it's like love - it will happen when you least expect it.

• anglo-norman | Feb 06, 2013, 01:08 PM EST

  As much as I want a United Ireland the facts & reality prove otherwise.

• Eschetic | Feb 06, 2013, 12:27 PM EST

  The poll is interesting - the formal vote probably worth holding anyway - but it would be *equally* interesting to see a poll of Free State citizens as to whether, if granted full proportional representation in Parliament, THEY would be interested in re-incorporation into the English British Isles.

• kinvara7 | Feb 06, 2013, 12:27 PM EST

  Citizen Why, I fail to understand your post. Have you not heard of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association? It was formed in 1967 (indeed there had been earlier campaigns for social justice for Catholics). Indeed the failure of unionism at the time, with its disproportionate response to the modest reforms called for, was a key factor in the creation of the chaos which led to the Troubles. The Republic of Ireland and the UK are positioned closely in Transparency International’s Corruption Index. I don’t think many Catholics in the North consider the Republic to be under the influence of Catholic bishops.

• Towngate | Feb 06, 2013, 11:51 AM EST

  It is a good thing that the delusional Adams is still bleating on about a 'Unidded Ayerlan' as he, and this Poll, just remind us of how far he is from Irish reality and the wishes of the People of the Island - "The Brirish".

• bobby | Feb 06, 2013, 11:39 AM EST

  Really beachcomber is that what you believe? Why invest in a country when some of its citizens will just destroy it again. They cost us £20 billion a year. Lets see what happens next year when Scotland vote for Independence. Many unionists have much stronger cultural ties to Scotland than they do to England. My sister would never date a man called Tom!!

• CitizenWhy | Feb 06, 2013, 11:39 AM EST

  Is this any surprise? Things changed for the better in NI when the Catholic community shifted political goals from nationalism to civil and human rights. The Nationalists simply do not get what goes on in NI. For many Catholics in the North the Irish Republic looks too corrupt and still under too much influence from arrogant Catholic bishops.

• pat.riot | Feb 06, 2013, 11:21 AM EST

  Tom - Gerry is stirring the post and attention seeking.

• pat.riot | Feb 06, 2013, 11:21 AM EST

  Tom - Gerry is stirring the post and attention seeking.

• pat.riot | Feb 06, 2013, 11:21 AM EST

  Tom - Gerry is stirring the post and attention seeking.

• pat.riot | Feb 06, 2013, 11:18 AM EST

  Patrick is completely wrong to write "Provision for the poll on a United Ireland is included in the Good Friday agreement." The ONLY poll included in the GFA is one where the Secretary of State thinks it likely that there will be a vote for Unification. So the Adams Poll is completely outside of the remit of the GFA.

• pndirishandprou | Feb 06, 2013, 11:18 AM EST

  Wait for Cameron to pull the UK out of the EU. He may be stupid enough to shun the EEA as well. It would inevitably result in the isolation of the UK, the contraction of her already sclerotic economy and a free fall of the Sterling. Then watch the unraveling of the UK, with the Scots bailing out and the Emerald Isle reuniting.

• CelticJammer | Feb 06, 2013, 11:16 AM EST

  The country recently got rid of the Union Jack for the most part so I can see their might be an interesting turning point whether it be an Independant NI or a reunion. After 911 and the loss of Irish American support for an armed struggle a peaceful process is the only solution left.

• Oldloadr | Feb 06, 2013, 11:08 AM EST

  With the Republic "all in" with the EU including the Euro and the UK maintaining (so far) a modicum of independence, the old view seems a bit archaic. After all the Bundesbank can control interest rates in Dublin, but not London. Seems to me the choice is now whether a Northern Irishman wants a British overlord or a German one.

• beachcomber | Feb 06, 2013, 10:43 AM EST

  Bobby, it's tragic that British people don't even acknowledge the citizens of their own occupied territories as FELLOW citizens yet that's exactly what they are. Most intelligent people in the world refer to NI as British, not Irish, but you're right, why would the Republic of Ireland want that mess, which the British don't seem too concerned about cleaning up...lazy, broke, absentee landlords that they are.

• beachcomber | Feb 06, 2013, 10:42 AM EST

  bobby, you amuse me! I even like you. Hell, I'd probably date your sister just to prove we're pals - even if she fell off the table too. But, lad, your prose is contradictory and nonsensical. Didn't they teach you anything about writing over there in London? By the way, the Irish Free State ceased to exist in 1949 when the country became the Republic of Ireland. Hardwire it son.

• bobby | Feb 06, 2013, 10:22 AM EST

  @TomSwinford, another small minded idiot. If the people in the Free State voted for a United Ireland my guess would be they would vote NO, who in their right mind would want that mess in NI?? Im from London and to us they are all Irish in Ireland, with some plastic Brits.

• dublinthomas | Feb 06, 2013, 10:21 AM EST

  If so then why are these foreigners dominating our news paper and forums. No true Irishman would choose to have there part of Ireland under the oppressive UK . Ulster was always different they lost any pride in Ireland and Ireland has lost any pride in Ulster it seems they go where they think the money is . I hope they don't change there minds as we dont need turncoats they are British reared so therefore do not know how we live if they think they have it better than us

• dublinthomas | Feb 06, 2013, 10:05 AM EST

  bobby, God love you lad, you must have fallen hard off the table when you were a wee babby. A\ And what do you think would be the result if Sinn Fein asked the folks down South if they wanted a united Ireland. Even if a majority said yes - not at all certain - what would you do then lad - launch a war of reunification? Been there, done that, didn't work.

• dublinthomas | Feb 06, 2013, 09:54 AM EST

  Like other commentators below, I am not at all surprised at these poll results. Fact is I would have been stunned had they been otherwise. Lest we forget, even at the height of the violence in the North, a majority of Catholics would not have voted to join the Republic. I cannot fathom what Gerry Adams' 'grand strategy' was to call for a vote on the subject - which would have rendered him less relevant than he is already. In American football parlance, perhaps this was his 'Hail Mary' pass.

• Silling | Feb 06, 2013, 09:44 AM EST

  What would Henri III think of this. He'd say, Be Jaysus, they're still at it.

• bobby | Feb 06, 2013, 09:36 AM EST

  @Billcstf04, what a load of crap from you. Stupid comment. Small minded idiot.

• KilkennyCats | Feb 06, 2013, 09:28 AM EST

  Keep in mind the source: BBC. But, that said, if this is true, then this is the generation that would fail Ireland and disappoint the previous 800 hundred years worth of generations. Live with that.

• Billcstf04 | Feb 06, 2013, 09:25 AM EST

  I do not think it is shocking the view of Ireland from the outside is that it is a theocracy and stories like the Magdalen Laundries and Savita Halapannavar add fuel to the fire, even for an Irish citizen, expatriate such as myself it becomes very hard to tell anyone to submit to a regime like those cases exemplify.

• bobby | Feb 06, 2013, 09:17 AM EST

  It is a BBC poll remember, they are biased. Many more polls were done over the last couple of years and it was alot higher than 17% in favour of a United Ireland. Sinn Fein are better off asking the people of the Free State do they want a United Ireland.

• puffin | Feb 06, 2013, 09:15 AM EST

  Well tell me who is shocked?

• Jacob | Feb 06, 2013, 08:35 AM EST

  Surprised it's that many. Last time there wa s a referendum, Sinn Fein intimidated people to stop them voting. Who knows why Sinn Fein is now in favour of a referendum. Sheer arrogance, probably, and the delusion that the people are on their side.