Should Northern Ireland remain part of the UK ?

[donniedarko]

Reasons for and against please.....

[WendyW]

It is up to the people of Northern Ireland. If they want to stay within the UK then they should .. if they want to leave then again its up to them. I am sure that there are many reasons for and against but at the end of the day it doesn't matter what we think it is simple a matter for the people themselves.

[sft42]

oh very good donnie you trying to get me into trouble again then????? I'll leave this one for now as the regulars to the site (TW, Flirty, Ravenhair et al) have all been down this road before so i'll give some others a chance to air there views first....BUT remember this one and all. Your view is exactly that - your view - and each and every person who logs on is entitled to their own aspect on this and it is equally as valid as yours, so no squabbling kiddie play nice now!

[donniedarko]

Thanks for the reply Wendy, but who exactly are 'we' ?

[map08]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if the Catholics reach a majority in the population, then the British government will pass control to Ireland. Not sure how accurate it is though... As for whether it should, I'm personally doubtful of whether a people can be labelled as part of one state for another. The real question I want to know is, if there are some who want to be part of Ireland, and some who want to be part of Britain, then who are the Northern Irish? But it's a very, very tricky issue, which I wouldn't like to be in a position to judge upon.

[map08]

Good question, though...

[WaldoMcFroog]

Let's be honest for a second here. The majority of Irish people (N or S) would and do get on with each other perfectly well - as civillised people do. There are plenty of Protestants in Eire and no one treats them as any different from the majority Catholics. It's the few sc*mbags (BTW EDs, it's ludicrous that we can't write 'sc*m' - it's not profane and is a bridge too far I feel - and I'm fooling no one with the '*'!) on either side that are the problem.

Most of the people who claim to be English wander around in stupid orange suits once a year and intimidate people who have a different form or religion than them. Well... er... we don't do that in England. Most of us could hardly care less about William of Orange and find their behaviour offensive and wrong.

Republican & Protestant gangs act like mafia, taking bribes left right and centre, control the building and other industries and met out their own punishments without recourse to proper law. How do these halfwits integrate into a united society when all they know is intimidation and the law of violence?

From conversations I've had, most English people I know support a United Ireland, but not if it means giving in to gunmen, which is why Stourmont has to be made to work. Otherwise more innocent people will get killed, maimed or otherwise ruined. Forget the politics, think about the human beings occasionally, and who's in charge becomes irrelevant, as long as people can be at peace. Half of the gunmen fight because they're brought up to hate the other side, not because they understand the politics.

[froggequene]

I agree with WendyW, it is up to the people of Northern Ireland to decide what they wish to do and to be honest the way things have been dealt with in the past I'm surprised they want to have anything to with either the Republic or Great Britain. Regarding a United Ireland, shouldn't the Republic be asked about that as well?

[WendyW]

donniedarko .. by we I meant people who are not domiciled within Northern Ireland.

[donniedarko]

TW, if you check the history, you'll see that the Irish government and state was created partly by Britain in the first place. There wasn't always conflict you know. It's a bit narrow minded to say that Northern Ireland should 'rejoin' the republic purely because it shares a land mass. Northern Ireland is NOT a 'little colonial statelet', it's an equal part of the United Kingdom, as is Scotland, Wales and England.

[donniedarko]

Also, it's unfair to generalise and infer that all Catholics in the North are discriminated against......I think you've been reading too much Sinn Fein/IRA propaganda.

[froggequene]

Maybe I'm wrong, perhaps sft42 will put me right but I believe the carve up of Ireland was regarded as preferable to continuing the Civil War.

[froggequene]

Sorry dropped a clanger there, I, of course meant the War for Independence. We had a civil war anyway.

[PaulYukochan]

I agree with Tartan Wizard, only that I want to 'devolve' even more, and have the South East of England break off from the rest. Lets face it, the North could do with separate interest rates and policies.

[sparkie]

I am pro independance....but I am afraid I dont wnat it to happen really. For one, Ireland would then be worse than a 2nd world country. Any Pro-independant living in the north should live in the south for a while. And I mean LIVE, try raise a child, make Doctor's appointments, try to pay for them, maintain a car on these roads. The list goes on. I have lived on both sides and the experience of day to day living in the north doesn't compare. You have to remember the struggle the German economy had when they unified, and that was even when both sides wanted it. Before you say what a success they are now...think about the sheer population and the finance that would generate. Secondly, Ireland will never be united until we pull together. We were seperated through in-fighting. All the rebelions and revolutions failed because there was a split in ideas. I cant help thinking things would be better as they are. And thirdly....if you think it's bad now....Imagine the terror that would occur if we were united....it would be far from 'over'