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The podcast discusses the idea of a united Ireland, exploring the political, economic, and social implications. They consider factors such as the education system, religious conflicts, and the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland. The history of Ireland's division is also discussed, including the Anglo-Norman intervention, plantations, and the Troubles. The Good Friday Agreement brought an end to much of the violence, but the country is still in a period of political negotiation and is not entirely at peace. Can you imagine an Ireland that's completely different to the one you're familiar with? What would it be like to live in an Ireland that's united in politics and economy, one that doesn't discriminate between Catholics and Protestants, or a country where everyone is treated with respect? And is such a country even possible to achieve? Today we're going to talk about it. Hello and welcome to the Critically Skilled Podcast, you're listening to The Brain Cell. Our group's composed of myself, Amber, myself, Megan, Kevin, and Ryan, and Harriet. Today we're going to be discussing the topic of a united Ireland. Is it too early to unite the country? What effects would that have on our different aspects like the economy of Ireland and community relations? These are all very hot topics at the moment. With the election of a new Taoiseach, everybody's wondering which direction is Ireland headed? We've taken the time to research five different issues of importance that must be considered if there is to be an election to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic. We'd love to share them with you today and provide some insightful arguments that we think would be beneficial to hear. We hope those listening to this podcast can come to learn the better understanding of a united Ireland. At past the patriotic level, we hope to look at all the economic benefits and issues in relation to a united Ireland, looking at the economic situation in Northern Ireland and Ireland, looking at the EU single market, and looking at Great Britain's situation. We also hope to look at the religious conflicts and the religious benefits of a united Ireland considering the past has become not irrelevant, but also we've come to a better understanding and more respectful of our religious beliefs in relation to Catholic and Protestants. Okay, so big things I found interesting in the research for this podcast was the fact that I don't think people look into the personal effects of a united Ireland more so than the economic side. I think everyone understands that it's going to be hard and there's two different countries and stuff, but at the same time, we have different education systems, different personalities, different ethics. Everything is so different. It's like it is obviously merging two countries together, but at the same time, it's trying to merge people together, communities together. We were technically raised different in schools. We'd be taught different things at the same time, so it's like obviously up north people have different beliefs to us, which is 100% fine and we can all be one if that is the easy thing in life, but at the same time, it's not the fact that if you go into depth, like we start school at different ages. We do exams at different ages. Even though our third level system is different to ours and I do think that can have a massive effect even if you were to talk to the young people today about how the struggles would be if you were to jump into school in secondary school there compared to secondary school here. Yeah, I suppose that's one thing I'm going to be talking about in this podcast. In looking at the economic situation between Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and the European Union and the single market's integrity, I've looked at some of those important aspects looking at Brexit since 2020 and looking at Northern Ireland's situation in 2024. The most important aspect to look at is that Northern Ireland, during Brexit's vote to leave the European Union, voted to stay within the European Union and ever since 2024, we've currently looked at Northern Ireland's situation and come to a conclusion that it would probably be best for Northern Ireland to reunify with Ireland. Of course, there are lots of benefits and lots of issues to take into account, but in relation to Brexit, the most important question that was brought up was Northern Ireland's position within the United Kingdom, which can't be ignored because it's separated from the island of Great Britain. So, in relation to Great Britain, some businesses have cut off with other businesses in Northern Ireland because it's been so difficult and so complicated to continue trade with Northern Ireland, which has caused a significant impact on the public sector and other sectors within Northern Ireland. So, from my research, I've come to the conclusion that it would be best for Northern Ireland to rejoin back with the Republic of Ireland to gain access into the single market and back into the European Union. I'm Harriet and I'm going to talk about how Northern Ireland was formed and the history behind it all and how it came about. On the 3rd of May 1921, after a lot of conflict and struggle, the island of Ireland was split into two countries and so Northern Ireland was formed. So, this conflict basically dates back to 1167 when Anglo-Norman intervention in Ireland. This is a pivotal point in this whole thing. This dates back to 1167 with the Anglo-Norman intervention in Ireland. This is a pivotal point in history. It's the first time England properly established itself in Ireland. The mixing between the Irish and English was not aggressive, but there was a distant divide clearly between the two. During the reign of Henry VIII, specifically during his split from Rome, things got more heated in Ireland as religion became a huge part of Irish politics. Again, throughout the reign of Elizabeth I, a range of plantations were established across Ireland, which heightened the tensions between the two countries even further. These plantations were created by confiscating land from Irish landowners and giving them to colonists from England, Scotland and Wales. These plantations continued to be put in place. The last of them being established while Oliver Cromwell was in power in the 1650s. Whilst he was in power, violence and conflict in Ireland were rife. He instigated a number of gruesome battles in the country, which resulted in many deaths on both sides. By the end of the 17th century, the Catholic population of Ireland was extremely marginalised. Moving on to when Northern Ireland was formed in the early 20th century. By the time the 20th century rolled around, the climate in Ireland was much changed. A range of groups formed in the country, all aimed at maintaining native Irish culture throughout various pastimes and Gaelic language. Not everyone in Ireland was in favour of the independent Irish rule, however, as many opposed within Parliament and outside of it, the Protestant population of Ulster in particular were eager to get their ties with Britain, which eventually changed because a lot of people in Ulster then decided they are Irish and they don't really want much part in that. Then in 1916, there was an Easter Rising, which was a huge milestone in Irish nationalism. The Rising ended at British Deck 3 with leaders of the rebellion being rounded up and executed. However, this made martyrs of Irish rebels and spurred the nationalists on even more. This led to the Irish leaders being executed. Further development of Northern Ireland, from the 21st of January 1919, the Dáil Éireann was established and this was an Irish family formed by candidates who were elected for government but refused to retire in Westminster. Conflict soon then just broke out. This violence could not be maintained for much longer and the Government of Ireland Act was passed in May 1921. This Act split the island of Ireland into North and South Divide that we have today. The six largely Protestant counties in Ulster became a part of the North and the remaining 26 counties are part of the South. This was known as an Irish Free Zone, which had its own dominion status in the British Commonwealth. So then moving on to the Troubles, which is the big bit. It's impossible to discuss the history of this without talking about this divide. So the Troubles were given its name. It was basically a civil war in Northern Ireland that began in the 1960s between the Loyalists and the Nationalists, which whilst the majority of the people living in Northern Ireland were Protestants, there were still a large number of Catholics living there. As a minority, the Catholic community were oppressed in the North, which led to many campaigns for the end of the partition of Ireland. So basically those campaigning for the end of the partition were known as Republicans and those in favour of maintaining British rule were known as Loyalists. The majority of people on both sides of this conflict did not support the use of violence. However, some did see a need for violence and bloody civil war broke out in Northern Ireland. The Irish Republican Army, like the IRA, was in the paramilitary groups that formed on the Republican side and Ulster Volunteer Force fought on the Loyalist side. So in total, 3,500 people were killed in the conflict with thousands more injured. The entire population was traumatised by the years of violence and unrest. The war raged on by the 1990s. It was clear the fighting was not going to bring a solution and the Good Friday Agreement then came about, which is also known as the Belfast Agreement, which was signed on the 10th of April 1998 and brought an end to the majority of violence of the Troubles. This agreement was a huge step forward towards peace in Northern Ireland. The agreement had a range of different terms and conditions. It also created a number of different institutions between Ireland and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, whilst the Good Friday Agreement did end a lot of violence in the North, the country is still not entirely at peace. Northern Ireland is currently in a period known as the Peace Process. Political negotiations are continuing to take place and there has been a ceasefire between main Republican and Loyalist paramilitary organisations, perhaps most notably the Good Friday Agreement and the power for rural Northern Ireland to be locally elected by government. So my topic was sub-political groups and movements. This includes Catholics, Protestants and also Loyalists and those who don't believe in anything at all. Recent polls have demonstrated the coming together of identities, opinions between Protestants and Catholics and a gradual decoupling of national identity, religion and political aspirations. So there was a survey in 2013 which found that 43% of representatives identified as neither Unionist nor Nationalist compared to 30% in 1999, which is just after the Troubles. It was also found that the preferred long-term policy for Northern Ireland was 54% of respondents support the status quo of devolved power sharing within the UK compared with only 12% of those who support direct rule and 15% who wish to see Northern Ireland reunify with the rest of Ireland. Interestingly, only 28% of Catholics supported a united Ireland, while 46% backed the current power sharing arrangement, which is the partition of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, while actually only 19% of Protestants favoured direct rule, while 66% supported power sharing altogether. On the topic of uniting Ireland, I have noticed that people over the age of, say, 50 tend to oppose it, while many younger people are strongly for it. Why do you think this is? Well, Ulster won years before World War I had sworn their allegiance with the Crown and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, to which the whole province of Ulster agreed, but over time more people in Ulster have identified as Irish and there are less people who are more serious with staying with Britain. I feel like a big factor as well that comes into play is a lot of older people would have more, like they would have lived through things like the Troubles and the active effects of the North being separate from the Republic, Protestants and Catholics, all that sort of conflict, whereas younger people, it's not fresh in their minds, and the ones, like most of us haven't lived through it. We have second-hand accounts from our parents or our relatives that have lived through it, so I feel like a lot of people aren't taking into account all of the different factors that could lead to conflict. It's just, I feel like a lot of people will hear, like, oh, unite in Ireland and patriotism and, you know, that's the way the country should be, let's do it. Like, even just last week, I think it was the 19th of April, the Republic had its 75th anniversary of independence from Britain. Lots and lots of people in comment sections on Instagram in particular were like, oh, this is nothing to celebrate, like, we need to have the six countries back and then we'll celebrate, you know, the anniversary. In relation to Ireland and Great Britain, like, in relation to the European Union now, more atheism is now growing within different, like, countries. That is true, yeah. So there's been a reduction in religion in relation to Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, like, just Christianity in general. So now it kind of leads to growing cosmopolitanism and more together, like, just better relationships and growing trade. And that's a great deal that has to be thanked to the European Union and the single market. But now that atheism has grown, a lot of people don't have that same drive for Catholics versus Protestants as during the Troubles and before that at the start of the 20th century. So I'd say that also has an important factor to deal with that. Yeah, no, I completely agree. And, like, I hadn't actually, like, I'd made the connection, but I hadn't actually, like, thought about it properly. Because, like, I myself, I'm not, like, I don't know about any of you guys, but I'm not really, like, super religious. I know some people are, some young people are. But, like, if I meet someone in the North and my first instinct is not really like, oh, my God, they're Protestant, it's, you know, how do we get on, like, how do we banter kind of thing. I feel like the whole Catholic and Protestant, it's kind of gone past religion now and those titles are used, like, as I mentioned in my segment, those titles are used to define two separate groups, but it's not really so much to do with religion anymore. Yeah. Yeah. I agree with that. I agree with that as well. Yeah. Interesting. So, Harriet, you previously said that you don't think that uniting Northern and Southern Ireland is a good mix. Like, do you think, in terms of, like, integrating cultures, that you don't think is a good idea? Well, like, I supposed to, like, try to do it before and it didn't really, like, happen. Like, and I know everyone's kind of opinions have obviously changed over the years and stuff like that. Like, obviously, you said, like, religion's not, like, a big thing anymore, but I just don't think, like, there's just too much of, like, sort of a narrative, like, that, like, you know what I mean? Do you see much of that narrative in Monaghan? Yeah, especially where I live. Like, I live right in the border, so, like, like, I'm not going to lie, where I live is really IRA-like. IRA, yeah. Yeah, because it's more into that, where Monaghan is, it's kind of more part of the South, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. So, if you went further up from the North, would you feel kind of, like, on edge a little bit? No, not really, because, like, where I am, it's not very Protestant, like, area. Like, even, like, I work in the North and everyone's, like, a Catholic, like, there wouldn't be any of, like, sort of a divide in my, like, workplace, right? Like, I wouldn't feel like that. Like, if I was to go up to, like, Belfast or something, like, definitely, like, you wouldn't get, like, more of a, sort of, like, a worry. Yeah, I feel like it is kind of concentrated in Belfast in particular. Yeah. Yeah. Don't really know why, obviously. And that's, like, the other side of Belfast, like, more, like, you know, my side, the other side of Belfast, like, towards, like, Bury, and stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. Like, they're not. What do you think, like, just open question, what do you think would have to happen in order for, like, Catholics and Protestants, in inverted quotations, to get along? Like, do you think, like, would we have to give up St. Patrick's Day if they gave up the Orange Order marches? Do you think, like, would that ever work, do you think? Because the big thing is that, like, they argue that it's part of their culture to have these marches in July, and to, like, those kind of bonfires and stuff. But, like, we, I feel like it would be unfair to ask them to give up what they believe is part of their culture, even if we don't agree, and we, like, keep everything from, like, the Republic. Like, do you think, is there any kind of, like, middle ground that could be reached with that? Yeah, of course. I would definitely agree with that. I mean, I think in relation to the Orange Order marches and the St. Patrick's Day marches, I don't think either should be taken away from either state. They're both a very important aspect of, like, the St. Patrick's Day in the Republic of Ireland isn't just celebrated in Ireland, it's also celebrated in other countries. It's a very important festival for us. And in relation to the Orange Order, I don't think that should be taken away either. It's a very important part of Northern Ireland. But I do think in relation to Irish unification, certain aspects, like maybe our national anthem or our flag, like the tricolour flag, I would 110% agree with us changing our flag. Really? Yeah. I'd be happy with that. I'd be happy with... I'm not smoking oil here. Can I hop on board with that one? Yeah. Why so? Like, why would you not change the flag? I just, I don't, I'm sorry, but I don't think, like, it's our country. Like, I don't think we should change our flag to suit England. Like, England has their own flag. Yeah. But the Irish tricolour, the green represents the Republic, the orange represents the Protestants in the North, and the white is the peace between them. So it already is linked. I do think that there should be regulations. Like, I don't, like, they can have the marches, like the parades through their towns, but I don't think that they should be allowed to light the pyres with the, like, faces of the politicians on them. I think there needs to be some sort of regulations. But having said that, I can't think of any sort of, like, regulations that you would need to implement in the South, if that makes sense. Because I feel like it's important to have a fair trade, you know? Yeah, that's probably the most important aspect in relation to both aspects. I'd say there's definitely a discussion for what Ireland and Ireland could change, and I definitely want the Republic of Ireland to show change as well. So maybe that's a debate for another time. Yeah. So what would you define as the ideal Ireland? Do you think that this is achievable, and what do you think would need to be done to make it so? So in relation to an ideal Ireland, I would say that it would have to be done in maybe the next 10 to 20 years. As of right now, it's not the best time. There's currently a lot of situations economically in relation to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Both states currently right now have a housing crisis going on, which is not a good situation for either state. Both states also have a health crisis going on right now. Our healthcare right now in Ireland is in an absolute mess, and Northern Ireland, despite it being in the United Kingdom, isn't doing great either. So currently, I would say the best way for an ideal Ireland is in the next two decades to improve both states, healthcare-wise, housing crisis-wise, in relation to public sectors as well, and improving wages, all of that. And then maybe we can look into a United Ireland, as currently stated before. A United Ireland would increase economically as it would have access back into the European Union and the single market. So I would say that would be the best way for it. As of right now, it's not the best time for us. I think in the long run, yeah, it's a good idea to have a United Ireland, but I don't agree with the fact that you say like a two-decade period or whatever. I do think if you were to implement certain things now to try to merge the two countries together as one, or to obviously get it as a United Ireland, I do think you're going to have to do it in drifts and drabs. You can't just be like, in 20 years, we'll be a United Ireland. How are you going to just change overnight and change all these things and make the economy better? It's not going to be a one-day fix. It's going to be a couple of years fix. So realistically, you're going to have to start implementing all these things now over time rather than just, okay, in 10 or 15 to 20 years, that we'll just start from here now. It's not going to be a start from scratch. So since the Dublin riots, there has been an increase in right-wing or conservative social pages pushing patriotism and United Ireland. Do you think these pages are having a positive impact on people's views towards unification? The Dublin riots did start because a little girl was attacked. Yeah. Yeah. I know. It was a harrowing thing to happen, actually. But people used that as an excuse to protest immigrants being in the country, which then led to people making Instagram pages and TikTok pages being like, we need a United Ireland. We need everyone out of the country. Look after our own was a big thing that was thrown around a lot. But I think people aren't considering all the work that would need to be done to unite the country. Absolutely not. Personally, I'm not quite sure. I think it's been radicalized quite a lot. Obviously, it's good to be patriotic. But I think that the aftermath of the Dublin riots was the opposite of what people were hoping to achieve. Yeah. No, I definitely agree with that as well. I think the Dublin riots was the first instance in a long time since Dublin, our capital of our country, was up in flames. It seemed like mass protests were something so far against what we were thinking. But that whole instance as well was also kind of like just how, although we agree with maybe an anti-immigration policy, but it also seemed like how we don't agree with rioting in Dublin and stealing from shops and everything, leading to such an increase. I think one of the biggest effects of those riots was that there was such a divide within the community of Dublin. It was very much like all these big tracksuit warriors and stuff like that. I feel like it achieved kind of the opposite of what it set out to, if it did set out to anything. I know it started off as an anti-immigration protest, but a lot of the discussion afterwards was like, we should close the borders, Ireland is Ireland, we should unite the country, very up the rye kind of thing. But without having too much thought about it, I feel like even that statement, up the rye, is thrown around so much, people don't really understand the context behind it. But I'm not actually sure that this, to be frank, I don't think that these kind of far right social pages are having much of a positive impact. I think they're just exacerbating the problem. Yeah, the extreme far right perspective is like, that kind of image is just all surrounding like, we need to take back our six counties, and they're very aggressive and very political, we need them back. Even those kind of perspectives do nothing but further decrease integration and the kind of perspective attitudes we want between the one man and the Republic of Ireland. Yeah, I don't think we're going to get anywhere with aggression. I don't know much about it either, I only know what's on TikTok. But what have you seen on TikTok? Oh, just a load of crazy people. You get a lot of those people on TikTok now, in these kind of platforms, they're unregulated, you could say, whatever. So the fact that you mentioned you don't know much about it, only what you've seen on TikTok, how many other people have only heard of this through TikTok? Yeah. I know, yeah. I know, yeah. All that stuff. Yeah, they definitely gave more of like, a negative outlook, I think, from my perspective. They didn't really get a good positive kind of thing out there, I don't think. Alright, these debates could go on for ages, but as we've run out of time, we'll have to end it there. And hopefully you found this episode entertaining, but most of all, insightful. If you'd like to learn more about the perspectives we've discussed, we'd encourage you to check out Google Scholar. Not just for academics, Scholar has a wide archive of reliable and peer-reviewed journal articles for you to read. Simply search key terms that you want to explore, and you're good to go. Do be careful of news shared on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok in particular. These are not always honest, so make sure that you're getting your information from dependable news sources, and after that, your opinion is your own. Before we let you go, we'd like to appeal to the government, and especially Sinn Féin, that while the United Ireland is evidently a goal for a lot of Irish, it is not the best idea to push for it right now. There's still a whole heap of groundwork that needs to be done before we make the move, and if a party comes into power and holds a referendum regarding taking the six counties back, it will likely raise tension in the north. This could lead to more issues than necessary, but all in due course. You've been listening to The Brain Tiles, we'll catch you next time. Thanks for listening.
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