Brexit explained: What is the problem with the Irish border? 

Ireland wasn’t always part of “Britain “ It was and is a totally separate Island , a totally separate people, a totally separate culture . It was colonized. by England and they sent people from England and the Scottish lowlands to take over the fertile lands that the Native Irish had been forcibly removed from . These people that came over to Ireland kept theirselves separate , which was what the Westminster government wanted and they believed they were superior to the Irish. Ireland has never accepted Westminster rule in Ireland and every generation has rebelled against the colonizers. Eventually , about 100 years ago , The British government realized they couldn’t ever impose their unwanted ways and rule in Ireland and agreed to vacate , but not before partitioning the Island and giving their planters offspring an artificial majority in the north eastern part of Ireland . This was and is the root cause of the conflict in Ireland , Once again , Westminster hasn’t been able to do what it wants to do with Brexit because of its involvement in Irish affairs .. Perhaps there is such a thing as Karma .

Uhm... Ireland was an independent country before being invaded by ‘Britain’, more than the 100 years ago you mentioned, you made it sound like they were not before regaining their independence... and the Isle of Man is a dependency and not part of the uk... it’s a self governing country

oh my god this ignorance of the video is astounding. the violence broke out late 60's as a result of the human rights of catholics to vote and work and be protected from protestant violence not being satisfied by the British government.

It's not a Irish border, it's a British border in ireland

British soldiers "clashed with republicans". Not to mention collaborating with loyalist paramilitaries and murdering unarmed civilians.

I have a solution. Give Ireland back to the Irish ☘️

I'm from a Border town, and grew up with currencies, friends, events and politics split between both territories. I also grew up during The Troubles, with terrorism affecting people I knew, and endless experiences of nervous Squaddies swinging a gun in my face. I have other Border links, too, so it's fair to say I grasp the related issues very, very clearly. As such, I'm sorry to say that the vast majority of British people - or should I say, English people - know nothing about the North, and care even less. I've long, long since stopped being surprised at the often shocking knowledge many such people have about the North, and the Border, which is just something that it seems the vast majority of British people associate with a problem 'over there' associated with the deeply unloved, unwanted part of the United Kingdom, rather than being a distinct problem for the body politic as a whole to overcome. To this day, and this is where I Am shocked, the vast majority of Brexiteers either entirely ignore even acknowledging that the Border represents a significant, complex problem, or else they casually, blithely shrug it off as a trifling matter of no consequence and Why Haven't We Left The EU Yet?! You'd almost despair at the almost proud ignorance on display, but that's just the way of it. Northern Ireland voted by a majority to stay in the EU, with the Northern Irish grasping the political, economic and societal harm that Brexit represents. But their will to remain has seen them required to sacrifice themselves, seemingly so that Nigel and pals can gad about, throwing shapes, free entirely of the consequence and impact of Brexit 'over there'. No wonder it's been such a chaotic farce, to date, even ignoring the DUP's games as a minority propping up political corpse Mrs May, to enact a future that the majority in Northern Ireland democratically oppose. It would be a farce if it wasn't such a tragedy...

You need to go back a lot more than 100 years...

1:50 What this video failed to mention was that before Britain "ruled" Ireland, we ruled ourselves.

I've seen so many videos and I am surprised that the UK still has no idea what is going on in Northern Ireland and why it's so important. Can't tell if it's ignorance or stupidity

Mother Nature already put a free flow border between UK and Ireland...here representing the EU..it tis called the Irish Sea

"What's the problem with the Irish border?" Britain. That's the problem with the border that YOU imposed. 100 years later, here you are again, imposing your will across our Island.

Because the English decided by referendum that NI should leave the EU against its will, then it might be equally fair that the Northern Irish should decide by referendum what kind of backstop they'd prefer: the entire UK part of "a" customs union or the border in the Irish Sea.

Great video! I'd just like to point something out, concerning your map, however: The Isle of Man 🇮🇲 is not now, nor has ever been, part of the European Union. 🇪🇺

A video on why the public should not have been given a vote on something they know absolutely nothing about would be useful.

You'd have thought the Tory Eurosceptics would have had to have a well developed WORKABLE plan for this BEFORE an EURef was allowed to be presented to the people 😶 Failing that ... What was offered should have been REALISTIC! You missed a couple of vital points of information... 1) the GFA/BA is a legally binding international agreement that was ONLY possible because both the UK & RoI were IN the EU. 2) part of the GFA/BA is that the people of Northern Ireland have the RIGHT to be: a) British citizens b) Irish citizens c) British & Irish citizens b & c are protected by the ECHR & ECJ This is particularly important because the last time the Tories were in government lead by Thatcher they imprisoned people WITHOUT TRIAL!

Let's face it, Ireland SHOULD be united.

Why not returning Northern Ireland to Ireland?? Problem solved. Greetings from France

Thank you!!! I never understood what the backstop was until now. Bit of a Catch-22 on a number of fronts for poor Teresa! Bless!

The north is already treated differently from the rest of the uk when it comes to abortion and gay marriage, tell the dup either they get with the uk on ALL laws or accept being treated differently

Give Northern Ireland back to the Irish. The Brita stole northern Ireland from the Irish. GIVE IT BACK

give Ireland back to the Irish

Isn't avoiding a hard border denial? Northern Ireland is either British or Irish, stop pretending it's both

Interesting, but there are too many background sound effects which are distracting.

The solution offered by the EU is the only sensible one. Contrary to what the Tories say, it does not mean putting a border in the sea between the UK and NI. For one thing NI is the UK. For a second, checking trade at the ports is the only logical and practical thing to do, since there are only a limited number of ports, and does not entail putting down a border whereas putting a physical border would be costly and inefficient. This should not have been a problem where it not the DUP. The DUP is a crazy bunch who fight to keep NI within the UK. But NI is the UK. All this is craziness graduating to the state level. The next logical thing would be to call for an election and hope that the new house can strike a reasonable deal. But wait, Corbyn could win and that would not be good. But would that be worse than the current situation, ie the government being taken hostage by the DUP ? Not so clear.

I'm still to find the 48kmh sign post..😁

Its not an Irish Border. Its an English border in Ireland. Fact! #channel4

Little historical inaccuracy: Ireland split before the Republic of Ireland was independent because during the war, the parliament in Westminster passed the Irish home rule bill which split Ireland into two, Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland, which would both be part of the uk and had their own parliaments. One in Belfast and one in Dublin.

Ireland reunited , Scotland and Wales independent, and England annexed by France. That's the best case scenario.

Nicely done! Straightforward and concise. Thanks for the download.

I hadn't thought about this until I visited Ireland and NI last year, and then it hit me. Brexit could send Ireland/NI way back to a place it should have never needed to endure. I Live in Australia now, but am originally from England and grew up in the times of the bombings and terrorism. I'm from the generation that knows why British railway stations dont have rubbish bins on the platform. Given I don't live there anymore I'm fairly neutral on Brexit, but I guess I lean toward it a little. HOWEVER the Ireland/NI Issue is a really complicated and potentially devastating one. There should NEVER be a hard boarder ever again.

A border would risk "troubles" not just "because borders do" but because the good Friday agreement explicitly states that there will be "no new checks" at the border. So no physical border and no automated software checks either if you follow the agreement to the letter. And if you don't follow it to the letter, the risk is huge because there are still plenty of people that have kind of accepted the agreement but still resent it for one reason or another.

Hello from the US. Thanks for the insight. Peace.

I thought you did such a good job explaining this. I grasped this really easily, and at the start of this video, all I knew was that there was such a thing called the Irish Backstop. Thanks a lot!

I regard the Irish as my friends by default. I am for a united Ireland.

We want more of these cartoons explaining Brexit!!! They are the best, I show them to my students to get a better glimpse of the problem. Could you do one with updates now that May has left and BoJo is in?

Gee..maybe if evryone stayed on their own island...or half island Miss UK, end of problem.

Whether you like May or not, being the pm isn't easy right now

Great video! Mind telling me what software was used to make the video?

Get a feeling we were DUPed?

The most northern point on the island of ireland is in the republic of Ireland so it makes no the sense to call the country southern Ireland.

The "Fences and Checkpoints" were a response to the troubles, not the cause as the video implies at 1:09

Gerry Adams killed my goldfish.

Funny at the end how no Scottish image of a citizen popped up??????

When talking about modern Ireland, one thing that needs to be mentioned was how a Protestant Irish Parliament successfully gained independence for Ireland between 1782 and 1800, during which time Catholics got most of their rights back, with most Irish people of different faiths uniting under the ideologies of either constitutionalism or Republicanism, with both in favour of varying degrees of Irish sovereignty/autonomy and increased personal rights. This independence ended when a failed Republican Revolution in 1798 led British prime minister William Pitt to intimidate and bribe the Irish Parliament into merging the Kingdom Ireland into the UK after an initial Union vote failed. Ireland’s Parliament was forced to merge with The British one (though the courts and civil service of Ireland remained separate, but nominally subject to Westminster from now on). People on both sides seem to have completely forgotten this chapter in Irish history, because Protestants and Catholics fighting together for an independent Irish Kingdom doesn’t fit anyone’s narrative, and yet it had a major impact on the island. Unionism, Republicanism and Constitutionalism all originate from the original Irish volunteers that used the opportunity of the American Revolution distracting Britain to revolt in 1782. This heralded the independence and has shaped all aspects of Irish politics ever since…

I have a very simple solution to this problem: Dissolve the United Kingdom, let Northern Ireland secede and then unify with the Republic of Ireland. Let Scotland gain independence, rename the country England and Wales (a bit like Serbia and Montnegro 16 years ago). If Wales wants to become an independent country in the future, they can leave the union too. Countries merge and split throughout human history, it's not a big deal really.

Nothern Ireland should belong to Ireland, not Britstan!

0:29 Technically Dover borders Calais via the Channel Tunnel

I think you need to go back more than 100 years. Ireland became a union with Britain in the 1800, up till then it was under military occupation. The invasion of Ireland started with Henry VIII, followed by ethnic cleansing under Elizebeth and final conquest by act of union in 1800. The majority of Irish people have never accepted English presence in Ireland, hence the troubles and the unnatural border.

We will build a great wall on our southern border. And we're going to make Ireland pay for that wall.

As an Australian, what I get out of this is: (a) no-one wants a border, and (b) after Brexit the EU will want to put tariffs on UK goods. Why is this a British problem? If the EU wants to put tariffs on UK goods, then it is up to them to find a way to do it. It will be no skin off Britain's nose if unregulated commerce occurs between the UK and the EU. If Ireland doesn't want a border, then they can either leave the EU as well (something I would advise) or else leave the trade with the UK unregulated, even if it gets up the nose of Brussels. In any case, it is not Britain's problem.

Using the terms "Britain" and "UK" interchangeably doesn't gibe me confidence that this is a good piece of journalism.

simple give the land back to its people. The irish.

So many things wrong in this video and these comments. You need to be so educated before you talk about Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Fact check: Ireland was part of the United Kingdom NOT part of Britain (duh). In fact it was the (forced) union with Ireland that engendered the term 'UK'.

The problem is brexit. Not the border.

Historically many nations have been torn apart against their will and interest for various reasons -wars, invasions, greater powers political games. But that is a painful trauma that never will vanished.

What do I have, said the fine old woman What do I have, this proud old woman did say I have four green fields, each one was a jewel But strangers came and tried to take them from me I have fine strong sons, who fought to save my jewels They fought and they died, and that was my grief said she Long time ago, said the fine old woman Long time ago, this proud old woman did say There was war and death, plundering and pillage My children starved, by mountain, valley and sea And their wailing cries, they shook the very heavens My four green fields ran red with their blood, said she What have I now, said the fine old woman What have I now, this proud old woman did say I have four green fields, one of them's in bondage In stranger's hands, that tried to take it from me But my sons had sons, as brave as were their fathers My fourth green field will bloom once again said she

Can someone explain the pros and cons of a second referendum? The picture is entirely different now from three years ago and people know and understand much more now, so a second referendum would, in my mind, be perfectly consistent with democratic principles. In Québec we had a second soverneignty referendum in the space of 15 years but much less had changed in those 15 years than the past 3 in the Brexit question. Are there any constitutional impediments to hold one now? Are there polls on what people think of having one and what they would vote?

Unite the north with the south. The Irish lived like this before. They can do this again. Get rid of the border. A united Ireland will be great. They can squabble amongst themselves like all other countries. Catholics & Protestants live side by side everywhere. Stop the nonsense and the division.

2:50 around my area at the border it says speed limit in miles per hour below the sign

Leave Europe = Leave Ireland

Why can't Britain propose to leave the border open, upholding the Good Friday Agreement, and let Ireland & the EU take the blame for closing it?

brexit is a british problem, as is the border. neither were caused by the irish or the eu.

Very useful indeed. Thank you.

The British politicians forgot they partitioned the Island of Ireland nearly a hundred years ago.

Crisp and clear info,kudos..

Wouldn't it makes sense that Ireland becomes united and why do people in Northern Island object to that idea? Can someone explain, thanks.

That's interesting, everyone is focusing on Northern Ireland and no ones pays attention of Gibraltar, same issues...

It wasn't a new border. It was determined in 1920 with agreement with representatives of Southern Ireland.

Ireland before it was part of the The United Kingdom, was just Ireland... Get your facts right. I don't care for ANY politics by the way. Just don't warp history. It is what it is I believe.

Good explanation but spoiled at the end by completely excluding Scotland. Why did you do this?

I hope a United ireland is underway

Yeah my family were Catholic Northen Irish and we still want a united ireland

Just migrate to Australia again as 100y ago. Wev got as lot of land Ireland to fit you in

Dont listen to the DUP ffs youd be safer going into a high school and asking them to draw the colour orange with a pink marker

You missed out an important point. If the UK were to revert to trading on WTO rules, those rules will also require a hard border between the ROI and NI. Oh and you don't go back anywhere near enough it cover the messy Irish history that affects brexit.

a United Ireland is coming.

Ireland was not part of England it was colonised by England between 1536 and 1691.

I went to belfast years ago and was very struck by how odd the place was

They have to honor the Good Friday agreement. No hard borders in Northern Ireland. Seems to be unacceptable to the British but the hard border should be the Irish sea. Let them conduct customs on the U.K. proper. We in the USA do. Stop using Northern Ireland as a buffer. If they do make a hard border, that may be a gift to the Irish people who want reunification. Because the Unionists, while sympathetic to remaining in Britain (even though, technically, it is Irish territory) may change their tune and wish to stay with Ireland in the EU once the great economic pain of this decision hits. Best to avoid the question altogether and leave things as they are in Northern Ireland. Things are working out well now. Britain split the country and appropriated a piece of it. That has not turned out to be a wise decision.

the music is too loud and the sound effects are distracting

SERBIA is not in the EU as shown on your map you only showed Switzerland out of EU

The thing is the UK is trying to get into the EU through the back door if the UK can remove the protocol which seems highly unlikely seeing as they have SIGNED TO AGREE TO THE PROTOCOL, The Idea is to get UK goods without restrictions into NI then Slip them through into EU without any problem I am sure the EU is aware of this and will continue to hold up its part in dealing with the UK?

I am Scotish and I want the EU, not UK

Talk about protest🇭🇰 in Hongkong, Concentration Camp in China , and Tibet

this helped so much thanks!

Unite Ireland and free Scotland

can someone please explain to me the problem with checking goods in the British borders? I don't understand

Not nearly good enough to explain the british imposed border in Ireland, its sensitivities and injustices. Desperately poor understanding of these issues in GB politics and wider public. The border was imposed by Westminster at huge human sacrifice. now they want Europe to pretend its not there!

So Switzerland and former yugo is part of the Mediterranean now?

The only and simple solution, easy, evident, historicaly compatible : unification. For the century of Eire in 2021.

I would prefer a hard border as it would stop all the eligal emergrants not to mention other substances coming into southern Ireland.

Good Friday agreement and WTO requirements are incompatible. NI will have to stay in custom s union

before the war of independence the island of Ireland was a part of the UK not Britain .

It's Brexit ("Breck-sit") not "Breg-zit". Otherwise, a good, informative video. Thanks for explaining this stuff.

The remaining need for this and other videos speaks volumes. If only the British media could have educated British people about the issues surrounding leaving the EU years and months BEFORE the EU referendum! Maybe they would have realised what a disaster it would be.

More or less a good explanation, but ignores the fact that what’s happening in this case is a minority of people in Northern Ireland are lobbying heavily over what is a very technical distinction - border checks in Ireland or border pre-checks/authorisation before crossing the Irish Sea. In reality, we are talking about appeasing the feelings of a minority of people (Majority of NI voted Stay in Brexit) who are upset that things may be done ever so slightly differently there than the rest of the UK.

I know people who can not get back into uk or smuggle dogs in etc,they go into southern ireland on a 3 mths visa,then just drive into n ireland no checks and then onto uk!

I do not understand why the sea border is between Uk and Northern Ireland which is part of the UK