What If Ireland United? 

I am from Glasgow, a very good analyse young man. The catholic, protestant thing was part of my culture until I grew up at the tender age of 12, I had good friends whose parents were from Eire, my mother would not let them in my house, and she was a teacher. I blame old British governments, divide and rule. I am sure the people of Eire her sisters and brothers together would welcome you as a Wonderful Irish race in pure uniqueness, never met an uninteresting Irishman yet, Pddy or Billy. from a 72 yr old X squaddie.

What didn't get a mention is how the Republic has changed in those 100 yrs. The Northern protestants were very fearful of a catholic dominated country. Church scandals, travel, immigration etc etc has changed Ireland. Divorce, abortion and gay marriage. It has become a much more secular, Liberal and tolerant that the North. Massively less to fear for the protestant/British population. As Northern protestant I'm looking forward to a united Ireland.

Great vid and good luck with everything you do in the future 🇮🇪

Charming man. Great presentation.

When East Germany was absorbed in to West Germany it was a strain on their successful economy. But it was the right decision. Ireland can do the same.

An excellent primer for this subject, have pinged it to a few folk to help aid their understanding. Hats off! As an immigrant from England *to* Ireland myself it's been very interesting watching this slowly develop. I guess one of the big questions in my mind is whether Ireland is wiling to change much if the north is going to be absorbed into the republic. De Valera and chums quite specifically designed a country, constitutionally and institutionally to reflect their dreams of, what even then was a bit of a fantasy of a homogenous, rural catholic idyll. With Ireland globally at the forefront of socially liberal change, the rollback of the church constitutionally and in daily life, and most importantly a confident young, increasingly multicultural country no longer defining itself as in opposition to the auld oppressor but as a thriving member of the European family, I wonder how politically acceptable it will be to change some of the symbols of the Republic as a gesture of inclusivity for the protestants in the north. I think a new flag, anthem and some tweaks to the constitution could go a long way to reassuring them that they could actually be better off in a united Ireland than as historical adjunct to a union that isn't looking like it might last much longer anyway; but I have no idea how that would play, especially among the older generations.

As respectfully as possible, any unionists should either go back to Scotland where the planters came from or anywhere in Britain. We didn't get a choice in the plantation in the first place so shouldn't have to take their thoughts on unification into consideration

Well done, very balanced - Dail rhymes with Fall

I'm here pretty late, but fair play. Brilliant nuanced take 👍

I would have considered myself a unionist, and still very much identify as British. However, now that I have a family and want them to have the best possible future, I simply cannot support continued Union with GB. The future here is a united Ireland, and after an initial shock to the system, I am sure most would settle into the new reality. With that new reality the prospect of a national government with a real vested interest in the prosperity of this place is very very appealing. Great video, it is well informed and above all focuses on the facts.

He understands Irish history well.

Your analogy of a mass migration to Liverpool or Scotland was a very interesting point that I had never thought about before. And also it did make me chuckle. Either way fun times ahead ehh. The parliament is Dáil, the á extends the sound. Think of ball but with a d, so dall = Dáil. Nevertheless bravo 👏

Very best interesting ... Thanks!

As you say, demographics will solve it in the end. It will not be resolved by either side being "right", because neither is. It should be pointed out that demographic shifts have already been advanced by ethnic cleansing of Protestants from the South over 1923 to the 1980s and in parts of Northern Ireland by targeted IRA assassinations of Protestant farmers in the 1970s to 1990s.

Excellent and very informative. Can anyone out there point me to a video explaining how the political parties have developed in the Republic? Sinn Fein, Feanna Fail, and Feanna Gael (I've probably slaughtered the spelling, sorry) don't map easily to the parties in Great Britain as far as I can tell.

I feel like an ideal situation would be a referendum taking place, then if united ireland won, it would be decided by British and Irish governments that a decade would be needed to gradually transition. In that decade a dialogue between people of the island (the republic uses citizens assemblies, they’re democratic and have proven great at coming up with solutions to divisive issues) the citizens assembly could also include British members or perhaps another citizens assembly for the future relationship between these two islands could take place too, so within that decade we’d have the beginning of a consensus on how we govern the island and how we address the relationship between these two islands. The common travel area would have to be made permanent, British rights in Ireland would have to be on par with Irish rights, identity on the British side would have to be allowed to pass down from generation to generation, we would probably need a new flag, and a new anthem. Irish would probably have to be more discreet and more of a second language with English being the first. Consentions on both sides would have to be made. The British government would have to slowly reduce fiscal support as the Irish Government takes up fiscal responsibility for Northern Ireland, we’d also probably need a loan package from the IMF and the EU to cover infrastructure disparities - but I would say that after a period of time, the island would have a stronger economy and a wealthier population, and if done right, in terms of our relations with our neighbours it could also be a catalyst for proper and lasting peace.

The Good Friday Agreement doesn't allow for repartitioning. The EU and America would not stand for that. On the point of Scottish Independence - that's more likely to happen first and it would accelerate Irish unification. I'm hoping that happens very soon. It's the reason that the Tories don't want another Scottish Independence pool, at least outwardly.

great job thanks

5:41 dont care what you say its Derry 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 only joking 🤣🤣🤣 welldone mate good video

Fair play! Very good analysis. You may wish to look into the causes of the recent riots, tensions were high and rhetoric from the top was inflammatory. Paramilitaries are also involved, many of those on the streets were children encouraged by these thugs. Brexit fed into this in a massive way but I personally think that politicians did a lot to fan the flames. I also read about a massive crack down on drug operations which may have caused certain paramilitary organisations to lash out at police and customs etc., not sure if this played a part. There is certainly a lot going on here, some of which we may never know. It's funny you mention mass migration. I thought Arlene Foster saying she would leave a United Ireland was pathetic. I am sure nationalist leaders don't like being "ruled by London." I wouldn't expect anyone to stay where they feel unwelcome, but I think it's a horrendous message from a First Minister. It did a disservice to the whole community. Can't judge her for leaving, but I judge her for her lack of tact. Personally I would love to see a move beyond the tribalism. A new Ireland rather than uniting a fractured one. Prosperity on both sides could be in jeopardy without some fresh thinking. Best of luck with the channel. Subscribed!

I'm disappointed in the whole "feel" of this discussion, it's as if there is only one answer, and that's that. Where is the question of uniting Ireland by rejoining the UK? I think that's a reasonable point as it's exactly the same as the original question, only opposite. With this original idea of Irish unity being only Dublin rule it's the Unionists/Loyalists that will have to "suck it up". So why not discuss why the Irish don't just "suck it up" too under London rule? So when the Nationalists shoot this idea down from the beginning, why not think how the Unionists are feeling with the original option? What's sauce for the goose.....

Great video ,as a person who has lived on both sides of the border I believe that Protestants in the north who are willing to respect their Catholic neighbor's have nothing to fear from a united Ireland .

NI is neither a nation or province. No country recognises it as a state that existed in some sense before unionism unlike England, Wales, Scotland, and nine counties make the province of Ulster, not the Six Counties. It's an artificial statelet, poorly creates through partition on a demographic of chauvinism that was doomed to fail as Tyrone, Fermanagh, and south Armagh were all still Irish and Gaelic oriented.

While the polls you mention say those in the Republic would be less likely to vote for a United Ireland if it meant higher taxes, I believe it would still be a landslide victory here given the politics on the issue would outweigh the economic concerns. Similar to how people in the UK voted for Brexit when they were told they would be financially better off by remaining in the EU. Labelled as Project Fear they were still happy to vote for it even though there has been some project reality consequences for many sectors!

Good show. Well done. Is there anything you can do to prevent the subscript from blocking out the bottom part of your presentation ?

Concise and accurate.

Can you imagine an independence day in Ireland being celebrated in all 32 counties, it would be like another St Patricks day,

First you must United the people !!!!

As a passing historical note, when the Roman Republic first went to war against the German tribes to their north, it was a long, fierce, bloody and hard won business. At the time, historians noted that these immediate German tribes were all red-headed. The Romans, determined to put an end to their troubles with these people, killed all the males of the age to procreate, packed up the whole lot of the rest and moved them to a place where they were sure these people would never cause trouble again for the civilized world. That place was the British Isles.

Something missing from this analysis is that religion in general is a lot less strong than it was during the Troubles. There are plenty of non-believers now. Which side of the nationalist v unionist debate do they fall on?

I'm from Ireland and to see someone from England (I assume your English from your accent) talk about Irish history in a fair and balanced way like you have is very welcome and wholeheartedly appreciated. Thank you sir, you have well earned a follow. ps your script sounds great. pps dail is pronounced dall (like doll with an a instead of o)

It is soooo refreshing to hear an English voice with such a deep and erudite knowledge of Northern Ireland. Just plain facts. Well done sir. Great job.

Northern Ireland wasn't given a second thought when borris and his buddies were banging the brexit drum ...because they don't care about Ireland. Never have done, its a hangover from their colonial past . They would gladly wash their hands of it in the morning . I genuinely feel sorry for the unionist community...I hope they realise they have nothing to fear from a united Ireland. Think they would be actually better off in the long run. Being able to control their own destiny. The poorest areas on the island are protestant working class areas so it couldn't be much worse than it is now .

I’m very impressed with this excellent short summary of the recent history of Ireland, (I’m Irish, from the Republic.) A huge amount of people in this state haven’t a clue of the realities and implications of a “United Ireland.” It definitely has the potential to be a “billion dollar train wreck.” On the other hand if it’s with the due consent and respect of all the peoples it could be a considerable success.

Probably the most unbiased examination of the border issue i've ever seen. Well done!

A GREAT PRESENTATION ,HOWEVER, two points: 1 The Border poll would have to be taken in conjunction with the ROI in such a referendum. 2 its not quite as simple in NI, Protestant and catholic -one unionist,one nationalist..There are an incresing number of people in NI that do not identify by faith, but no faith; agnostic etc or wont say, and an increasing though small number of non-christians

I live in the republic and I'm all for Irish unity but I think people here don't realise that unity is not simply an extension of the republic, rather a new country with a new flag, national anthem and massive changes across the board.

As other commenters have said, this is a refreshingly unbiased, balanced, and well-researched piece that is genuinely rare among analysts outside of Ireland. Very well done.

The plantation of Ulster was a combination of ethnic cleansing and social engineering

Funny how things always go to hell when outside forces arbitrarily draw new borders.

A most excellent examination. The impact of a migration wave from N.I. really interesting and not something I’ve heard before. The big difference in the leave/remain vote between middle and working class Protestants coats was something I wasn’t aware of. Thanks man.

According to the Good Friday Agreement if there was to be a border poll, the options would be to remain in the UK or become a United Ireland. There wouldn’t be an option for segregation of Unionist / Nationalist areas of NI. I believe that most politicians will try to find ways to make the country more inclusive and we are hearing more of this lately even from parties such as Fine Gael who wouldn’t have traditionally been seen as pushing for Irish unity. As you say, a United Ireland is probably more of a when now than if and even Fine Gael are starting to recognise that and attempt to reach out to unionists.

Let's just say Brexit screwed the best option for peace and tolerance that Ulster could ever had. It just threw a huge chunk of crap into the vent, and "good luck: have fun!"

Reasonably accurate except, I would find fault where you said after the 1916 Rising Ireland switched from wanting devolution within the British empire to wanting full blown independence. I can see where this misunderstanding arises, but it isn't correct. The Irish people always wanted complete seperation from Britain. It was what they fought for in 1798 and in 1641 and in a thousand other battles. But as long as they pursued this ambition via constitutional means (with the Home Rule party) the only way to achieve it wasn't just to secure the support of Irish people - which was a given - but also of a majority of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There was no way on earth, the British parliament, at the height of it's power were ever going to agree to complete independence at a time when empire was an ideology and the King's writ extended across on quarter of the globe. So the parliamentry party campaigned for dominion. But that does not mean that their true end goal. Think of it like a captive's negotion with their kidnapper. As a captive, you might ask your kidnapper to let you walk outside in the garden under supervision, instead of being cooped up in the basement all the time. That doesn't mean that was all you wanted. It just means those were the best terms you had a shot of securing.

Nice work on this one. As a Derry man, this is refreshing to hear anyone educated on the history of the North. Fair play. Maíthu. 😀

Very well done young man this is excellent work. I lived through much of the the history that you describe so fairly, once again very well done and thank you. Subscribed and liked.

As a Protestant, living in the Republic of Ireland, I can confirm that there would be no ethnic cleansing by the Nationalist community (nothing to do with religion) against the Unionist community. I have not encountered any bias towards my religion since the late 1980's. I am a patriot to my Country (Ireland) - and once they realised that, religion was forgotten about. The divide is not all about religion, especially since all the scandals that came out about the Roman Catholic church. Most Irish are non-practicing Roman Catholics. My biggest fear of a united Ireland would be violence from the Unionists, and bringing it down south of the Border. They need to understand that they were betrayed by the Tories, not Dublin, not the EU, but Westminster, BoJo and his team. But there's no "fun" in that fact for them (Unionists).

I’m from a (perceived to be) catholic background but am a unionist and British. I think a united Ireland would be a disaster for us economically. You only have to look back to 2009 and the credit crunch to see how badly Ireland suffered. However this NI protocol is damaging our economy already. If it was up to me I’d vote for a hard border between NI and the ROI and get rid of this protocol.

Thanks for the comments everyone! Stay tuned for Part 2 which should be out in the next few weeks, where I'll be replying to common comments and giving my own views on the matter (so not as balanced as this video, but hopefully still as enjoyable!!!) Much love and take care!!

Pretty good. Most of the southern unionists in the 20's threw their lot in with the political party that eventually became Fine Gael... they're a centrist party with some right leaning tendencies, I don't know if that would happen now, in Ulster the unionists were and are that bit more firm in their convictions. I don't know if something like that would happen again but who knows. It will be interesting to see.

I was born and raised Protestant in Northern Ireland back in the 50's, 60's and 70's. I left the island for a new life in America in 1979. I remember as a young boy growing up in a housing estate all us kids played together and we never really paid any attention to the fact we were from different religions. We pretty much had an idyllic childhood even though we were all quite poor. That however, all changed when the Troubles started. I was only twelve years old at the time. From then on it was nothing but bombing, maiming and killing. People became hardened and long time friends were torn apart by the rapid change in Northern Irish society. As a twelve year old in those days, I really couldn't grasp why this was all going on but as I went through my teenage years. I began to resent it because I felt that instead of enjoying my teenage years as in normal peaceful society. We found ourselves living in a place where you could get clubbed to death by other teenagers because you were from a different religion. As time passed bombings, shootings and mutilations became part of normal every day life and some of the children I had once played with as a child became very bad adults indoctrinated into a regime of hatred. I hope and pray that Northern Ireland never reverts back to the sort of violence I remember from those years. That said, with what is happening now I would not ever rule it out because I grew up there and know the people.

You can't really look at religion as being a determining factor politically these days in Northern Ireland. For example, many of those once deeming themselves as Protestant no longer identity that way and list themselves as 'Other' or 'None' in the Census. This brings down the % of Protestants but doesn't bring down the % of Unionists, because those Prods who now describe themselves as Other or None are still Unionist. Meanwhile Catholics are still much more likely to call themselves Catholic even if they aren't at all religious which keeps the Catholic % figures high, but that doesn't mean support for a United Ireland. Many Catholics today (20-30%) when polled explain they would vote to remain within the United Kingdom.

As a 5th generation Australian of 82% Irish/18% Scottish DNA, 7 convicts, a fine old Anglo-Norman surname and Famine refugees I must congratulate you on this balanced report. I was christened Church of England, won prizes at Presbyterian Sunday School and raised in the Catholic School System, so I am fairly broad-minded. My observation is that the Republic has become radically less Catholic, more secular, in just the last 20 years. The educated in the North have read themselves out of Religion long ago. So the hope is that a tolerant majority of both "Irelands" will see the common economic, cultural and political sense of uniting to form One Ireland, free of Church interference and foreign indebtedness. Just look at the bright young, secular Irish kids making these 'As Ghaelighe" You Tube clips.

For me the main issue no one discusses is class. As the issues Ireland has faced in our history has been social, political, economic, and religious. Now we have made great strides in all of these areas but not completely. One major aspect of the creation of the statelet of Northern Ireland is the idea of class and wealth. Now in the 1920s Northern Ireland had a booming industry of ship building, farming, and linen mills and clothing factories particularly in Belfast and Derry. The owners of all these industries and all the massive acres of farmland were majority protestant and unionist. And after 1916 they were afraid because many of the leaders of 1916 and Irish republicanism at the time was thought if by by socialists and communists who wanted a 32 county socialist Republic, for example James Connolly was one of these. So they were afraid that people were going to rise up against and demand better treatment in the workplace if not going as far as seizing all of their wealth too and fearing something similar to the United Irishmen of Wolfe Tone in the late 18th century which United many Catholics and protestants and it's consequences of major land reforms and redistributions all across Ireland. Now in 1919 Sinn Fein was not running around the country with guns and bullets; as many believe; instead they fought and won an election that was more radical and leftist that any other party in Britain or Ireland has ever campaigned in. And they won the majority of the votes, and since it was their party policy they refused to take their seats in Westminster and instead wanted to set up their own independent Irish Parliament. So therefore, the people of Ireland democratically voted for independence. And only 2 and a half counties in Ireland had a clear substantial unionist majority, these being Antrim, Down, and Armagh. The rest either voted for independence of had a significant nationalist majority that wasn't a clear cut majority. So the unionist working class through the threat of violence and arms tried to oppose this and began to fear monger the protestant working class man who was equally as poor as the Catholic working class man to fear him. They said "Dublin rule was Rome rule" and that they will all be oppressed and have pogroms against them in an Irish republic (which is what happened to Catholics in the north). And they needed to do this because economically they would not be able to uphold a state smaller than 5 counties otherwise their state would collapse. Now fearing further violence and fearing bloodshed the Irish government at the time were willing to give them the entire province of Ulster, yet they refused. Instead taking the 6 protestant majority counties of Ulster and leaving 3 behind because they'd a significant Catholic majority to protestant minority. So the British government said hears your 6 counties. And for 50 years the ruling class have sowed the seeds of discontent between the 2 communities pitting them against each other and keeping them poor and down low while favour one group slightly more because they vote the right way. So in the 20s you had pogroms and tit for tat killings and state killings of Catholics after the partitioning, you had pogroms against the Catholics in the 30s during the depression and hunger marches because the Protestants were told that the Catholics were taking their jobs and were too lazy to work and we're taking all the state benefits, there was pogroms against the Catholics in the 40s when the south stayed neutral in ww2, and pogroms in the 50s when the IRA had an unsuccessful campaign of attacks along the border. So in the early 60s/late 50s the civil rights movement was started yet failed to get anywhere, and it was started with the sole idea of Catholic emancipation. Then in 1964/65 they took to the streets and began marching peacefully for civil rights and to end housing discrimination, job discrimination, police discrimination and heavy handedness, and to end various special powers acts which included the power to jail people without trial. It wasn't until the much more radical student group 'Peoples' Democracy' got involved that they got anywhere. The student group and its most iconic member Bernadette Devlin were more socialist in their beliefs and pushed the civil rights movement to be more radical, to not follow any particular political ideology to unite people from various backgrounds, and to campaign for all people not just Catholics. The movement had been scrutinized by poor protestant people who were alienated by the main focus of Catholics when they too were suffering, so Bernadette and many others sought to unite the whole of the working class. The marchers eventually took on a series of long marchers from Belfast to Derry and across the whole province in which they were attacked and stopped by police and mind if angry unionists who again we're fearmongered into believing that the civil rights movement was strong for the IRA. Eventually the protestors began to get tired of being stopped and best of the streets and began to responded to the violence with violence, this then turned to mass riots across the province and the troubles began. The idea of the border being drawn wrong or being redrawn or the peace walls or trying to separate the two communities doesn't work and creates more division. And this has been the case for all of British colonialism and every time it has been their own downfall. Just look at Rwanda, just look at South Africa, look at India and Pakistan, look at Israel and Palestine, or look Yugoslavia after the collapse of the Soviet Union or turkey and the Kurds. The problems of people affected by colonialism both settlers and natives aren't solved by separating the two, one conquering the other, or god forbid ethnic cleansing. The real solution, I believe, is through the working class asserting itself as the democratic majority and as the people who do all the work campaigning for unity amongst people and for better economic and social rights and protections because the main aim should be to give people enough so that they can live good lives. And if people are happy and live good lives then they'll have no reason to be angry and no reason to see armed struggle as an option.

Superb evidence-based piece that steers clear of polemic. Well done! This is the content I love - well researched with facts. I’ve subscribed.

Good analysis. Using the word "when" rather than " if" is unhelpful if avoiding street violence is to be considered. I'm 82 years old and predicting the future is still difficult. By the way the Dail( Irish Parliament) is pronounced dawil. M D

Thanks for another good video. Anyhow, I think that there is probably one important mistake (time stamp 14:18) when you're telling: "... having this border down the Irish Sea means that goods going to and from Northern Ireland..." It's only "to", not "from". The border is from GB to Northern Ireland, not other way around: NI can export to GB like ever before. The UK Gov -website page "Guidance Trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland" tells: "There are no changes to how qualifying Northern Ireland goods move directly from Northern Ireland to Great Britain." This is why now NI has really good position for companies located there: free access to both the GB as well as to the EU.

Should the Protestant Unionist emigrate to Liverpool, London or Scotland, they would CHANGE their mind about Unionism. When you move to a place, the place changes YOU. You become more like the people of the place you move to.

Point of order - Ireland did not strictly speaking get independence in 1922. They became what was then the ‘Irish Free State’ which required an oath of allegiance to the Crown. It was only in 1949 they became a republic.

A very accurate analysis. Thank you.................. [ The Pied Noir problem].

Very good information and accurate, this is kind of interesting and informative advice that is needed now, 👍👍

The 2021 census will be interesting, it will be hard to assess the growing middle ground who do not feel comfortable in either sectarian flag waving camp. Sadly in elections the middle will be squeezed by ‘I don’t want THEM getting in’ retro voting. The elected politicians will remain embarrassing.

It would be worth noting that when the Unionists were afraid of their rights being "trampled on", they were simultaneously "trampling on" the rights of Catholics/Nationalists. Very key detail that was missed in the beginning

I understand that you may have omitted some details on the historical background for the sake of the video’s length, but you seemed to have glossed over a very important fact concerning the settlement of Ulster by Protestants from Britain: that these settlements were in fact on land taken by force and its native inhabitants (primarily Catholic Irish) either displaced entirely or relegated to second class status. It isn’t as if these two populations were living as equals side by side, these British colonists formed a colonial elite which controlled large estates (plantations) of stolen land granted to them by the English government, and in fact Ulster was the region least affected during the Great Famine due primarily to the nature of land division. This is also why Ulster Protestants were so staunchly opposed to Irish home rule and later independence, as they would lose the privileged status they enjoy under British rule. Ulster Loyalism is very much a reactionary colonialist movement displaying the same type of reaction as similar settler-colonial projects like Israel and Apartheid South Africa in the face of an anticolonial struggle.

Great video... I've never heard someone with an English accent show this much knowledge and understanding of our history before. If only there were more in Westminster or English TV/radio with this level of understanding

A loyalist paramilitary bombing campaign on the Republic of Ireland is what would happen lol, Troubles 2.0

Rebellious because they objected to foreign occupation and the taking off their land by force, the Protestants brought in were given land taken off the indigenous Irish people by force mostly ended in the North East of Ireland because it had the best land, whilst around Dublin (The Pale) a lot of English settled there and throughout Ireland. Laws for 100's of years discriminated against Irish Catholics and to a lesser degree even Presbyterians were treated less than other Protestants which is why they joined with Catholic Irish in the Enlightenment influenced United Irishman Uprising but after this was crushed by British forces Presbyterians began to be treated better and within 2 generations they'd forgotten their previous Republicanism. To be an Irish Catholic was akin to being black in South Africa with discrimination everywhere. After the Irish Republic was formed and they sold out their Irish brothers and sisters in the North for British money and left them to be treated as third class citizens. An Irish Catholic in the North faced discrimination on voting and representation, gerrymandering was rife, job and housing discrimination all wrapped up in a Protestant Security State full of bigots especially in the notorious B Specials. When a little bit of fairness for Catholics was talked about by Unionist PM Terence O'Neill the unionist public led by Ian Paisley created a IRA bogyman that ironically didn't exist. The UVF began killing Catholics a few years before the Troubles began and Paisley and the UVF set of bombs in the hope it would be blamed on the IRA which it was until a Paisleyite killed himself trying to set a bomb off and this was in the years leading up to the Troubles. It wasn't uncommon for a 19 year old Protestant girl to get a new council house over a Catholic couple with many kids who'd been on the housing list for years. Demographics are bringing an end to the North Eastern statelet but Protestants will be welcomed as equals in a united Ireland, that's why the Irish flag is green for Catholics, white for dissenters and orange for Protestants so its represents everyone, meanwhile most Unionists think the Pope is the anti-Christ and Catholics follow the anti-Christ. No side is perfect but one side has ingrained bigotry as its foundation.

Bloody sunday didnt kickstart the troubles…that was like 2 to 3 years in. Bloody sunday helped massively with I.R.A. recruitment though. The troubles really started after clashes between loyalist football hooligans and nationalist civil rights protestors, led to republican areas being attacked in belfast.

Idk if I’m just a naive biased Irishman but idk how you can back England when they essentially started all these troubles by coming here in the first place

That was a really interesting and well developed explanation. Well done, I really enjoyed watching this.

Very informative and unbiased. An excellent video. I'm from Tyrone and grew up in a nationalist family. I was always fine with the status quo but now that Brexit's happened it seems like the unification question has been put into overdrive. I worry how loyalists will react in the coming years and sincerely hope that peace will prevail.

Liverpool is already an Irish city! lol You would think that in private, the British Government would like a united Ireland and let any consequences be a problem for a Dublin Government!

Just do a swap… bring Irish people in Scotland back to Ireland and Scottish people in Ireland can take their place… and anyone who wants to stay wherever they want can… sorted

WOW 59K VIEWS!!! Thats amazing! Keep up the good work, you're doing so well!! Hopefully one day i can do as well as you! :D

Modern Irish Republic is not that religious and the constitution guarantees religious freedom. What do the protestants really fear?

Rome controlled England Wales and part of Scotland was ruled by Rome but never did anything in Ireland!

as an irishman from belfast i found it very balance until the last few minutes. When you mentioned that we would go from a persecution of the catholic minority by a protestant majority to the reverse. I think that is very very poorly thought out. The government of the republic has for well over ten years recognised there will likely be a future united Ireland (UI) , they have quietly been holding talks with all parties including the Unionists and the british on what this UI would look like. They have likely also been holding talks with the USA and EU about this and their funding of it. As we are now closer to any vote there has been a lot of outreach tot eh unionist community. Some have reacted violently some will quietly be talking. Ireland has a written constitution and is a liberal democracy within the EU which has a number of important laws protecting all citizens. The unionists/ protestant will be fully protected by laws of the EU and ireland. The irish are asking to sit down and discuss with the unionist all matters including flags anthems NHS etc etc etc . Ireland has now offered to pa for all children from the 6 counties to say within the Erasmus higher education scheme. Ireland is holding out an open hand but finding many unionists with a clenched fist. Ireland is now going to pay for a bridge and road connections over the peninsula near warrenpoint. These are just some of the many schemes being fully funded by Ireland .THERE WILL BE NO PERSECUTION OF ANYONE in a UI

Well that was impressive. Excellent communication skills; logical conclusions from bald facts and recognition of the fact that a solution to the national question in Ireland has to be both democratic and sensitive to the existence of those who don't think like you.

As an Irishman I knew most things but you did a brilliant job of explaining this stuff and it’s great to see that your actually unbiased I’m sure you have your own views but hopefully we can unite the island and move on from the past

Rely enjoying your content and in particular your videos on Ireland and the history of its partition. Factual and unemotional. Keep it coming sir.

Why would the people of Northern Ireland vote for united Ireland?..the British NHS would cease to exist. Just one thing of many.

So anyway, it should all be very interesting! I personally believe that there will be an united Ireland in my lifetime. Demographics are destiny! The one aspect of a possible Irish reunification that I have not heard that much talk about is what happens in Ireland post-reunification. There are currently approximately 6.7 million people on the island with 1.8 million in NI. Doing the math, about 27% of the population is in NI. Now, let's make the reasonable assumption (made carefully, its Ireland after all...) that NI will roughly divide politically along the current Catholic and Protestant demographic lines, about 50/50. In addition, assume that the Protestant portion on NI will, at least initially, form an "Irish Protestant Party" IPP so to say, that would be the successor of the DUP. What would happen to the rest of Catholic NI would be anyone's guess; looking like the Republic's current politics, going all Sinn Fein, whatever. My point is that the "IPP" almost immediately becomes the King Maker of Irish politics. They would have a 13.5 % share of the Irish vote in the Dail. Assuming there is not a grand reconciliation government bringing together Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein, Fein Gael, Labour and the rest of them, that 13.5% share will be very powerful as it is concentrated geographically and at least to some extent "united" by a common background ie the Orange. I would love to hear what everyone thinks...

The figures presented ignore agricultural produce which cross the border and are classed as Irish EU export to the UK and NI export to the UK. The most recent figures show an increase of NI/Irish trade in both directions allowing Irish companies access to the UK market without the EU checks. An all Ireland economy is emerging due to the protocol. There is a sizeable Protestant population in Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan as well as Wicklow and in Dublin. Its no longer an issue in Ireland they are equal citizens in the Law/constitution. I suggest you look up Shifting ground by Susan McKay who has done the most recent research into this subject.

I am pro remaining in the UK. However...A United Ireland would only work if it was A New Ireland. To Achieve this you would split the country into 4 regional assemblies. It could be formed of the 4 Old Irish Kingdoms of... Ulster, Munster, Linster and Connaught. This would be the best way to slowly integrate the North. Ulster would already have Stormont and just add the 3 the other counties. By each region having regional differences the health system in the North could remain seperate until a Irish NHS could be established to cover all of Ireland. Trying to merge Northern Ireland into Ireland as it is at present without major change to how Ireland curently operates would cause serious issues. The United Kingdoms Of Ireland approach would be the best way to see Ireland succeed over time as a new United country. It will be costly and maybe bloody but that is for the People of the Republic to decide because they too have to vote for unification and the costs to the Irish economy and costs to tourism if things turn violent will be felt island wide as international seen as one single country. The question arrises... what if Northern Ireland votes Yes for Unification and Ireland votes no... what happens then???

Great content. Its refreshing to get balanced commentary on Ireland from an Englishman. I live in Ireland but went to school in England. The educatioal curriculum just doesn't cover Ireland in any depth. WW2 and the glory days of empire temd to get more attention than avoidable famine (arguably genocidal) of Britain's nearest colony & neighbour.

As an Southern Irish person, I applaud your presentation. Very fair. Very informative. 👍

England could use a bit of an influx from Northern Ireland, but I don't think many would move.

I'm really impressed. It's a very difficult subject to cover. And an Irishman I have to thank you for how open and respectful you have been. One issue also worth discussing. Attitudes to unification in Ireland (the Republic). These actually vary person to person and it's interesting to see how attitudes towards unity differ amount pockets of Irish society.

Very nice video! Good luck with your script, a movie I would definitely watch.

As a Tyrone man …. You give a very balanced well researched video.

You could have something like a federal setup for a while...this would give the north a semi independent status

It never ceases to surprise me how enclaves and exclaves are conceptually beyond the imagination of irish and british people. It happens all the time in Belgium Netherlands Switzerland germany... Could the irish and brits not just become just slightly more sophisticated and mature and creative in their debate? I was born in England and grew up in ireland and have lived in 6 european countries. And if ireland were to unify, then a solution such as exists btn Protestant baden Württemberg and catholic Bavaria is quite feasible under a German template constitutional model for ireland.

A very impressive presentation. As an American of Irish descent (there are about 40 million of us in the US - second largest ethnic group in America after German Americans), I have always been interested in this topic and I feel that I now know more than I did 25 minutes ago. I also always appreciate unbiased presentations that allow the viewer to make determinations for themselves - your video was as close to such paradigm as I have seen on RU-vid. Thank you.

Canadian here. If the North unites with the Republic, I would not be surprised if many left and returned to mainland UK if it happened. I would not blame them at all for refusing to live under Sinn Fein. They are terrorist sympathizers who have abandoned democratic Israel to love Hamas. Terrorists stick together

Fantastic presentation. It’s so refreshing to hear an English person who has taken the time to understand Northern Ireland.

Really good exposition. I hope there will be a seamless and smooth transisition .

To Laurie Campbell, Laurie that was One of the Best Answers I have heard, we need More Men with Your Train Of Thought. you are a Good Man and I would like to Thank You Sir for your Fantastic Input... P O'Neill

Even if we were united we would never be united.

Great video, as someone from NI I think its well researched and balanced. However, I do not agree that the same threat of violence exists today, there's a couple of important points to consider. Firstly, the provisional IRAs campaign was heavily funded by Irish-American, Arms and semtex donated by Gaddafi and other anti-colonial supporting organisations such as the ANC. This international support was the reason they would carry on the violence over the troubles. Similar support was not available to loyalist paramilitary groups, who relied the old south African apartheid regime for weapons shipments or the british intelligence services. One of these supporters no longer exist and the other has no interest any more in funding and directing sectarian killings in Northern Ireland. The final point to consider is simply, since the end of the troubles, technology and data intelligence has increased significantly making any sort of coordinated armed campaign in Northern Ireland pretty much impossible. Sure a united ireland could get a couple of hot heads on to the street but the vast majority of people envisage no scenario where a structured armed campaign could be carried out in 2021.

There are 1,000,000 people in NI who describe themselves as British. NI gets £10.8 Billion from Westminster in order to offset its deficit. I doubt whether the Republic would keep that up. The Irish government itself has said that it would have to change its constitution and its relationship to the U.K. and possibly its flag if it ever had a hope of winning a referendum.