United Ireland
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
A United Ireland is the common demand of Irish nationalists, envisaging that the island of Ireland be reunited as a single political entity. However, nationalists have suggested many different models, including federalism, joint sovereignty and joint authority, as well as a unitary state.
Although nationalists and republicans wish for the reunification of Ireland, the island of Ireland has never existed as a single sovereign, independent political state in the modern sense. Before the coming of the Normans there existed the title of Ard Rí (High King), usually held by the Uí Néill, but this was more of a ceremonial title denoting a sort of "first among equals" rather than an absolute monarchy as developed in England and Scotland. However several strong characters imbued the office with real power, most notably Brian Boru.
After the Norman invasion, two indigenous Irish dynasties, the O'Brians and the O'Connors, came close again to creating an Ireland united under a High King in the 11th and 12th centuries. The gradual spread of English power in Ireland made it more difficult for the Gaelic aristocracy to centralise authority.
The next significant moment occurred in 1642 when the Irish Confederacy assembled at Kilkenny and held an all-Ireland assembly. The Confederates did rule much of Ireland up to 1649, but were riven by dissent and civil war in later years.
Although under British domination, Ireland was a united political entity from the end of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1653 until 1921. Until the Constitution of 1782, Ireland was under the effective control of the British-appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland thanks to restrictive measures such as Poynings Law. From 1541 to 1801, the island's political status was of a Kingdom of Ireland in personal union with the English (and later the British) Crown. After the Act of Union, Ireland became part of the the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a single entity under British control.
Ireland was last a United Ireland at the outbreak of World War I after national self-government in the form of the Third Home Rule Act 1914, won by John Redmond leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party was placed on the statute books, but temporarily suspended until the end of the war.
After the 1918 general election, Dail Eireann declared itself in 1919 unilaterally the Government of the Irish Republic and independent of the British Empire. Its claims over the entire island were never accepted by the Unionists of Ulster. Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty the Irish Free State became in 1922 the name of the state covering the twenty-six counties in the south and west, replacing the Irish Republic, while six counties in the northeast remained within the United Kingdom under the Government of Ireland Act, 1920.
The Free State and its successor, the Republic of Ireland (declared in 1949) both claimed jurisdiction over the six counties of Northern Ireland, but never attempted to force reunification. In 1999 the Republic voted to amend Articles 2 and 3 of its constitution, changing them from a claim to jurisdiction to an aspiration to unity.
The leading political parties in the Republic of Ireland, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, as well as the SDLP in the six counties have often made a united Ireland a part of their political message, although they rarely spell out how they see it coming about. It is the main focus of Sinn Féin, which is the only Irish party to contest elections on both sides of the Irish border. However, the Unionist community – composed primarily of Protestants in the six counties that form Northern Ireland – oppose unification. All of the island's political parties (except for tiny fringe groups with no electoral representation) have accepted the principle of consent which states that Northern Ireland's constitutional status cannot change without majority support in Northern Ireland, although most Irish people regard the very existence of the Northern Ireland statelet as a gerrymander on a very large scale, engineered to ensure a unionist majority.
Many Protestants in the northeast (who often refer to Northern Ireland as 'Ulster', as the six counties are a large part of Ulster) argue they have a distinct identity that would be overwhelmed in a united Ireland. They cite the decline of the small Protestant population of the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland since their secession from the United Kingdom. Efforts are being made by the Irish government to assuage these fears.
A possible referendum on a united Ireland was included as part of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Currently about 40% of the six counties electorate vote for parties that oppose the union with Britain.
