Northern Ireland border

[third policeman]

In any case the way things are shaping up in the North, they may not have a team in a few years in any case.

[seanfhear]

In any case the way things are shaping up in the North, they may not have a team in a few years in any case.
Why so ? A United Ireland is along long long way away. There is no where near the numbers to win a border poll in the North ~ Miles off.

[tetsujin1979]

I did a black taxi tour of Belfast in November, the driver was Republican and said that the border poll will take another generation, but unification will happen.

[pineapple stu]

A taxi driver's never been wrong before I guess. :)

[seanfhear]

I did a black taxi tour of Belfast in November, the driver was Republican and said that the border poll will take another generation, but unification will happen.
The numbers are certainly no where near there at the moment for a border poll to be won. I am not sure if I would vote to join with the South if I was given the chance.

[Diggs246]

Northern Ireland Europe's largest open air lunatic asylum.....no thanks

[DCWA]

I did a black taxi tour of Belfast in November, the driver was Republican and said that the border poll will take another generation, but unification will happen.

As Derry based and very much a Republican without getting into the intricacies of all that I would largely agree with that. Unification is an inevitability, I think everyone deep down knows that - it has been since partition and the only surprise is the northern state has lasted this long.

There has been a lot of excited talk about unification post Brexit and it has probably brought it forward to a certain degree by opening up the line of conversation that was avoided generally since the GFA but the demographics aren’t quite right for the vote to carry.

They are getting there though.

Anyway not wishing to drag the thread further down that path as it’s about players but just to say I would be largely in agreement with that line of thought.

[The Fly]

The numbers are certainly no where near there at the moment for a border poll to be won. I am not sure if I would vote to join with the South if I was given the chance.

Why's that?

[seanfhear]

Why's that?
I have no desire to be ruled by FG/FF/ Greens / Sinn Féin / Any of the Parties in the Dáil.

[third policeman]

I have no desire to be ruled by FG/FF/ Greens / Sinn Féin / Any of the Parties in the Dáil.

Fair enough but the DUP aren’t exactly an attractive option and the current UK Government is hardly a model of good governance. Most of family live in the North and many would have been equivocal about a United Ireland even though they carry Irish passports, support the ROI team and vote SDLP. It’s the NHS, worries about potential loyalist violence and feeling that GFA gives them a sense of recognition within NI. Brexit has changed that view to some extent. There was a poll by Lord Ashcroft’s polling company in December that suggested 66% of people in NI now thought it would happen within 10 years.

[Diggs246]

Fair enough but the DUP aren’t exactly an attractive option and the current UK Government is hardly a model of good governance. Most of family live in the North and many would have been equivocal about a United Ireland even though they carry Irish passports, support the ROI team and vote SDLP. It’s the NHS, worries about potential loyalist violence and feeling that GFA gives them a sense of recognition within NI. Brexit has changed that view to some extent. There was a poll by Lord Ashcroft’s polling company in December that suggested 66% of people in NI now thought it would happen within 10 years.

Also I would add that, Im pretty sure Sinn Fein are up there as well

[seanfhear]

Also I would add that, Im pretty sure Sinn Fein are up there as well
is it the same Sinn Féin ? ~ They don’t always seem to be the same party, North and South.

[The Fly]

I have no desire to be ruled by FG/FF/ Greens / Sinn Féin / Any of the Parties in the Dáil.

So you're more content being ruled by the various parties at the NI Assembly and Westminster?

[seanfhear]

So you're more content being ruled by the various parties at the NI Assembly and Westminster?
I don’t live in Northern Ireland.

[The Fly]

I don’t live in Northern Ireland.

And you don't live in the South?

[sadloserkid]

And you don't live in the South?

I took it to mean that he lives in Ireland but has no faith in any of the mainstream political parties here and would understand why someone wouldn't rush to join up.

[Diggs246]

is it the same Sinn Féin ? ~ They don’t always seem to be the same party, North and South.

I think their whole party constitution is based around them and all of us being the same country
What I am sure of, is they are the biggest pack of Knackers on both sides of the border who will lie and bully and intimate everyone to get what they want

[The Fly]

I took it to mean that he lives in Ireland but has no faith in any of the mainstream political parties here and would understand why someone wouldn't rush to join up.

This issue goes way beyond the political parties of the day, and indeed politics itself.

In any case if someone bases their decision solely on the above, then a person in NI is comparing the various parties in the South to those in the NI Assembly and Westminster.

[Insidetherock]

1. This is hardly the place to discuss the future constitutional position of the island

2. I find the post by Diggs to be seriously offensive. Whether someone supports a particular party or not, there's no need for insulting someone nor using such an insult. I support SF, and make no apologies about it to anyone. I would never call a supporter of FF or FG the term used about, no matter how vociferously I disagreed with them.

3. On current polling, one in three people will also support SF in the next election, so using such language about those people is out of order also

4. Just to bring the thread back, I would like to see a United Ireland in football terms too, as I think it would only end with a better Irish team than either of the two seperate teams at the moment.

5. As long as its waiting for re-unification, we should look at every potential player for the Republic of Ireland team that we can, and make our team as strong as possible

[tetsujin1979]

Moved posts from a discussion in the national team forum to here

[Demesne Lad]

I was hoping someone would!

[ArdeeBhoy]

You'll all be glad to know that my attempt to stand as an MLA was declined...
��

[dahamsta]

If at first you don't succeed!

[CraftyToePoke]

A few interesting between the lines bits coming out of this place in recent news.

The Presbyterian Church have selected a Republic based chief for the first time since 2000 and only the tenth time since partition despite it being a yearly election.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/minister-from-republic-named-presbyterian-moderator/1372405356.html

A founding member of the DUP, Wallace Thompson, has said that given the changing religious demographics its time for an open and honest discussion on Irish unity and those aspiring to it need to reach out to people like him. That resistance to Rome Rule of 1912 is not relevant today & its time to acknowledge that.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65169196

BBC sees fit to report a young Unionist willing to consider voting SF because they at least make some sense to her on day to day stuff. The same article also talks about Bangor Academy, the largest school there, going to integrate education. ( for slow learners comes to mind but Unionists always did require patience )

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65176760