Part of the mistake made by many nationalists on the question of Irish identity/ies is to elide Irishness and the state of Ireland (for the avoidance of doubt, the republic). Quite clearly this overlooks a significant portion of the population of the island who, while having an Irish component to their identity, do not hold citizenship of, or affinity for, the republic. It is only recently - post GFA, really - that enough room has been created within the umbrella and language of Irishness for more than one articulation of an Irish identity to be expressed. To answer your last question directly Danny, anyone in GR's position could legitimately argue that their UK passport is indeed an Irish one too; after all, it refers on its cover to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That it is not of the republic does not make it any less Irish, and this I believe is the salient point.
I was discussing the prospect of a united Ireland with some friends recently. The one point that stuck in my mind afterwards was made by a Protestant Unionist friend from Portadown, which in itself speaks of the progress made towards mutual understanding in recent times. That was, if we are ever to see a united Ireland, then the republic in its current form will have to be dismantled. In other words, no new all-Ireland state could ever be created by merely incorporating or assimilating the northern six counties into the existing state. It will have to be built anew by a partnership of equals from north and south. All hypothetical of course but it illustrated that there are indeed multiple versions of Irishness in existence (Danny, your survey data back this up) and none is pre-eminent nor has a right to claim exclusivity for its adherents.
PP
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