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Irish unification referendum by 2030, Sinn Fein leader tells Sky News (news.sky.com)

submitted 7 months ago by Stamau123@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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Mary Lou McDonald had previously said unification was within "touching distance" after the return of power-sharing government to Northern Ireland, led by her Sinn Fein colleague Michelle O'Neill. But she acknowledges there is "an awful lot of work to be done".

Mary Lou McDonald was speaking to Sky News following the restoration of the Northern Ireland executive, where her party - a nationalist group - is now the largest caucus in Belfast for the first time since the Good Friday Agreement came into effect.

She said: "What I firmly believe is - in this decade - we will have those referendums, and it's my job and the job of people like me who believe in reunification to convince, to win hearts and minds and to convince people of that opportunity - part of which, by the way, will be really consolidating our relationship with Britain as our next door neighbour and good friend."

Asked if she meant before 2030, Ms McDonald said "yes".

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[-] Stovetop@lemmy.world 94 points 7 months ago

May as well, if it means rejoining the EU following the disaster that was Brexit.

[-] HerrVorragend@lemmy.world 57 points 7 months ago

Watch Scotland and Wales ask a unified Ireland if they can join them too.

[-] Pertes@kbin.social 65 points 7 months ago

Ah yes, Great Ireland

[-] Osa-Eris-Xero512@kbin.social 26 points 7 months ago

Imagine the English malding

[-] WatTyler@lemmy.zip 13 points 7 months ago

Half us English are malding already; the other half find intermittent enjoyment in their malding as a coping mechanism.

[-] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Eating Mald salt by the fistful

[+] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone -7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Not sure I’ve ever even met anyone who’d care if Northern Ireland split off. Maybe some Rangers fans?

[-] TheMongoose@kbin.social 28 points 7 months ago

Not sure I’ve ever even met anyone who’d care if Northern Ireland split off. Maybe some Rangers fans?

There were literally decades of violence and terrorism over that, so clearly someone cares.

That being said, But then I'm Welsh and live in England, I do not have a horse in this race. If the people in NI want to unify with Ireland and regain all their EU citizenship benefits as well as removing the whole "Northern Ireland border issue", then I wouldn't blame them at all.

[-] Osa-Eris-Xero512@kbin.social 9 points 7 months ago

Not just Northern Ireland, if Scotland and Wales fucked off with a unifed Ireland to form Great Ireland without the English.

[-] thetreesaysbark@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago

Can all of us English who despise what the elite have done with the country come too?

[-] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 5 points 7 months ago

Wasn't there like a few decades of violence/terrorism in Ireland pretty recently about this? I think there's definitely people who care bud

[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 1 points 7 months ago

That’s not the English though is it? Everyone seems to think we care deeply about keeping Northern Ireland as some kind of vassal state, but mostly people just think about who’s getting kicked off Britain’s Got Talent this week.

[-] Matriks404@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

Celtic Union rise!

[-] ExLisper@linux.community 19 points 7 months ago

The entire Ireland is in the EU already. Northern Ireland can access the single market without checks. The checks are between Ireland and GB.

[-] mea_rah@lemmy.world 21 points 7 months ago

They are still part of a country that's not within the EU. Even living in Ireland it's sometimes a major pain to do anything in the UK. (Ordering stuff, returns, etc..) I can imagine it's turned up to 11 in NI.

[-] Cagi@lemmy.ca 59 points 7 months ago

My God, right again. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Irish_Unification_of_2024

[-] grue@lemmy.world 26 points 7 months ago

Sinn Fein is running six years behind schedule. 😡

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 16 points 7 months ago

We’re due for the Bell Riots this year, too

[-] gregorum@lemm.ee 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Beat me to it by two goddamn minutes, lol 🖖🏻

[-] VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 32 points 7 months ago

According to Data on Star Trek TNG, reunification is scheduled for this year.

[-] Fades@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago

I welcome the bell riots with open arms

[-] noxy@yiffit.net 13 points 7 months ago

fades, their arms wide

[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 21 points 7 months ago

Hey I called this the other day.

You can really blame brexit for this, which means, you can really blame Russia.

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 3 points 7 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, there is a pathway for a reunification poll to be held in Northern Ireland.

According to the Institute For Government, there is no parallel mechanism in the Good Friday Agreement for a referendum in the Republic of Ireland, where Ms McDonald is a politician.

Asked about her previous comments that unity is within touching distance, the Sinn Fein president said she was talking in "historic terms".

"They need to give it a structure and a place and of course it has to be inclusive - we want to hear from every voice, including those for whom reunification would not be their first option - those who go out and campaign for the union."

The original article contains 526 words, the summary contains 233 words. Saved 56%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[+] beltsin@lemm.ee -24 points 7 months ago

Reunification is an insane idea that the moment. No need to risk the violence of the past for nationalist dreams.

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago

Why can't the religious zealots put aside their bullshit for just a moment? Or does the king just deserve a chunk of Ireland for eternity?

when does it end if not now?

[-] beltsin@lemm.ee 0 points 7 months ago

What does it achieve to unify now? A sizeable portion of the population actively opposes it, and besides that the Northern Irish economy is largely dependent on the British government, meaning that there would be significant cost to the Irish state were they to begin managing the north counties. They chose a century ago to remain in the UK and despite an almost complete lack of acknowledgment from the general British population fiercely defend that decision. It’s about more than just religion, though that can be a common grouping of the different factions.

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

What does it achieve to unify now?

IT SURE FIXES THE BREXIT CRISIS I POINTED OUT IN MY POST YOU NUMPTY

you know, the one that posted a fucking border checkpoint and restarted talk of the troubles? are you dense or did you just arrive to the situation, or are you completely disconnected from the situation you have no idea what the fuck is happening and just shitposting?

fuck off

A sizeable portion of the population actively opposes it

citation requested.

largely dependent on the British government

yeah when you live as a colony for some shitty island this can happen!

They chose a century ago to remain in the UK and despite

YES, AND THE UK JOINED THE EU THEN LEFT. SHIT HAPPENS. GET OVER YOURSELF. What kind of abusive relationship do you propose that keeps them there even if they want to leave?

[-] beltsin@lemm.ee -4 points 7 months ago

I’m not going to argue further with this aggressive babble. We had issues with Northern Ireland very recently and I do not want any of that to come back any time soon. Brexit didn’t do shit, those tensions have been around for decades. It’s absurd that you think I’m the one disconnected from the situation when in Ireland, Mary Lou has been lambasted for these reunification comments. And no, they don’t want to leave the UK. Go to Northern Ireland. It’s a strange place with strange people, and what they want is not what you want.

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

I’m not going to argue further with this aggressive babble.

you have no argument, so that makes perfect sense. finally one aspect of logic you haven't disregarded.

We had issues with Northern Ireland very recently and I do not want any of that to come back any time soon.

Northern Ireland had issues with your colonialist bullshit. Fuck off with it.

Brexit didn’t do shit

Oh really? Creating the ONLY LAND BORDER BETWEEN THE UK AND EU didn't do shit?

Are you really that dense?

Here's an entire wikipedia article detailing all the problems with the brexit and Irish Independence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit_and_the_Irish_border Your premise is vapid. Your arguments are specious and weak.

Have a great day.

[-] beltsin@lemm.ee -2 points 7 months ago

I’m going to assume you’re not Irish and don’t actually understand this because Christ you are inconsolable

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

I'm going to assume you're not irish and don't understand shit about this because fuck's sake you're ignorant.

[-] xor@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 7 months ago

I don't see why now is any worse than any other point in time, frankly.

NI has a legal right to unify with the rest of Ireland if it is voted for in a referendum, under the good Friday agreement. So being able to reunify whenever they decide to is actually one of the key agreements that ended the violence in the past.

[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 11 points 7 months ago

Except the question is pretty valid now post Brexit. I wouldn't even be surprised if GB goes along with it as NI seems to be a lot more trouble than it is worth; a unified Ireland solves the trilemma.

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago

We should adhere to the demands of violent mobs and not the consensus of the democratic process. You are right.

[-] beltsin@lemm.ee 1 points 7 months ago

Mate they made Northern Ireland in an election

this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2024

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