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A.J. Valenti
Ms.Gardner
English 10H, Period 6
10 May 2016
The Controversy of Northern Ireland
Would you like it if Canada became part of the United States? There is a similar
scenario happening across the globe between the UK and Ireland. The Irish claim that
Northern Ireland should be constituted as part of their own country opposed to it being a
territory of the United Kingdom. This is definitely important to the lives of the Northern
Irish because if a change is made, this would alter the economy, laws, and structure of the
territory. This is a topic that has always been brewing in those territories, but it became
popular in 2013 when riots broke out in the capital of Northern Ireland, Berlin. I believe
Northern Ireland should not become part of Ireland because there is no need, it would put
governmental stress on Ireland, and it would be a very difficult adaptation for the people.
The view of the Irish nationalists is that the island of Ireland is meant to be
United. This concept is legitimate because of the location, both of the countries being on
the same island and all.(Moriarty) Another source states that this action is inevitable
because the population of nationalists are rising, so there will be a steady flip flop in
votes that may possibly go on in the next few years.(McGuiness) This argument is fair,
but the multitude of changes Northern Island would have to make amounts to more
money than the territory can fund. They would have to get rid of most of their political

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parties, and replace a lot of their current infrastructure in order to match the standards of
Ireland.
Northern Ireland is a fully functioning territory in the United Kingdom. Why
would Northern Ireland want to change, at least from a governmental standpoint?
Northern Ireland is playing their role in order to help the United Kingdom succeed; they
supply the kingdom with an abundance of chief minerals, and also it is a fabulous place
for farming. The territory does not need to go into debt which would be the result if they
moved their loyalties to Ireland.(Oconnell) If Northern Ireland is playing their part,
running smoothly, and providing resources to the United Kingdom, then there is no
reason for them to leave. They would have less of a struggle if they stayed as is. The
transition would definitely be the hurricane to their stable society.
The governments of Northern Ireland and Ireland do not match up for the most
part. The only exception is with the political party Sinn Fein because they want a united
Ireland. If a move were to be made, they would need to spend a lot of money to create a
different political party because the main one in Northern Ireland, DUP, is against the
transition. A lot of thought would come out of this process, thinking of a way to combine
or maybe compromise the two different governments.(Gartland) In plain tongue: a
change in government would not be a favorable one. It is hard to find a compatible
relationship between a unionist government and a republic. Think about it, Ireland is built
on nationalism; Northern Ireland is built on unionism. Northern Ireland left for a reasonthey didn't want to be a part of Ireland- so why would it be okay to do it now in an age of
stability.

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The majority of the people in Northern Ireland want to keep things as is. That
being said, the government is going to decide the fate of the territory from the votes of
the people: they are not going to make an executive decision. This rationality will allow
the majority of voters, Protestants, to keep the same loyalty as now. As long as there are
less Sinn Fein voters, the government policies will stay the same. The DUP dominates the
seats and the voters in Northern Ireland. This action is the modern way of doing things: it
is that people are going to get what they want within reasonable measures. From the
perspective of a resident of Northern Ireland, Brian Oconnell expressed his opinion via a
SIRS article: I don't think I have ever had a discussion with my 10-year-old son about
the need for a united Ireland. His generation is far less insular and more connected to the
wider world than we were. The modern generation is already united among countries,
there does not need to be a moved in order for these two territories to be connected, they
do not have to be one country, they can be two separate places and still be able to trade
resources and make agreements without becoming united. Another example that the
people do not want to make the shift is when there was a riot in Belfast. The riot broke
out because the United Kingdom flag was taken down from the Capitol building. The
people lit cars on fire and made a statement to the government of Northern Ireland. The
people of Northern Ireland obviously were not pleased when the government took the
United Kingdom flag down which leads me to believe that they want to stay a part of the
United Kingdom. This act of violation confirms the feelings of the Northern Ireland
towards their country and it lets the government know that Northern Ireland is there to
stay in the United Kingdom.

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Northern Ireland and Ireland are too different to have a successful merge as one
country. The UK would lose valuable resources along with the ties between them and
Ireland being ripped apart. Billions of dollars would be thrown away which is not what
Northern Ireland would benefit from or even wants. As a person of this world, I
encourage you to be aware of the riots in Belfast and just know what struggles these
countries are going through. There is always something new we can learn from
everything.

Works Cited
Gartland, Fiona. "United Ireland Less Compelling Now, Says Mansergh." Irish
Times. 10 Jun. 2009: 7. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
McGuinness, Martin. "Now Is the Time to Debate a United Ireland." The Guardian.
19 Feb. 2010: 35. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
Moriarty, Gerry. "IRA Says it Is Still Striving for United Ireland." Irish Times. 20 Mar. 2008: 9. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.

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O'Connell, Brian. "Passing of Time Will Continue to Dilute Irish Republicanism." Irish Times. 09 Nov.
2010: 12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.