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Irish Unification hasn’t been abandoned — and there’s growing political will for it. In the 2022 elections, Sinn Féin won a majority in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time ever (though a government hasn’t been formed thanks to the Democratic Unionist Party not sharing power).
There’s also growing support for reunification among Northern Irish youths. Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who starred in last year’s “Oppenheimer,” said in 2020, “[A United Ireland] will definitely happen in my lifetime. It will take compromise on both sides. But there will be a referendum.”
The real impetus, though, is Brexit, the 2016 referendum where Britain voted to leave the European Union. Thus, a hard border has been reinstituted between the U.K. and EU countries. The problem? The Republic of Ireland is part of the EU, so that would mean reintroducing a hard border in Northern Ireland and potentially reigniting the divisions that started the Troubles. The issue was solved by placing the new border in the Irish Sea, but that also spread discontent, for it suggested Northern Ireland belongs more to Ireland than to Britain.
So, is Irish Unification on schedule for 2024? As a casual observer: I think an eventual United Ireland is more likely than not. However, I don’t think getting there by the end of 2024 is logistically feasible; there’s not even been a unification referendum called at this time. If/when it does happen, it will also surely be accomplished democratically and not by terrorism — barring another unforeseen reset of the political table.
Sorry, “Star Trek,” but it looks like you were just a few years too early (and yet too cynical) with this prediction.
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