Sinn Fein wants a vote on Irish reunification if Britain leaves Europe

[RandySF]

There has been much speculation on the knock-on effects of Britain leaving the European Union in other nations.

Leave is leading by more than 700,000 votes after 23 million votes have been counted in Britain’s referendum on its future in Europe at time of writing, and Irish republicans say the vote should be a trigger for a vote on the reunification of Ireland.

Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein leader, says Irish people should be given a chance to vote on their future. The Guardian reports:

The former IRA chief-of-staff said that if Britain voted to leave the EU then there was a “democratic imperative” to allow people on the island of Ireland to vote on reunification.

“If Britain votes to leave the European Union then that could have huge implications for the entire island of Ireland and, given all the predictions, would run counter to the democratic wishes of the Irish people,” the Sinn Féin leader said.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/sinn-fein-calls-for-vote-on-irish-reunification-if-britain-leaves-europe-2016-6

[Ex Lurker]

1. The majority in Northern Ireland are protestant

if the north joins the South, it will be against their will.

[MADem]

5. I doubt that. The Catholic churches in southern Ireland are empty.

They've gone from 95 percent participation to four percent in the last several decades.

The scandals of sexual abuse and the Magdalene Laundries have put a lot of people off.

You can get birth control in southern Ireland now--the church hierarchy holds no sway.

The south is with the EU--the north wants to stay with the EU. If they stay with Britain, and leave the EU, they will have to put up a wall again--close that border.

It'll just depend on if the North feels they will do better economically as part of the EU or part of the UK.

[L. Coyote]

2. Scotland will now leave the United Kingdom too, I suspect.

[Person 2713]

3. Did not think about the effect on Ireland .

[davidn3600]

4. The EU is unlikely to survive much longer

Sorry but this is what happens when bureaucracies are incredibly mismanaged....people start demanding independence.

Scotland and Ireland breaking away from Britain won't save the EU. The EU needs to reform....badly. Hopefully this is a wakeup call.

[DetlefK]

6. And what kind of reforms do you demand?