How can we integrate Unionism into a possible United Ireland?

With great difficulty..

The thing about Unionists and unionism is that the thing that matters most to them is the union.

No amount of appeasement will take away from the fact that where they live is no longer part of the union.

As another poster said they will die out.

The young people will move to the UK or somewhere else to study or work the older generation will just get older and die out.

Sort of true for some people, I doubt most of them would move although some definitely would, in a United Ireland no one would be able to call themselves British anymore whereas with partition people in the North will always be able to call themselves Irish.

There would be no possibility of the status of Northern Ireland ever changing again in a United Ireland whereas with partition the question will always remain, so the division would end and after a few years everyone would simply refer to themselves as Irish just like they do now in the 26 counties

There is no way after a United Ireland anyone in Ireland will still be able to realistically call themselves British, could anyone really imagine 50 years after a United Ireland anyone in Ireland calling themselves British for absolutely no reason at all, you might have a few bitter people still call themselves British a few years later but it won’t last.

People in Northern Ireland will always be able to call themselves Irish as they are born in Ireland and also the constitutional status always has a realistic possibility of changing, it would be completely illogical and simply bizarre for anyone to be referring to themselves as British decades after a United Ireland.

Unionists/Loyalists fear three things: Dispossession, Retribution and Erosion of their culture.

There are plenty in the south who have no issue with fleecing anybody earning more than the average wage - PBP, Soc Dems, Labour, SF. Come to think of FF and FG aren’t much different. So Unionists can look forward to scandalous taxation (thin end of the wedge on dispossession).

Retribution. We all know who’ll be dishing that out. And if they’re in government, it will get swept under the carpet.

Culture. It’s not respected outside their community and seen as anachronistic. It would be hugely controversial in a United Ireland because unionists would be a minority but with minority rights. Strange bed fellows and all that.

You are a fantasist. There is no more hope of Unionists becoming proud Irish men and women detached from the UK then there was of Nationalists becoming proud British citizens over the last 100 years. A significant proportion of the Unionist population of the North refer to themselves as British living in Northern Ireland.

This problem does not affect most people in the South, there may be a romantic view that it would be good to have a United Ireland, but do people care in their day to day lives? No, and given that the UK has to pump billions into NI to support its services, southern Irish people will not be enthusiastic about the increased taxes we will all have to pay for the privilege of having nearly a million unhappy Unionists joining us.

This is the island of Ireland, two countries, no border. The Protestant/unionist population has been there for centuries, they are proud of their tradition and heritage. I don’t see why people down here think they can ride rough shot over their right to see themselves as part of Britain.

I’m sure that will appeal to the unionist population, to be classified as an ethic group in the land they have owned for centuries.

We can't do with Protestant Unionists but we can do it with Islam and other foreign religions, apparently.

That’s not true at all, there’s no comparison, how are people possibly going to be still calling themselves British after a United Ireland? Of course the nationalists are going to still call themselves Irish they are born in Ireland, just like anyone in the 26 counties prior to 1922/37 called themselves Irish even though it was part of Britain/UK.

You don’t see anyone in any former British colonies still referring to themselves as British, how could they? No one in Cork which had a large population of people who referred to themselves as British are calling themselves British today, it would be bizarre.

What makes you think it would be any different in Northern Ireland? The constitutional status of the 6 counties will no longer be up for debate in a United Ireland, I don’t see you how you believe people will still be calling themselves British 50 years after a United Ireland it doesn’t make any sense.

We don’t have to appease any of them, we can do some appeasing if we want to assure we get over 50% in the event of a referendum but we wouldn’t have to.

And that is the attitude that would guarantee hostility from their community for generations to come. Again I say, why would southerners want nearly a million disaffected unionists in this country for the sake of another million nationalists many don’t care about.

Why do you think people don’t care about them? What makes the people of Derry different to the people of Offaly? What is this hatred you seem to have for your fellow Irish men, women and children?

We have had former presidents from Northern Ireland elected solely by the people of the Republic of Ireland, some of the most well respected politicians in the Republic of Ireland came from the 6 counties,Bobby sands had one of the biggest funeral turnouts in the history of Ireland and the world, your claim that people in the 26 counties don’t care about the people in the 6 counties doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.