How many of us think that unification is no longer a priority and don't really want unification ?

Secondly, we have the GAA being lauded on this thread for sending their senior members out to engage in good "community policing". Appeals for calm are one thing, getting out on the streets is another.

Funny that, I'm searching for your condemnations of an MLA 'standing with her people'.

You were liking posts salivating that that protest would be met with 'uncontained angry Unionists' because violence scratches your partitionist anti UI itch, whether it be republican or Loyalist violence.
This weeks problems in NI are just as likely here as has been pointed out. We have been lucky that community leaders, responsible politicians and the security forces have kept it contained.

It requires leaders to step up, and to never give up.

Members of a sporting club mentoring vunerable young members of their club is what I would expect from responsible adults.

The social media is the immediate cause, but you know well that it is only the match being applied to the dry firewood that was waiting there.

https://www.independent.ie/comment/opinion/suzanne-breen-some-in-politics-are-attempting-to-have-it-both-ways-to-make-inflammatory-utterances-and-wash-their-hands-of-consequences/a/156794276.html

I am not the only one drawing links with the past.

"Families fleeing into the night, barefoot kids running through the glass to escape. Houses with precious belongings gathered over the years going up in flames.

Where once targets were those identified as having a different religion, today it’s racism which drives the thugs."

I really detest the way that the Troubles are glorified by republicans. There were no heroes defending nationalist areas, there were just thugs out for a good time doing what they enjoyed.

https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2026/06/08/northern-ireland-public-opinion-survey-shows-majority-wish-to-remain-in-uk/

Getting back on topic with the results of the latest survey.

"Since 1998, support for Irish unity has stayed largely unchanged, despite a decline in support for pro-union parties, and there is no sign that it is close to reaching the 50%+1 threshold needed. The survey shows a small decrease in support within the pro-unity bloc, rather than the significant growth needed to reach that target."

Stagnation after nearly thirty years of us being told it is coming.

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/irish-studies/research/IIS%2CSunday%2CTimes%2C-%2CNI%2CSurvey%2CMay%2C2026.pdf

Table 14 and 15 actually show how soft the support for a united Ireland is. Even among the 35.8% who would vote tomorrow for a united Ireland (a truly pathetic level after 30 years), 60% of them would be persuaded to stay in Northern Ireland if there were improved public services or a lower cost of living.

Assuming that young people don't change their mind as they get older (and the evidence shows that they do), it would take until the 2040s before we would even be approaching consideration of a border poll.

Nobody, not even I will vote for a UI 'tomorrow'.

I would if I could find where they said it 'is off the table for decades'

Recent world history has shown that essentially, anything is possible.

And it is criminal not to prepare for something that is quite possible.
Shirlow in Liverpool Univ. seems under the impression that certain 'election' results are required for a poll.

Are we entering Border Poll territory?
In short, no. A referendum will only be called based on election results

He's dangerously wrong about that.

Quite interesting that 30% would pay €1,000 a year to stay in the UK. However, the reality is, as the German experience has shown us, any country that unites will have higher taxes as a result. That makes Table 17 an exercise in futility, probably why the report only wastes one sentence on it.

. Only election results will determine the calling of a referendum.

^^^ This is factually wrong and Shirlow of all people should know it and be abreast of court findings. It undermines the rest of his work.

He is unashamedly pro- Union, as is his right, but by insisting that the above is correct he is entering fantasy Unionist or hopeful partitionist territory.
A BP can literally come at any time the SoS chooses.

That really isn’t measurable and is an opinion based position. If you don’t see it or want to is up to you.

The figures don't lie. There isn't a single favourable figure in the survey towards unity. Even when it comes to those who would switch, it says:

"Around 50% of pro-unity and a third who are pro-union are prepared to either remain in NI
or accept constitutional change if there is evidence that a) NI achieves better social and
more inclusive cultural outcomes b) the Republic offers lower house prices and a better
standard of living."

So 50% of nationalists have a soft position, while only one third of unionists have a soft position. That is the leading indicator of why the numbers are not changing with the demographics.

"We now have a significant body of evidence that opposition to constitutional change is more hybrid than desire for it in terms of the more statistically representative shares of Catholics and non-religious who oppose constitutional
change compared to Protestants and the non-religious who wish for it".

This signifies the challenge to nationalists. Unlike the popular representation on here of "belligerents" and "partitionists" being opposed to a united Ireland, the survey indicates that it is wider than that. To persuade change (rather than trying to force it which is the current modus operandi of SF), there will be a need to address a multiplicity of concerns. That neither SF nor their supporters can coherently talk about what a united Ireland would look like and revert to divisive sectarian ranting only adds to that challenge.

The message of the survey is clear - a border poll is decades away at best.

Remind me of the outcome of that Scottish border poll?

Yes, we can see the trend over time.

"The pro-unity vote share has remained static (despite the decline of pro-union parties) since 1998 and there are no signs that it can reach the 50+1 benchmark".

Which bit of that trend over time is so difficult to understand?

61.4% would vote to remain in the UK, as opposed to 28.1% who would vote to leave. A border poll is a fantastical dream away.

I want a plan, but I don't want the Irish government wasting money or time on a plan. Those who think it is a good idea should waste their energy on it.

It is clear to me - Germany being the clear example - that a united Ireland will cost an awful lot of money and that support will melt away as a result. Any decent plan will show that.

I also don't know why you keep bringing up the Scottish example. That referendum was about Scotland gaining identity and independence, a border poll will be about Northern Ireland giving up and losing whatever identity and independence it has.

Support for a united Ireland has flatlined, the idea is close to being dead in the water, as this poll shows. It wasn't just one poll, it is a succession of polls over 30 years that tell us:

"Overall, when those who do not have an opinion or did not answer are removed from the responses from each question at least 58% support remaining within the UK. This is commonly found in other surveys."

You are the one who tells me that Northern Ireland won't exist after a border poll is passed. Are you saying that Northern Ireland as an identity will continue post-unity? That would require a federal or confederal structure. Do you support those?