aussiederek

I believe you are right newjez, I can't see the Republic of Ireland leaving the EU in the next year either. However, it is interesting to note that some in the Republic have called for consideration of the idea. Former Irish diplomat Ray Barrett said about a year ago that this is a debate the Republic of Ireland should have but hasn't.

newjez, that article from the Belfast Telegraph by David McWilliams concentrates on South Down and reflects his personal bias. He quotes lots of figures but these need to be understood in context. For example many Catholics are happy to be British and are not all keen to join a united Ireland, which was never very united throughout history anyway. An imagined united Ireland is a relatively modern-day myth. Anyway, even Leo Varadkar himself has said that the last thing he wants is a referendum on Northern Ireland leaving the UK to become part of the Republic of Ireland that results in a 50% +1 majority. On Brexit, I'm old enough to remember what it was like to live in a UK that was independent from Europe and the Commonwealth meant something real. I am proud to say I voted NO to joining the Common Market back at the time. My worry is that the present generation doesn't have the confidence to stand on its own two feet as a nation and make it work. The only thing that makes sense to me is for the Republic of Ireland to leave Europe as well and consider rejoining the United Kingdom. That would solve all our problems. It is 2018 and not 1916 and so much has changed. The UK is their biggest trading partner by far anyway. That is not an insignificant point to remember. The majority not Ulster Scots ... that is debatable! Many Catholics claim Ulster Scots ancestry.

I'm not getting into this with you ssiri. I've seen too much of IRA violence and grieving families. This thread is supposed to be about Brexit as it relates to Ireland anyway. I'm done ....

No point at all buddy, at least we agree on that. I'm outta here ....

Firstly, the DUP has never been involved in violence. They are a political party whose roots are in the Free Presbyterian Church. Their founder and leader Ian Paisley was a bit of a "stunt" man, red berets and all that as already mentioned in this thread. Loyalist paramilitaries on the other hand have been involved in violence, particularly in response to IRA violence, and we don't want to see any of that again from anybody. The collapse of the local assemble and failure to get it up and running again worries me too. Problem is that it was Sinn Fein who collapsed it in the first place, over an issue related to the mismanagement of a heating scheme. Seems like they were looking for any excuse to bring it down as it wasn't that important politically in my view! Attempts to restore the assemble have been frustrated by red line after red line by Sinn Fein. We can play the blame game till the cows come home but the truth of the matter is that at the end of the day all Sinn Fein want is a United Ireland. They were never interested in power sharing, it was always a means to an end. One should remember that the majority of Northern Ireland citizens are Ulster Scots, descended from those who came over during the plantation. They have a unique culture too and Sinn Fein are rejecting any suggestion of a shared respect for both Irish and Ulster Scots. No, Ulster Unionists don't want to scupper the GFA, but in current circumstances where Sinn Fein want it all their own way, there is no alternative. Don't blame the DUP for that. Westmisister is the sovereign parliament and it is their responsibility to rule any part of the UK from there if required. The Government of the Republic of Ireland only has responsible as agreed to in the GFA and sometimes agreements collapse.

Thank you for the clarification Gbye grey sky. But my point still stands, BacktoDemocracy is clearly one of those who have been fooled if they believe this crap in the two newspapers referenced.

I was born, lived and worked in Northern Ireland throughout the worst of the troubles. Being involved in maintaining an essential service enabled me to know a lot of stuff that was going on. What I have written is not just one interpretation, it is what I know to be true. There is an old saying, "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time". BacktoDemocracy, you are obviously one of the former!

These two newspapers are sensationalizing and trying to make the DUP appear to be something it's not. In reality its roots are the Free Presbyterian Church of which Ian Paisley was founder and Moderator. Paisley was a firebrand preacher and well known for stunts. Nobody should be fooled by the red berets, that was all part of the show. Ulster Resistance was never a terrorist group, simply a group of "showmen" that existed briefly and did nothing more than demonstrate. Just look at the photo of Paisley with Peter Robinson walking up the road, the followers were a band for goodness sake not a paramilitary group. The photo of Peter Robinson with the gun was staged. The IRA acquired guns and ammunition from the Middle East and in fact shared common cause with the PLO. Robinson was there on a fact finding mission and had his photo taken with the weapon, as many would do. This was before the era of selfies! The insinuations and accusations made by these two newspapers are a pack of lies and quite disgraceful.

I find your comments about the DUP being bigots offensive. The DUP are a pro-British democratic political party who have never had any connection with a terrorist organisation. Neither are they nationalists. Sinn Fein on the other hand are anti-British nationalists and the political wing of the IRA. Enough said!!

When you're well through your 70s anybody in their 60s are youngsters lol. Since that darn 7 appeared in front of our ages I am amazed at how much wellbeing has changed. Some people are blessed with good health and good for them, others struggle. Such is life

Antrim coast area a lovely part of the world Toots. I know Cushendall well too

You need the financial resources to do otherwise. The suburbs are what they are, nice looking at first glance but artificial and mind numbing to live in. When we came here at first our youngest son couldn't hack it and returned to NI to finish his uni studies. He is married and lives in America now. I will always remember what he said about Perth; "It's so new you can still smell the paint drying".

That's great if you're young and have the finances

That would be the ideal solution, but not possible in our case. Age, health issues and finances dictate that whatever we do is permanent. We have to get this right one way or the other.

Thanks for your comments. Yes, some parts of NI are lovely and I still miss it after all these years. I know Broughshane well and it is beautiful. Someone sent me a video of the competition on Facebook, but I can't find it on You Tube? If we do go back Larne and the Antrim coast would be our target area. However, holidays back have always been in summer and the winters are long and dreary. Can I cope with that is a question? The health service is crap and that is important for us in our mid 70s with some health issues. Brexit muddies the water for Northern Ireland too. Hard to know what's best.