you wrote:
“What happened in the 16th and 17th Century is also largely irrelevent to the current situation.”
Incorrect. What happened then made today.
“Nobody alive today is responsible for the wrongs committed even 100 years ago, never mind four centuries ago.”
Yet the wrongs committed then are still played out today.
“The fact is that Ulster now holds a considerable number of people who do not consider themselves to be Irish, do not want to be part of a United Ireland, and are prepared if neccesary to use force to prevent there being part of the Republic. So what do we do about them?”
We should use the same rule as the British occupiers did: we listen to the majority. The majority will soon be made up of those who want to be part of Ireland. It may very well be inevitable. Thus, if the Brits thought their occupation of Northern Ireland was a just act because a majority wanted to maintain the union and continue to oppress Catholics, logically that would mean Northern Ireland must go into Irish hands when the new majority says they do not want union.
A survey in 1999 showed that 72% of Northern Irish Protestants considered themselves “British” and 2% “Irish”, with 68% of Northern Irish Catholics considering themselves “Irish” and 9% “British”.[22] The survey also revealed that 78% of Protestants and 48% of all respondents felt “Strongly British”, while 77% of Catholics and 35% of all respondents felt “Strongly Irish”. 51% of Protestants and 33% of all respondents felt “Not at all Irish”, while 62% of Catholics and 28% of all respondents felt “Not at all British”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_and_politics_of_Northern_Ireland
Birth control among Protestants may ultimately allow the land to go back to Ireland.
Look Vlad, a nation and a people are the sum of all of their experiences and all of their history. I concede that some events are more important than others, but you can't just pick and choose which ones you consider to be relevant and which ones are not. The transplantation didn't happen in isolation.
Yet the wrongs committed then are still played out today.
Only because neither side will them go! I don't have a downer on the Normans for invading and enslaving Britain 800-1000 years back. I don't hate the Tunisians because they carried off loads of Britons in slave raids in the 15th century. I have no wish to retaliate against the Spanish because their inquisition terrorised our sailors and they tried to invade us. I don't despise the Dutch because we spent most of the seventeenth century fighting and slagging each other off in the world's press. I have issues with the French and the Germans at times today, but not because of the Napoleonic wars or WW1 or even WW2. You can't hold grudges forever. The point still stands. No Ulster protestant of today is in any responsible for their ancestors being transported to Ireland 400 years ago, no more than any anglo-american of today is responsible for their ancestors landing on Plymouth Rock, or any african american of today should be able to claim special favors for his ancestors being carted across the atlantic 300 years back.
We should use the same rule as the British occupiers did: we listen to the majority. The majority will soon be made up of those who want to be part of Ireland. It may very well be inevitable. Thus, if the Brits thought their occupation of Northern Ireland was a just act because a majority wanted to maintain the union and continue to oppress Catholics, logically that would mean Northern Ireland must go into Irish hands when the new majority says they do not want union.
I agree absolutely. Although I dont like the term "British occupiers" and I deny "continue to oppress Catholics". Thats just a selective appreciation of the facts.