This is a good sign, as they have targeted groups on both sides of this stupid dispute. The answer, in my rather uninformed opinion, is pretty much what they've attempted to set up: a self-governing state, separate from both the U.K. and the Irish Republic.
I hope and believe that most people there just want to live in peace; it is only a small group of radicals on each side which are trying to prevent that.
No, it has a devolved government currently within the UK but with an option to leave the UK if a majority of its citizens wish it. Some functions are not devolved and some of these such as policing are under the direction of a Secretariat of London and Dublin civil servants.