How can we integrate Unionism into a possible United Ireland?

That's one poll, most polls show around 70 percent, no one apart from the partitionists on boards are seriously claiming that the Republic are going to vote no in a referendum.

If a debate on the matter about an upcoming referendum happened and we started to seriously think about a United Ireland it would undoubtedly pass overwhelmingly, all political parties say they support unification, it's extremely unlikely people will all vote against their parties and vote against a United Ireland.

My ancestors lived in caves and fought over food, should I follow them too?

Anyone who is for a united Ireland because some ancestors fought for it is living in the far distant past. It doesn’t matter what they fought for, it matters what I think is best now.

Harry, 79% of people in a recent poll said they would said no if they have to contribute to the cost. You keep referring to a study on unification of Germany, the Germans have had a unification tax for 30 yrs.

Why do you keep saying that there will be no opposition in the South to unification? That poll shows that on the issue of cost alone, 79% of people would outright oppose it.

That poll shows that people may like the idea of a unified Ireland, but will not contribute to the cost. So in practical terms, there is no hope of a yes vote. I have been saying this to you all along, people here care more about issues that affect them directly, and increased taxation is most certainly one of them.

Right well we'll have to agree to disagree, I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting only 20% of people are going to vote for unification.

This is clearly a Unionist misunderstanding, no one in the Republic seriously thinks that a vote on unification would be rejected in the Republic. All the political parties are in favour of it and claim they would support it, they would convince the public easily to vote yes a referendum once the debate leading to an upcoming referendum starts. It's far different from asking people completely out of the blue if they want to pay more taxes.

It's all about the money when you ask people a question out of the blue if they want to pay more taxes, going into no detail whatsoever about what this actually means. People are thinking about their livelihoods, they are thinking would I still be able to survive with these extra taxes, I'm surprised more people didn't say no to that question. The vast majority of people answered yes when asked a simple question about wether they want unification.

The question makes no sense it goes into no detail about how much tax, would people be willing to pay an extra few euro in tax to facilitate a United Ireland? I'm sure they would. Would be people be willing to pay an extravagant amount of tax that would destroy their livelihoods? I doubt it.

If they had made that clear in the question then I would take the results of the poll seriously.

You are vastly overestimating the amount of differences between the protestants in the North and the rest of Ireland, apart from their protestant religion and the orange order there are little to no differences between us, I'm assuming you're only talking about the Unionists as I don't see how anyone could claim the people of Derry or South Armagh are any less culturally Irish to the rest of us, with the exception of Belfast, which is similar to Dublin in it's massive difference to the rest of Ireland, there's no real difference.

What makes you think people will give in-depth thought to the vote? The three most pertinent considerations will be:

1. Do I want unification?
2. Is this going to cost me money?
3. Which is more important to me, 1 or 2.

The recent poll shows the answer to question 2 was the deciding factor, even after asking answering positively to question 1.

This comes as absolutely no surprise to me.

I am not suggesting anything, I am telling you that in a recent poll carried out by Ipsos, 79% were opposed to unification if it was going to cost them.

Will I make ends meet. That is precisely the consideration people will have when voting for unification. Harry, you simply cannot, no matter how deluded you are, state that there will be no cost for Irish people, associated with unification. Those polled were not asked if they wanted to pay more tax, and the question did not come out of the blue, it was asked in relation to unification.

What are you basing your opinion on support for unification on? Guesswork? Or are you going to point to polling results?

Never going to work. A romantic delusion belonging in the past.

If there is to be a federal solution it will be the Federal Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the six counties retaining their current autonomy, and maybe more.

Of course you will get a different answer because that is how people will vote.

Take for example, housing. You might think that everyone believes there should be a constitutional right to housing. So polls show a huge majority in favour of that. However, if it turns out that a constitutional right to housing meant that every Traveller family is entitled to a McMansion with stables and 20 acres, do you think that referendum would have a snowball's chance in hell?

People will always be in favour of abstract concepts such as a right to housing or a united Ireland. However, it is their response when the details are explained (you will pay more taxes for a united Ireland) that you get a real insight into their views.

I presume I'm one of those you're referring to here? As one of those who tore holes in the study you posted based on little more than a minor specialisation in economics as part of my undergraduate degree. You can parrot the phrases "some of the greatest experts from around the world" and "widespread international praise" as many times as you like, it won't make it true. It's a puff piece that was paid for and put together to misinform those without any economic education (though honestly, anyone with even a passing interest in the subject would spot the flaws if they read the report itself rather than the headlines, a third level education wouldn't be a requirement to understanding it and it's flaws). The Sinn Fein press office did their job and got some journalists to publish the headlines their flawed models produced though so fair play to them I guess...

As a data specialist though, believe me, it wouldn't take more than a few weeks to show entirely the opposite results with "state of the art models" if I wanted to. It's part of the old truism of "lies, damned lies and statistics". You can choose to delude yourself that such speculative data modelling forms a solid foundation upon which to build the future of the two nations on this island but I doubt you've given it that much though tbh: you're merely parroting the propaganda because that's your understanding of what a "Good Republican" does.

As for my being a unionist? My mother is from that notorious clan of Orangemen, the Houlihan's while my grandfather on my father's side was a member of B Coy. 2nd Battalion and took part in various military actions including the Whitehall ambush before being arrested for his part in the burning of the Custom House and held in Kilmainham for the remainder of the War of Independence. Unlike many of the claims regarding involvement in the war, I know that to be verifiable since after his retirement from the National Army he worked for the Bureau of Military History and his War of Independence medal is a treasured family heirloom (I was even granted access to read his military record at one point as thanks for a donation of a chest of his papers from that time to the Military Archives),

Fine Unionist stock altogether. 🙄

This is pure nonsense based on little more than "my knowledge is better than your knowledge"

for someone who claims to know so much, Protestants are barely a majority anymore 48% are protestant and 45% are Catholic, this is far from the "overwhelming majority" that you were rambling on about.

Your claim that the people in the North are completely different to those in the Republic is nonsense, I seriously doubt the people in Monaghan see the people in South Armagh as an "alien force" or that the people of Donegal see the people of Derry as "incredibly different".

The protestants are nowhere near as obsessed over the orange order and the Presbyterian church as you claim, most protestants aren't bothered about it, religion and this obsession with the orange order are dying out, most protestants simply want to get on with their lives, you seem to be living in the past.

Again, you are misleading the situation. The poster he was replying to previously expressed his staunchly Republican views and claimed there is no way he would consider changing the flag based on the fact that his ancestors fought for it. Yet this same poster has been advocating against a 32 county Republic for the whole thread, which is what his ancestors actually fought for, not trivial crap like flags.