Irish two!

A stewy tale of two cities in Ireland, one in the north, and the second down south

Let’s start with a bit of Irish history. Like many parts of the world, Ireland was ruled by the imperialist British well until the early years of the last century. Then, as the rebellions got too much to handle, the Brits granted independence to all 32 counties under their rule, except six, and the Republic of Ireland was formed in 1922.

The six counties situated in the northern part of the island remained under the crown for one reason: religion. The majority of the population here, like in Englahd, was Protestant. Only 6,00,000 Catholics lived here at the time, out of a total population of 1.6 million.

If this is sounding like a Hindu-Muslim potboiler, read on.

In the 100 years that followed, the Catholics have reproduced faster than the Protestants. The 2001 census pegged the number at 48 per cent with a Protestant majority. But in 2021, the Catholics seem to have overtaken their Protestant counterparts in Northern Ireland.

Does this mean the six counties the Irish call Northern Ireland” will now be turned over to the Republic of Ireland?

(Note the nuance: Irish citizens feel North Ireland” sounds like a country, so they insist it be called Northern Ireland’ instead.)

These political power games may be a lot to stew over. But for us Indians, with a similar imperialist past and religious strife, the stories are relatable and robust.

The good news is this: The entire island of Ireland, consisting of both parts, is devoid of border controls and other divisive tactics. Citizens are allowed to work and live wherever they feel comfortable, and there is no restriction of movement from north to south. The parts ruled by the UK use the British pound as legal tender, and the Republic of Ireland uses the Euro. When I drove from Belfast to Dublin, I only realised I was in the Republic of Ireland when my phone service provider texted me a welcome.