While England voted to quit the European Union, most in Northern Ireland, as in Scotland, cast ballots to stay. They were both key figures during the sectarian strife that left more than 3,600 dead over three decades in the six counties of Northern Ireland. Theresa Villiers, Britain’s secretary of state for Northern Ireland, dismissed the demand, arguing there is no appetite for a new battle over the North’s status. McGuinness, a former member of the Irish Republican Army, is deputy first minister of Northern Ireland. As an Irish correspondent for The Guardian wrote, the Good Friday Agreement provided that anyone born in Northern Ireland can be a citizen of the U.K., or Ireland, or both.

Source: National Post June 30, 2016 15:22 UTC