There’s a popular phrase that the quickest way to get Irish listeners to turn over is to mention Northern Ireland. The very real threat of paramilitarism and the scourge it leaves on Northern Irish society will not be mended by warm words, but opportunity and prosperity. Despite historical dominance, the tides have turned in terms of demography and measures of success since the foundation of Northern Ireland. File PictureMore than 3,600 lives were lost in the period known as the Troubles in Northern Ireland. “I believe when you spell out the benefits in financial terms, any call for this mythical united Ireland would be heavily defeated by unionists and nationalists.

Source: Irish Examiner December 28, 2020 18:00 UTC