Articles of Confederation
In one collective, courageous act on July 4, 1776, all 56 members of America’s Second Continental Congress, a collective body of representatives from each of Great Britain’s 13 American colonies, signed their names to an iconic document, the Declaration of Independence. Just months before, the first shots had been fired between American colonists and British soldiers in what became known as the American Revolution. This year, the United States observed the 250th anniversary of those 56 acts of bravery, whose signatures can still be read on a document revered by Americans to this day. Following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, members of the Continental Congress began the arduous task of establishing a government for an independent nation.
The Good Friday Agreement
The framework for a new Ireland is already envisioned and agreed to in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (the GFA). In short, the GFA states that when it appears to the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland that the citizens in Northern Ireland wish to unite with the Republic of Ireland, a referendum will be called allowing the people to decide the question.
Likewise, the GFA calls for a referendum in the Republic of Ireland giving its citizens a vote on the question of reunification. If the votes of the people in the referenda carry a majority for unification, then Northern Ireland will unite with the Republic of Ireland. If either referendum carries a no vote, unification cannot take place, and each side must wait six years before referenda may be called again.
This of course is the formal process for obtaining unification. But before any referenda is held, the people will need to understand what a new Ireland may look like. As did the members of the Second Continental Congress when they debated the Articles of Confederation and later, the Constitution, the people of Ireland will determine how a new Ireland will emerge and operate if both referenda are adopted for reunification.
Many leading voices in academia, public policy, history, and civil society are optimistic about the prospects for a new Ireland. Professor Bredan O’Leary of the University of Pennsylvania, author of Making Sense of a United Ireland: Should it happen? How might it happen? points out that the demographic and political environment of Northern Ireland is changing steadily, leading to the increased likelihood of referenda being called. His analysis supports ongoing planning and public discussions in preparation for referenda being called.
The Irish Unity Dividend
Ben Collins, an attorney and former political consultant in Ireland, is the author of The Irish Unity Dividend. His analysis shows that in the areas of the economy, education, housing, and health, the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will collectively benefit under the umbrella of a new Ireland. The other dividend, Mr. Collins points out, is the overall benefit of a new Ireland as a member of the EU, along with its benefits, that is currently not available to the people in the north following the United Kingdom’s passage of Brexit.
Leading the planning discussions and calling for a referenda timetable is Ireland’s Future, a non-governmental organization headquartered in Belfast. Ireland’s Future is not aligned with any political party. Rather, it is committed to “…working collaboratively with others to construct an inclusive coalition to ensure that people are given a choice about their constitutional future in this decade.” It is the mostprominent planning and public engagement entity focused on making a new Ireland a reality.
Ireland’s Future has engaged in what can only be described as “non-governmental” or parallel development of proposals to provide citizens with information to facilitate the ongoing dialogue of what a new Ireland can (or should) look like. These proposals address, among other issues, a new Ireland economy, an all-island national health service, citizenship rights, and identity.
Ireland’s Future provides a “forum” for contemporaneous public discussion on the issues that people will need to fully understand for referenda takes place. To review these proposals, please consult: https://irelandsfuture.com/publications/ In these publications it is evident that the discourse on reunification is no longer aspirational; rather, it is a real and central part of Ireland’s public dialogue.
Given this ongoing public discussion in Ireland for reunification and the call to advance a timetable for setting referenda on the question, we add to the discourse focusing on ten practical reasons supporting the case for a new Ireland:
First, the completion of Ireland’s long‑term goal of achieving reunification.
Reunification would advance the ideals of policial equality for all Irish citizens, advancing and maturing the political aspirations of an established democracy. Since its partition 1921, a new Ireland represents a final constitutional settlement all of the people living on the island.
Two, alignment with the Good Friday Agreement
The Agreement (1998) explicitly provides for a peaceful, democratic pathway to unity through concurrent referenda. Reunification is seen by many as the natural end point of the current and established peace process;
Three, Stability and Long‑Term Peace
A single, constitutional framework could reduce identity‑based tensions that persist in Northern Ireland;
Four, economic integration and efficiency
A unified economy could eliminate cross‑border duplication in health, education, infrastructure, and regulation. Current All‑Ireland economic planning is already increasing (energy grid, agriculture, tourism, and transport);
Five, EU membership for Northern Ireland
Reunification would automatically return Northern Ireland to the European Union under EU law. This is significant given Brexit’s economic and political impact on Northern Ireland;
Six, cultural and national identity
Many view the establishment of a new Ireland as reestablishing a cultural coherence to the island. It would resolve identity conflict between British and Irish national affiliations;
Seven, democratic legitimacy
Referenda (or “border poll”) is triggered only when the Northern Ireland Secretary of State believes that the people of Northen Ireland would support unification with the Republic. A referendum would also take place in the Republic of Ireland on the same question. This is why vision planning is crucial to the discourse on a new Ireland;
Eight, an improved international standing
A unified Ireland is likely to have a stronger diplomatic, economic, and cultural influence globally. It would also simplify Ireland’s representation in international institutions to address issues of the island as a whole;
Nine, social and human rights considerations
In a new Ireland, a unified civil and constitutional rights framework could be structured to better protect minority communities. It would eliminate the constitutional complexities and idiosyncrasies of the dual systems that currently exist on the island; and
Ten, practical cross‑border realities
Daily life already functions on an all‑Ireland basis in many sectors: healthcare cooperation, policing coordination, transportation networks, and environmental regulation. A new Ireland would formalize what is already happening informally. The Shared Ireland initiative, initiated by the Irish government, contributes to these functions presently. In a new Ireland, the necessity for a Shared Ireland initiative would evaporate.
James Madison, writing in Federalist No. 39 in support of ratification of the United States Constitution, declared that, “[i]n order to ascertain the real character of the government, it may be considered in relation to the foundation on which it is to be established; to the sources from which its ordinary powers are to be drawn; to the operation of those powers; to the extent of them; and to the authority by which future changes in the government are to be introduced.”
The people of Ireland are at the same historical junction recognized by Madison more than 237 years ago. The static positions of the United Kingdom and the Irish governments on the question of reunification trail the shifting views of the people of Ireland.
Embracing Irish Unity
The people of Ireland are ready to “ascertain the real character” of a new Ireland that embraces unity. And as the time for a new Ireland approaches, it is incumbent upon each of us to understand these issues and what their realization means for people whom we hold dear. We
Justice Jennifer Brunner*
Judge Michael C. Mentel**
*Justice Jennifer Brunner is a member of the State of Ohio’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Ohio. She has served at all three levels of Ohio’s courts, elected to each seat, since 2000. She is Ohio’s first and only female Secretary of State, overseeing the 2008 election in Ohio of President Barack Obama. She was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award for her work as Secretary of State, the nation’s most prestigious award for elected public servants, later awarded to President Obama, himself. Justice Brunner has assisted foreign governments in Serbia, Egypt and Benin with rule of law concerns, and civil society groups in Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan with rule of law and civic participation through USAID. She is earning her PhD in Sociology at the University of York in the UK concerning the repatriation of colonially looted material culture.
**Judge Michael C. Mentel serves on the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Tenth District. He has participated in roundtable discussions on the British Legacy Bill at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and in panel discussions on the reunification of Ireland. He has also served as moderator and presented on issues involving legacy injustice. Judge Mentel is an author and a columnist for Irish newsmagazine. He also contributes to other publications both nationally and locally. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, The Shamrock Club of Columbus, Ohio, the Irish American Club East Side, Euclid/Cleveland, Ohio, the Irish American Law Society, Cleveland, Ohio, and The Brehon Law Society of New York.
