North and South

A major research project examining attitudes North and South about the future of the island - and the likely outcomes of any Border polls

John FitzGerald: Supporters of a united Ireland are often unrealistic on cost of legacy debt

Optimism bias seriously clouds the judgment of some supporters of unification who imagine that Britain would somehow pick up the tab

Do we really want to give the diaspora a vote on the President?

The measure could create constitutional blowholes all over the landscape of Ireland’s putative reunification

Gerry Adams: Ireland’s failure to plan for unity referendum ‘indefensible’

Sharp exchanges between former Sinn Féin leader and Fine Gael senator Emer Currie at Oireachtas Committee

Michael McDowell: Confederacy is only model of Irish unity likely to garner wide support

There is potential for an Ireland in which the Republic and North could share membership of the European Union without having to share a constitution

United Ireland comes with dilemmas for British who don’t want to become Irish

Some voting rights attach to Irish citizenship, but new thinking needed to accommodate many in a new State

Majority of northern voters reject need to become Irish citizens in the event of unity, poll shows

Series shows enthusiasm for a Border poll, but populations far apart on many other issues

Who benefits from a united Ireland? Expectations are mixed

Advocates must convince Northern voters of economic benefits and future growth prospects

Fintan O’Toole: We speak the cúpla focal of United Irishese

Big difference between believing ‘in’ something and believing you are then required to do something about it

Voters in Northern Ireland favour light-touch protocol

Negotiated changes to protocol is most popular option among voters

Support for protocol varies between North and South

Northern Ireland poll: EU membership an attraction for many voters in Northern Ireland

Majority in Northern Ireland favours rejoining EU, poll finds

Voters from Catholic background back EU membership overwhelmingly while majority from Protestant background want to stay outside bloc

Two approaches to Irish unity referendums: ‘work it out in advance’ vs ‘figure it out afterwards’

Pat Leahy: Poll shows voters want shape of united Ireland worked out in advance but North and South differ on what that shape should be

Sipo documents on Varadkar are uncomfortable reading for Fine Gael

Plus we asked voters what a United Ireland government should look like

Avoiding a rerun of Brexit by planning ahead

Voters want to know what a united Ireland means before any referendum, but unionist politicians won’t want any such discussions until after a referendum

Voters in Republic would abolish Stormont in united Ireland

Northern voters prefer to keep separate institutions such as Assembly, along with devolved powers

Integrated vs devolved: two possible forms for united Ireland that divide opinion North and South

North favours a devolved model, while southern voters prefer an integrated model within which Northern Ireland would cease to exist as a political unit

A Border poll this decade remains likely and preparing for it is essential

The evidence-based, constructive, civic dialogue on how best to achieve Irish unity defies the noisy, ugly caricatures of its critics

‘See this united Ireland thing, put that on the back burner and get the cost of living sorted first’

Derry unionists bristle at prospect of constitutional change with more pressing concerns to worry about

Poll findings lay down a challenge to advocates of unity

Inside Politics podcast: Is the goal of reunification within 10 years realistic?

Kathy Sheridan: Brexit serves up a warning on a Border poll

Right now, the don’t knows and undecideds seem by far the most sane and rational of thinkers

United Ireland poll: The results are clear, but what about the undecideds?

What the North and South focus groups tell us about attitudes towards a United Ireland

Michael McDowell: The very least Sinn Féin owe us is to spell out their concept of a united Ireland

Far easier to sell the illusion that Irish unity can mean anything at all - and conceal the detail on how their unified state would actually work

Five years to shift opinions in the North in favour of a united Ireland - Sinn Féin TD

Eoin Ó Broin says ‘it’s all to play for’ despite just 26 per cent in favour of Irish unity in the North

Resistance to accepting united Ireland driven by fear of losing identity

Focus groups: ‘I think I would be concerned that violence would raise its ugly head again’

Protestants who find Irish unity ‘impossible to accept’ more likely to be male and working class

Poll findings suggest opposition to Irish unification among Protestant unionists is widely prevalent and intense

A united Ireland would be ‘like Brexit: so many knock-on effects’

Prospect of unity brings a mix of hope and pragmatism to one Co Roscommon bar

United Ireland ‘almost impossible to accept’, say large minority of Protestant voters

Poll indicates hard core of unionist voters who would be fiercely opposed to unity

Core unionist hostility to united Ireland vote would be big problem for state success

Analysis: Sizeable minority of voters from a Protestant background are strongly opposed to unity

United Ireland poll: ‘Change is hard... it’s much easier to stay in the status quo’

Participants in the Government’s Shared Ireland forum offer their views on the Ipsos poll on a united Ireland and the large group of ‘don’t knows’

Taoiseach ‘not surprised’ at poll showing low level of support for Irish unity in Northern Ireland

Just 26% of people surveyed were in favour with 50% against

Southern support for united Ireland is wide, but not deep

While voters in the Republic back unity, they seem unwilling to make changes to accommodate it

Debate over symbols of a united Ireland shows up a big North-South difference

Potential changes to flag and anthem make voters less likely to support unity

Many voters in Republic unwilling to make concessions to unionists to facilitate Irish unity, poll shows

Peace, economy and health service top concerns North and South

Health service, economy and peace are key concerns about united Ireland

Northern voters more concerned about health, while peace is number one priority for voters in Republic

Irish unity ‘can’t be rushed or forced’, Minister says after poll

Northern Ireland would vote decisively against a united Ireland if there was a Border poll, a new research project poll results show

North and South: Ireland is divided on the unity question

Inside Politics podcast: When should a referendum on Irish unity be held, and how would citizens north and south vote?

Northern Ireland rejects Irish unity by large margin, poll shows

Majorities north and south in favour of Border polls, according to new research project

Poll: Less enthusiasm for unity among Catholics in North than among Republic’s respondents

Poll reveals majorities in North and South favour referendums but number of undecideds in North is very high

North and South methodology: How we took the pulse of Ireland on unity

Irish Times and ARINS undertook research on the future of the island

Northern Ireland’s ‘persuadables’: A pivotal demographic for future referendums

Discussion groups reveal both openness to and caution about the prospect of a united Ireland