A United Ireland is the common demand of Irish nationalists, envisaging that the island of Ireland (currently divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) be reunited as a single political entity. Nationalists have suggested many different models for unification, including federalism, and joint sovereignty, as well as a unitary state.
Although nationalists and republicans wish for the reunification of Ireland, the island of Ireland has never existed as a single sovereign political state in the modern sense. However, prior to 1922, the island was always considered as a single entity, having been the Kingdom of Ireland for centuries until the Act of Union of 1800.
Kings and High Kings
Before the coming of the Normans there existed the title of Ard Rí (High King), usually held by the Uí Néill but this was more of a ceremonial title denoting a sort of "first among equals" rather than an absolute monarchy as developed in England and Scotland. Nevertheless, several strong characters imbued the office with real power, most notably Mael Seachlainn I (845-860), Flann Sinna (877-914), Mael Seachlainn II Mor (979-1002;1014-1022) Brian Boru (1002-1014), Muircheartach Ua Briain (1101-1119), and Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair (1119-1156).
What prevented the consolidation of truly national power even by the Ard Ri's was the fact that the island was divided into a number of autonomus, fully independant kingdoms ruled by rival dynasties. The most powerful of these kingdoms in the immediate pre-Norman era were Aileach, Brefine, Mide, Leinster, Osraige, Munster and Connacht. In addition to these, there were a number of lesser subject kingdoms such as Airgialla, Uladh, Brega, Dublin, Ui Failghe, Laois, Desmond, and Hy-Many. Many of these kingdoms and lordships retained, at the very least, some degree of independence right up to the end of independent Gaelic polity in the 17th century.
A profound misunderstanding of the nature of Irish kings, high-kings and kingdoms - as well as a general ignorance of their existance - continues among Irish people to this day. This creates a great deal of confusion when addressing the basis of a united Ireland.
Confederate Ireland 1642-1649
The next significant moment occurred in 1642 when the Irish Confederacy assembled at Kilkenny and held an all-Ireland assembly. The Confederates did rule much of Ireland up to 1649, but were riven by dissent and civil war in later years.
1653-1921
Although ruled by Britain, Ireland was a united political entity from the end of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1653 until 1921.
Until the Constitution of 1782, Ireland was placed under the effective control of the British-appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland due to restrictive measures such as Poynings Law. From 1541 to 1801, the island's political status was of a Kingdom of Ireland in personal union with the English (and later the British) Crown. After the Act of Union, Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a single entity ruled by the Parliament at Westminster.
Ireland was last undivided at the outbreak of World War I after national self-government in the form of the Third Home Rule Act 1914, won by John Redmond leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party was placed on the statute books, but suspended until the end of the war. It was amended to partition Ireland following the objections of Ulster Unionists.
In the 1918 general election, the republican Sinn Féin political party won a landslide victory. The newly elected Sinn Féin candidates formed a republican assembly Dáil Eireann which unilaterally declared itself in 1919 the Government of the Irish Republic and independent of the British Empire. Its claims over the entire island were, however, not accepted by Unionists. Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty the Irish Free State became in 1922 the name of the state covering twenty-six counties in the south and west, replacing the Irish Republic, while six counties in the northeast remained within the United Kingdom under the 1920 Government of Ireland Act.
1922-1998
The Free State and its successor, the Republic of Ireland (declared in 1949) both claimed jurisdiction over the six counties of Northern Ireland, but did not attempt to force reunification. In 1998, following the Belfast Agreement, the Republic voted to amend Articles 2 and 3 of its constitution, changing them from a claim to jurisdiction to an aspiration to unity.
Present day
The leading political parties in the Republic of Ireland, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, as well as the SDLP in Northern Ireland have often made a united Ireland a part of their political message, although they rarely spell out how they see it coming about. It is, however, the main focus of Sinn Féin, by far the largest party to contest elections on both sides of the border.
In contrast, the Unionist community – composed primarily of Protestants in the six counties that form Northern Ireland – opposes unification. All of the island's political parties (except for tiny fringe groups with no electoral representation) have accepted the principle of consent, which states that Northern Ireland's constitutional status cannot change without majority support in Northern Ireland.
Many Protestants (and some Catholics) in Northern Ireland argue they have a distinct identity that would be overwhelmed in a united Ireland. They cite the decline of the small Protestant population of the Republic of Ireland since secession from the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's stronger international position and their mainly non-Irish ancestry.
A possible referendum on a united Ireland was included as part of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Currently about 40% of the Northern Ireland electorate vote for Irish nationalist parties that oppose the union with Britain and support a united Ireland as an alternative, although as many people vote along religious lines it is difficult to take this figure as a direct indication of levels of support for a united Ireland. A 2004 survey shows support for a united Ireland at 22% of Northern Ireland's population. Strangely, the same survey shows support for full independence at 11%, while the Ulster Third Way party (the only party that supports independence) receives less than a tenth of 1% of votes. It is important to take into account the fact that public opinion polls can be very inaccurate at times, these results do not mean that the people of Northern Ireland would not necassarily choose unification within a few decades; in the event that the Good Friday Agreement is successful and implemented.