"The unionists demanded to remain in the union,"
We seem to have lost the fantasy pf people choosing to live where they wanted to - where on earth did that come from.
It doesn't matter what the Unionists wanted - they were in a tiny minority in the whole of Ireland so they would have had t intergrated into a united Ireland or leave.
Instead, the British decided to succumb to the will of a tiny minority and place them in charge of of the six counties subjecting Ireland to nearly a century of bloodshed and unrest.
The non-Catholics who remained in the South had no problem integrating into the new state -they have their own church, they take a full part in the running of Ireland - no persecution, no prejudice, no bigotry - they play a full part in the life of the Republic of Ireland, and always have.
Ireland is Ireland - one single country, one culture, one people - to divide it in the way it was led to persecution, ongoing bloodshed and unrest.
Partition was a political move supported by religious radicals.
The the Unionists should have either accepted the will of the majority or have gone elsewhere.
If an ethnic minority in Britain decided they did not wish to live under British rule and culture, what do you suggest - give them six counties and leave them to it
Please don't be stupid.
Jim Carroll