"Jim, Ireland was not, and Scotland is not an occupied country."
Ireland has always regarded itself an occupied country and that was admitted by Britain pulling out
British rule was maintained by force of arms for centuries
"No. We agreed to Irish home rule before WW1."
Home rule was an attempt to make Ireland a Dominion - that was not independence.
That was betrayed by the British conniving with the Northern Irish loyalists in reneging on an agreed time limit
When that betrayal was discovered, even the compromise Home Rule Bill was rejected and the Home Rule Party disintegrated
We've been here Keith and you and your racist mate were thrashed roundly
"I do suggest that they should be allowed, if a majority want it."Then you are even more stupid than I took you for
No part of a country can ever possibly break off from the main body because "they want it" - utterly stupid
If that was possible, Thatcher would have declared independence for the wealthy South East when she was in power - you live in your own little la-la land.
You totally ignore the brutality and bloodshed shown towards any nation who demanded independence, including to America, who had to go to war to be free of Britain.
India, Kenya and virtually every other African nation, Cyprus, Israel.... all had to resort to force to get self determination.
I reall am not going into your stupid blind alley again - Britain was a brutal colonising power whu ruled countries by foce, bled them dry and destroyed their indigenous cultures
That was what Emipre was about
Jim Carroll