Its clear to what extent the media have coloured people's ideas on Northern Ireland. Some of the terminology is so confused one would think that the situation is akin to a Balkan scenario. But in fact the large majority of the population of the entire island have always (when asked for their opinions) wanted a united country. It was the frustration of this aspiration by Britain that brought about the 'Troubles' of the 1920s and the 1969 -94 eras. As JFK once remarked, 'those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable', or words to that effect.

Yes, Ireland will one day be re-united and the vast majority of her people will live together just as amicably as they now mostly do. They won't necessarily all immediately love the idea but the difference will be that those extremists who might wish to continue to perpetrate violence for purposes of revenge will soon no longer have even the muted sympathies of their parent communities.

Within the EU (and outside it) there are nations such as Belgium and Holland internally divided on religious, linguistic and/or ethnic lines. All of them had their problems, some still have, but compromise was eventually reached, even if it meant spending extra money that some consider to be 'wasted' on ensuring that all historical cultures were equally cherished.

To get people in a 'realistic' frame of mind, a date should be set for the withdrawal of British control. This would eliminate the veto that Unionists, a minority of the population, have held with the support of the British govt, on progress towards a final settlement. A guarantee of dual citizenship for any who wish to retain a personal British connection extending down to those born up to the hand-over date should be part of the changeover, allowing the present generations and those born over the transition period time to adjust. Resettlement would, I predict , not be a large-scale issue, even in relation to Northern Ireland's small population of 1.5 mil.