Ireland–United Kingdom relations
The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom maintain international relations. British rule in Ireland dates back to the Anglo-Norman invasion on behalf of the English king in the 12th century. Most of Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom following the Anglo-Irish War in the early 20th century.
Historically, relations between the two states have been influenced heavily by issues arising from the partition of Ireland and the terms of Ireland's secession, its constitutional relationship with and obligations to the UK after independence, and the outbreak of political violence in Northern Ireland. Additionally, the high level of trade between the two states, their proximate geographic location, their common status as islands in the European Union until Britain's departure, common language and close cultural and personal links mean political developments in both states often closely follow each other.
Irish and British citizens are accorded equivalent reciprocal rights and entitlements, and a Common Travel Area exists between Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the Crown Dependencies. The British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference acts as an official forum for co-operation between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom on matters of mutual interest generally, and with respect to Northern Ireland in particular. Two other bodies, the British–Irish Council and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly act as a forum for discussion between the executives and assemblies, respectively, of the region, including the devolved nations and regions in the UK and the three Crown dependencies. Co-operation between Northern Ireland and Ireland, including the execution of common policies in certain areas, occurs through the North/South Ministerial Council. In 2014, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny described the relationship between the two countries as being at 'an all time high'.
Both Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Union in 1973. However, the three Crown dependencies remained outside of the EU. In June 2016, the UK held a referendum in which a majority voted to leave the EU. Brexit became effective on 31 January 2020, with a deal being reached on 24 December, keeping Northern Ireland in the European Union Single Market for goods and keeping a free border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Relations between both sides became strained after the requested implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol on 1 January 2021, which is strongly opposed by British citizens in Northern Ireland, the EU and the Irish government. Many Irish citizens in Northern Ireland saw Britain's withdrawal from the EU as a threat to the peace process and cross-border relations, especially as a majority of the NI electorate voted to remain in the EU. As a result of the tensions over the protocol, in February 2022, the DUP collapsed the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive in protest, seeking a renegotiation of the deal. Consequently, Northern Ireland was left without a devolved executive government until February 2024, when the DUP re-entered following modifications to the protocol. This allowed a new NI Executive to be elected, with Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Fein becoming First Minister, alongside Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP as deputy First Minister.
The three devolved administrations of the United Kingdom in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the three dependencies of the British Crown, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, also participate in multilateral bodies created between the two states, such as the British Irish Council and the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.
Country comparison
History
There have been relations between the people inhabiting the British Isles since the earliest recorded history of the region. A Romano-Briton, Patricius, later known as Saint Patrick, brought Christianity to Ireland and, following the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, missionaries from Ireland re-introduced Christianity to Britain.The expansion of Gaelic culture into what became known as Scotland brought close political and familial ties between people in Ireland and people in Great Britain, lasting from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, including a common Gaelic language spoken on both islands. Norse-Gaels in the Kingdom of Dublin and Norman invasion of Ireland added religious, political, economic and social ties between Northumbria and Wales with Leinster in the Pale, the Isle of Man and Galloway, including Hiberno-English.
During the Tudor dynasty, the English regained control and in 1541 Henry VIII was crowned King of Ireland. The English Reformation in the 16th century increased the antagonism between England and Ireland, as the Irish remained Catholic, which became a justification for the English to oppress the Irish. In Ireland, during the Tudor and Stuart eras, the English Crown initiated a large-scale colonization of Ireland with Protestant settlers from Britain, particularly in the province of Ulster. These settlers became the economically and politically dominant land-owning class that would dominate Ireland for centuries. In reaction, there were a number of anti-English rebellions, such as the Desmond Rebellions and the Nine Years' War.
17th century
and colonisation made Ireland completely subject to growing British colonial powers in the early 17th century. Forced settlement of newly conquered land and inequitable laws defined life for the Irish under British rule. England had previously conquered Scotland and Wales, leaving many people from western Scotland to seek opportunity in settling about 500,000 acres of newly seized land in Ireland. Some Irish people were displaced to an attempted "reservation". This resulted in Gaelic ties between Scotland and Ireland withering dramatically over the course of the 17th century, including a divergence in the Gaelic language into two distinct languages.In 1641, the Irish were finally able to drive out the English for a short time through a successful rebellion and proclaim the Irish Catholic Confederation, which was allied with the Royalists in the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell succeeded in reconquering Ireland by brutal methods and by 1652 all of Ireland was under English control. Cromwell then granted land in Ireland to his followers and the Catholic aristocracy in Ireland was increasingly dispossessed. Cromwell exiled numerous Catholics to Connacht and up to 40 percent of Ireland's population died as a result of the English invasion. The defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 further reinforced the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland.
1782–1918
Although Ireland gained near-independence from Great Britain in 1782, there were revolutionary movements in the 1790s that favoured France, Britain's great enemy. Secret societies staged the failed 1798 Rebellion. Therefore the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged in 1801 to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.On 1 January 1801, Great Britain and Ireland joined to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Act of Union 1800 was passed in both the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland, dominated by the Protestant Ascendancy and lacking representation of the country's Roman Catholic population. Substantial majorities were achieved, and according to contemporary documents this was assisted by bribery in the form of the awarding of peerages and honours to opponents to gain their votes.
The separate Parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland were now abolished, and replaced by a united Parliament of the United Kingdom. Ireland thus became an integral part of the United Kingdom, sending around 100 MPs to the House of Commons at Westminster and 28 Irish representative peers to the House of Lords, elected from among their number by the Irish peers themselves, except that Roman Catholic peers were not permitted to take their seats in the Lords. Part of the trade-off for the Irish Catholics was to be the granting of Catholic emancipation, which had been fiercely resisted by the all-Anglican Irish Parliament. However, this was blocked by King George III, who argued that emancipating the Roman Catholics would breach his Coronation Oath. The Catholic hierarchy had endorsed the Union. However the decision to block Catholic emancipation fatally undermined the appeal of the Union. The slow emancipation of Catholics in Ireland began later the early 1800s.
British oppression led to increasing impoverishment and depopulation of Ireland. Between 1845 and 1849, Ireland experienced the Great Famine. While some have described British actions as deliberate, most historians view it as a catastrophe made worse by government inaction and harmful policies. However, the British government, in keeping with its laissez-faire ideology, refused to intervene and help the Irish. Also, grain from Ireland continued to be exported abroad, exacerbating the famine. One million Irish died and many emigrated. Ireland's demographics never recovered from this, as large numbers of Irish continued to move away. The famine and its aftermath led to lasting bitterness in Ireland and increased the desire for self-determination.
In 1873, the Home Rule League was formed, which sought Irish Home Rule. After another famine in 1879, the Irish Land League was formed, which opposed the oppression of the Irish peasantry. The struggle for Irish self-determination was also supported by the Irish diaspora in the United States, where the militant Fenian Brotherhood attacked British North America. Irish nationalists in the House of Commons exerted increasing pressure on British policy. In 1886 and 1893, two Irish Home Rule Bills were defeated in Parliament because British conservatives, together with Anglo-Irish Protestants, rejected Irish self-determination. Some concessions had to be made, however, such as land reforms in 1903 and 1909. Irish nationalism only strengthened as a result and in 1905 the militant Sinn Féin was founded by Arthur Griffith, which advocated secession from the British Empire by any means necessary.
In the 1910s, a political crisis arose in Ireland between supporters of Home Rule and its opponents, consisting of the Protestants in Ulster. In 1914, the Government of Ireland Act was finally passed, promising self-government for Ireland, but implementation had to be postponed with the start of World War I. In 1916, the Easter Rising in Ireland saw an attempt to force Irish independence by force. The uprising was violently put down by the British, with Dublin devastated.