THE road-blocks and army watch-towers that once dotted the 499-kilometre (310-mile) border dividing Northern Ireland from the Irish Republic were among the most visible, and hated, symbols of its long-running civil conflict. But since the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998, crossing that border has come to mean nothing more than changing currency and remembering that road signs switch between miles and kilometres. With greater trade and travel, the two societies have intertwined, making the question of whether Ireland should eventually be reunited seem less important, and helping to forestall any return to violence.
All that has been put at risk by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Northern Ireland has been set against the British mainland: it came down 56%-44% for Remain. It will become much poorer, losing not only some cross-border trade but EU farm payments and a big “peace dividend” in other EU grants. The moment that Britain leaves it will be in breach of the Good Friday Agreement, which sets out how the governments in Westminster and Dublin are to co-operate in matters pertaining to Northern Ireland—as members of the EU. It...Continue reading
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