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How long do people think it will be before their is a united Ireland? The Rev Ian Paisley, whilst being interviewed by some young school kids, said it wont happen in their lifetimes - said in such a way as to imply it wont happen at all. Gerry Kelly, MLA in Belfast and former IRA man, said when asked, "in my lifetime". Kelly is about 50 so he probably means in the next 30 or 40 years. How long do people think?

They say with the passage of time/time is a great healer etc but id be very surprised to think that possible inside 40 years..... it will be some kid at school today that grows up with protestant AND catholic friends who will enter politics thatl start the process.... Funny how kids dont hate anything or anyone,initially- but if their put in an environment full of hate and bigotry,it becomes "normal"... and then, "viola"their adolescents then adults,perpetuating more of the same...............40 yrs plus,then maybe...

Max, I can assure you that the diissidents have a significant and ever growing support within the republican community. Numbers now are increasing dramatically and with the active recruiting of youngsters, ( mainly young low level criminals who you can give a gun too flog them the idea they're a freedom fighter to make it sound cool and off they go ).

We're talking several hundred at the moment directly involved, not necessarily active service units, but runners, rent a mob etc. More and more Povo's are also joining the dissidents. Recent attacks on Police, not shown in the mainland news I hasten to point out show that their capabilities are increasing all the time.

Now several hundred might not in the schemes of things be a huge number compared to the general population but its enough to be a serious threat. As 2 soldiers and 1 policeman found out to their cost, and it won't be long before more are killed.

Coulnd't have said it better Sarah, one solution is to stop them having kids or take their kids away from them.

Shame it breaches Human rights, much better to let them have the kids indoctrinate them with hate about something they have no true comprehension about then let them grow up a bit so they can have kids, further seed their hatred..... ad infintium

You cannot educate the unteachable.

Having served in the province a few times and been the target of loads of the kids half house bricks I honestly do not believe that there will ever be a united Ireland. Children are a product of their environment and until that changes nothing else will.
Ulster is Protestant and Catholic and the Cats will never rule Ulster. The Protestants and the UVF will make sure that they don't.
Adams and the other bastard Macfuckingguiness are both complicit in past atrocities and to see them bastards acting as statesmen makes me fucking puke!!!

Reggie, the Army were certainly there to protect the minority group in the early days - Catholic housewives used to give them cups of tea and were very grateful to have them there. Everything changed after Bloody Sunday in Derry when, for obvious reasons, the Catholics began to see them as the problem and not the solution. To pick up on something in your last comment, Unionist politicians were not directly involved in the violence, unlike many Nationalist politicians who were. DUP and UUP politicans may have been very pally with some UDA and UVF men, they may have encouraged it here and there, but they were not the same organisation and they certainly didnt sit on the ruling body of any of those groups. Sinn Fein on the other hand, despite their denials, were the same thing as the IRA. Sinn Fein and the IRA are one organisation and certain prominent Sinn Fein people sat on the IRA's Army Council until just a few years ago. So that is very differnt. It is literally unheard of, with the exception of Sinn Fein, for elected politicians to sit on the ruling body of an illegal organisation that carries out bombings, shootings, bank robberies, gangsterism, and so on - and that was the case for many years.