We should not mix historical facts with propaganda and emotion
That is because we mix the facts with propaganda and emotion.
My family is involved in tourism and we explain it in the following manner.
In 1801, we signed up to go into union with Britain and became part of the richest and most powerful nation the world had ever known. It was also felt that the Roman Catholic majority of a united Ireland would get a better deal in the larger parliament of Westminster than in the closed shop of Dublin.
That marriage was not ideal and Home Rule was granted to Ireland in 1912 or 1914 but England was in a fight to the death with Germany and implementation of Home Rule was postponed until cessation of fighting.
However, in 1916, the men of violence took up arms and led this country into an armed revolution in which very many people were killed. After four years of killing they gained independence in 1920 and then subjected the people of Ireland to a two years of a bitter civil war.
They then split the country because the majority of people in six counties of Northern Ireland wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom and we did not want to subject that majority to another civil war.
By 1922, we had independence in a fractured country.
They then decided upon an economic war with England, our largest trading partner, and we were free to descend from being the 12th most prosperous country in the world to being the 75th by the time we joined the European Union. At that time, based on a per capita basis, we were the most heavily indebted nation in western Europe.
It had taken approximately 50 years to descend to that position during which we used to look with envy to Northern Ireland with vastly superior living conditions and social programmes.
However, it only took us 25 to 30 years to go broke again with the likes of Greece and we will suffer those consequences for years to come.
Those people that pat themselves on the back for such a great job they have done with our independence are delusionary.
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