“IF WE REALLY wanted to punish the British for 800 years of occupation and repression, make them keep the North forever”, joked former Fine Gael politician John Deasy in a recent episode of the Path to Power podcast, a remark that prompted fellow guest, journalist Brenda Power, to laugh along agreeably.
Deasy insisted that that was the prevailing view of many in the Republic, who think merging with Northern Ireland was “more trouble than it’s worth”.
Power and Deasy both referred to and gave credence to a 2024 contested report by John Fitzgerald that suggested unification could cost up to €20 billion a year for 20 years. When the report’s validity was challenged by host Matt Cooper, Deasy claimed that it was only contested by Sinn Féin.
“Even if they’re roughly correct, that’s a lot of money. People aren’t prepared to do that,” said Deasy.
In reality, the report has been challenged by a wide range of economic experts and commentators, including David McWilliams, Professor Seamus McGuinness and DCU Professor John Doyle, who has described it as “widely inaccurate” and based on “unreasonable assumptions”.
Whatever your view, this 2024 piece of research landed right smack in the middle of what is a long-running and often highly polarised debate around a United Ireland. And in these debates, commentators will assess from different angles, sometimes clinging to a single piece of research, because it validates their personal perception.
Matt Cooper’s guests concluded that Irish unification is a “dead weight” that is costing Sinn Féin votes, “[voters believe] it’s going to cost us a lot of money, and these people up North are crazy”, remarked Deasy.
North and South
These sorts of reductive narratives regarding Northern Ireland often echo the ones that portray people in the North as less Irish, even though we hold the same passport and the same birthright.
The platforming and proliferation of offensive caricatures of Northern Ireland and its people as some kind of burden have to be challenged not only as partitionist in nature, but ultimately, false. Northern Ireland is a global leader across several sectors, and the reunification of this island would combine two highly educated and skilled workforces that would strengthen Ireland’s global economic and sectoral leadership.
Over 40% of the world’s tracked mobile crushing and screening equipment is manufactured in Northern Ireland, the world’s only fully composite aircraft wing — the Airbus A220 wing — was designed, manufactured and assembled in Belfast, with Northern Ireland contributing £1.8 billion (€2.1bn) to the UK aerospace sector.
Northern Ireland’s heavy engineering, aerospace and precision manufacturing sectors export billions of pounds worth of goods globally. Rather than a drain, the North adds high-value, diversified industrial output.
Belfast is now a true global player in Fintech development and strategy, among mid-sized European cities in 2023 to 2024, and has also been listed as one of the top three Fintech locations for the future, outranked only by London and Singapore. By combining the Republic of Ireland’s large base of international banking with Northern Ireland’s specialised Fintech talent, a unified Ireland would have the potential to become a global player in this space.
The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen’s University Belfast is the UK’s Innovation and Knowledge Centre for cybersecurity. It acts as an Academic Centre of Excellence and works closely with major international corporations like Citi, BAE Systems and IBM. A united Ireland would integrate this R&D capability, boosting Ireland’s capacity to protect digital infrastructure and financial systems. The North is home to pioneering companies and research centres, such as the NI Clinical Research Network (NICRN) and firms including Randox and Almac. Integration of North and South would encourage the possibilities for an all-island, end-to-end supply chain in Life and Health sciences.
Along with this, 60% of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing companies are selling into the green economy, which is generating a £1.5 billion (€1.7bn) turnover and £230 million (€266.33m) in exports. CASC Engineering, based in Lisburn, specialises in infrastructure projects to manufacture products like wind turbines in the offshore renewable industry. A net exporter of renewable electricity (primarily onshore wind) to the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland hosts a highly developed advanced-materials-handling sector used in clean-energy infrastructure. Combined with the Republic’s offshore wind potential, Northern Ireland’s renewable infrastructure and specialised engineering expertise provide the tools to build a truly self-sufficient, all-island green energy grid.
Our food and drink industry is worth over £8 billion (€9.3 billion) and is Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing sector. From Irwin’s bread to Boatyard gin, food and drink from Northern Ireland is sold in over 70 countries — and we arguably have the best fry-up across these islands. And lest we forget the tourism boost, from the Giant’s Causeway to Fermanagh’s lakelands.
The whole island has lots to offer
Like the Republic of Ireland, however, our greatest export is our people; from Liam Neeson to Rory McIlroy, CS Lewis and Seamus Heaney. People from Northern Ireland are global leaders. In the fashion industry, Jonathan Anderson founded the luxury brand JW Anderson. Born in Magherafelt, he is now the creative director at Dior. From Tyrone, Sarah Friar is the current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at OpenAI, Simon Pitts is the CEO at Global and business leader Neville Isdell was the Chairman and CEO at Coca-Cola.
AP McCloy is known as the greatest steeplechase jockey of all-time. Rhys McClenaghan, from Newtownards, is the first gymnast to win an Olympic medal for Ireland.
We are the home of Derry Girls, Kneecap, County Down native Garth Ennis is the co-creator of The Boys Comic book series, as well as creating the Punisher, Preacher and Hitman comics for Marvel. The now iconic Jaws Lego set? A Northern Irishman, Johnny Campbell.
In Science, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967, receiving the Copley medal, the world’s oldest scientific prize. In Health, Fermanagh-native Denis Parsons Burkitt identified Burkitt’s Lymphoma, the first cancer shown to be caused by a virus.
No, we are not “crazy”, we are not some “dead weight” – we are innovators and educators, but more than anything, we are your neighbours, your family and friends, and we want the same things: a better life for our children, a place to call home, success in our communities and abroad.
The framing of Northern Ireland as a burden is insulting for many reasons, but above all, it lacks imagination, as arguments based on fear and isolationism so often do. The debate on uniting the island of Ireland should not be about cost alone; it should be about potential.
Emma DeSouza is a writer and campaigner.