Making Sense of a United Ireland

Making Sense of a United Ireland is a landmark exploration of the most contentious of issues, arguing that the time to consider the future of the island of Ireland is now. Distinguished political scientist Brendan O Leary argues that the demographic and electoral advantages of Ulster unionists will be over by 2030, and Irish unification referendums will become increasingly likely.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 01 September 2022
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Should be required reading for everyone - including unionists - who are interested in and concerned about the fate of this island.

Dublin Review of Books
Compelling
Financial Times
Will Ireland really reunite?

A century ago, the resolution to Ireland's long struggle for independence was a settlement that saw six of its northern counties remain in the United Kingdom while the other twenty-six formed the new Republic of Ireland. Since partition, the unification of the two parts of the island has seemed impossible, particularly because of the bloody legacy of past conflict.

However, by 2030, if not sooner, demographic and electoral advantages of Ulster unionists, who wish to remain part of the UK, will be over. And in the light of Brexit, the rising popularity of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin, political developments both sides of the border, and within Great Britain, Irish unification referendums will become increasingly likely. Yet even those who want these to happen are not prepared.

Making Sense of a United Ireland is a landmark exploration of this most contentious of issues. Distinguished political scientist Brendan O Leary - a global expert on divided places, who has been profoundly engaged with the Irish question for nearly four decades - argues that the time to consider the future of the island of Ireland is now.

The first comprehensive manual of Irish unification
Irish Times
'Several books have been written about this subject . . . for sheer intellectual firepower OLeary wins first prize
Business Post
'A tour de force
Globe and Mail
'A must-read for anyone who lives in Northern Ireland and thinks seriously about its future. [O Leary has] thought through the implications of possible unity so deeply it would be foolish.'

Weight: 636g
Dimension: 242 x 163 x 39 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781844886050