Great Empire of Ireland wrote:Many of you know the story of Ireland. But if you dont I will tell you.
Except that you've got parts of it wrong.
In 1801 the British Empire officially made Ireland part of the United Kingdom. forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The fiction of the autonomy of British-occupied Ireland was abolished, along with its puppet parliament, and the Irish became formally British subjects / citizens, electing representatives to the British Parliament.
In 1916 the IRA rebelled against the British hoping to form a Free and United Ireland.
It's more complicated than that. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the main claim of Irish nationalists (other than compensation for alienation of land rights) was autonomy, rather than independence. The British House of Commons was willing (whenever it had a Liberal majority), and was able to force the matter through once the House of Lords had been largely deprived of power. Hence the Home Rule Act 1914, which satisfied most Irish nationalists. It provided for an autonomous Irish government within the United Kingdom.
The implementation of the Home Rule Act was suspended because of the First World War. In that context, what was initially a radical minority within the Irish nationalist movement staged the Easter Rising in 1916, and unilaterally proclaimed an independent Irish republic. Initially, most Irish people opposed them… until the British brutally repressed the rebellion, and Irish public opinion consequently swung behind the rebels. (Who were a brutal bunch themselves, it has to be said. Civilians were murdered on the streets by both sides.)
After 1921 when the Irish Free State was formed,Ireland was still part of the British Empire and Ireland was somewhat united(I think).
No. The deal struck between the British government and the Irish nationalists was to recognise the independence of most of Ireland, while allowing the north of the island to choose to remain British (which it did). A majority of people in Ulster were fiercely Unionist, while a majority in the rest of Ireland were nationalists. Hence the creation of Northern Ireland at that time.
It led to a civil war between Irish nationalists, which ended with the victory of the "moderates" in power in Dublin, and the accepting of the agreement.
Northern Ireland has been separate from the rest of Ireland, by choice, since the London Treaty of 1921.
As for your question: The Belfast Agreement of 1998 recognises that it is up to the people of Northern Ireland to decide their own future. The governments in Dublin and London have both pledged to respect their wishes. For now, a clear and growing majority of people in Northern Ireland want to remain with the United Kingdom. They should not, and cannot realistically, be forced to join with the Irish Republic against their wishes.
Ireland is counted as a failed state because of the economic crisis
That's putting it much too strongly. Somalia is a failed state. Tajikistan is arguably a failed state. The Solomon Islands are recovering from teetering on the brink of being a failed state. Ireland is very far from being in such company.
