page_title: Repartition of Ireland
section_title: 1969 to 1980
hierarchical_section_title: Repartition of Ireland / 1969 to 1980
caption_attribution_description: English: To the left is a map showing the religious divisions in Ireland in 1991 (based on the census of both states (UK and ROI)). Areas in which the majority of the population was Protestant/unionist/loyalist are shown in green, whilst areas in which the majority of the population was Catholic/nationalist/republican are shown in blue. To the right is an image of the proposed settlement of a repartitioned island. Many areas of Northern Ireland would have been ceded to the Republic. Those areas which would remain part of Northern Ireland (and thus stay in the UK) are shown in green, whilst those areas which would have formed the enlarged Republic are shown in blue. Red lines are county boundaries.
context_page_description: The repartition of Ireland has been suggested as a possible solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
  The 1922 partition of Ireland left Northern Ireland with a large Irish nationalist minority, mostly in the south and west, but with significant numbers in Belfast and some smaller communities in the north and east, whilst Irish unionists constitute a majority of the population in the north and east, with some smaller communities in the south and west. The geographical area in which unionists are a majority is less than half of Northern Ireland, but eastern areas have a much higher population density. Northern Ireland is divided between Unionist, Nationalist and 'Other' designations. Overt Unionist parties secured just eight of the 18 seats in the 2019 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland. The Unionist parties's share of the vote fell again, to 42.5%.
  For demographic reasons, the traditional Unionist vote is expected to continue to decline and the Nationalist vote to increase but the expectation that people will vote along sectarian lines is no longer as strong as it once was.
context_section_description: Repartition resurfaced as a possible option with the start of the Troubles. In 1972, the Conservative MP Julian Critchley published a pamphlet for the Bow Group advocating repartition, titled Ireland: A New Partition. In the mid-1970s Northern Ireland Secretary Merlyn Rees considered the possibility of ceding the IRA stronghold of South Armagh to the Republic, deciding against the matter as the Dublin authorities would likewise be unable to stop IRA activity in the area. Conservative MP David James pressed Prime Minister Harold Wilson to approach the Republic to see if they would be willing to swap South Armagh for areas of northern County Monaghan; Wilson was apparently keen on the idea, but thought that the government in Dublin would be unenthusiastic.
  In 2003 secret plans were published for the first time, revealing that in 1972 civil servants in London had prepared a "last-ditch" plan for possible use in the event of a full-scale civil war, which would have seen Roman Catholic inhabitants of the northeast forcibly moved to Fermanagh, southern Londonderry, Tyrone, South Armagh and South Down. Protestant inhabitants of those areas would have been moved into North Down, Antrim, Northern Londonderry and North Armagh. The nationalist areas would then have been ceded to the Republic of Ireland. An alternative plan simply involved "moving individual Catholics from their homes in Northern Ireland to new homes in the Republic".
  In a 2006 essay, Garret FitzGerald, the Republic's Foreign Minister in 1974, revealed his government's opinions on repartition or a complete British withdrawal.
caption: To the left is a map showing the religious divisions in Ireland in 1991 (based on the census of both states, the United Kingdom and the Census#Republic of Ireland). Areas in which the majority of the population was Protestant/unionist/loyalist are shown in green, whilst areas in which the majority of the population was Catholic/nationalist/republican are shown in blue. To the right is an image of a proposed settlement of a repartitioned island. Many areas of Northern Ireland would have been ceded to the RoI. Those areas which would remain part of Northern Ireland (and thus stay in the UK) are shown in green, while those areas which would have formed the enlarged Republic are shown in blue. Red lines denote county boundaries.
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