Ireland and Britain: Normal relations

Date: 14/02/04

Irish views of Britain have changed for the better

“THE Irish are a fair people,” Dr Johnson once said, “they never speak well of one another.” But they now speak well of the British, says a new poll of young Irish professionals, jointly commissioned by the British Council and the British embassy. Three in four of those surveyed, all graduates under 40, have a broadly favourable view of Britain. Even more (81%) say the relationship between the Irish and British governments is good to excellent.

Such a response reflects a transformation in Irish attitudes to Britain over the past 30 years. Relations deteriorated as violence in Northern Ireland escalated, and the impact was felt throughout Ireland. In 1972 a mob burned down Britain's embassy in Dublin. In 1976 the IRA assassinated the British ambassador; in 1979 it blew up Lord Mountbatten.

The two countries share an 800-year history of conflict and distrust. But the latest chapter is of partnership more than friction, and also of notably good personal relations between the prime ministers, Ireland's Bertie Ahern and Britain's Tony Blair. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland was a key by-product of that improvement.

Irish unity remains a strong aspiration among those surveyed, but it is no longer pressing. While two-thirds favour it, the timing is less certain: only 36% say it will happen some time, and over a quarter of these think it will take more than 20 years. Indeed, links with Britain, as Ireland's biggest export market, now seem stronger than with Northern Ireland. Only half the respondents had ever visited Northern Ireland, against 84% who had been to London.

Ireland remains one of the best-performing economies in the European Union. Indeed, its feat of catching up and then overtaking Britain in GDP per head may be one reason for the change in Irish attitudes. Yet, in an echo of British views, the Irish public feels itself closer (in economic, social and cultural terms) to Boston (73%) than to Berlin (16%), and to the United States than to Europe.

Two years ago, when Queen Elizabeth's mother died, the Irish flag flew at half-mast over Dublin's post office: a symbolic flag over a building at the heart of the 1916 rebellion. That only one caller complained shows how normal relations now are. All that is left is a state visit by the queen. Even that is planned, though not before Northern Ireland's devolved government is restored.

Irish views of Britain have changed for the better.

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