Donald Trump says united Ireland would be a ‘great thing’ as he visits country – follow live

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Let’s take a closer look at the history of the island of Ireland, following Trump’s earlier comments that he would be in favour of Irish unification.

There are two parts to the island – the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland officially came into existence in 1921 when the partition of the island of Ireland took legal effect.

It followed decades of turmoil between nationalists, who wanted independence from British rule, and unionists, who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom.

Partition was viewed by the British government as a compromise solution, with the border dividing the 32-county island into two separate jurisdictions – the six-county Northern Ireland, which remained in the UK; and the Irish Free State, which is now the Republic of Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s status – whether it should be part of the UK or reunified with the rest of the island – was at the forefront of the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles.

The Troubles ended with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement – which makes provision for a border poll on Northern Ireland’s constitutional future, which can be called by the UK government’s secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

The agreement says the secretary of state must hold a border poll if it appears likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification – and the circumstances of when that could happen is the subject of constant debate in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Two days ago, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there needed to be more clarity on when a border poll can be called.