Ireland–United Kingdom relations

"Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom" redirects here. For the archipelago, see British Isles.

See also: , missionaries from Ireland re-introduced Christianity to Britain.

The expansion of

.

During the

.

1600s

This resulted in Gaelic ties between Scotland and Ireland withering dramatically over the course of the 17th century, including a divergence in the Gaelic language into two distinct languages.

In 1641, the Irish were finally able to drive out the English for a short time through a successful rebellion and proclaim the

in Ireland.

1782–1918

Although Ireland gained

.

On 1 January 1801,

, signed showing the signatures of the British and Irish delegation.

The separate Parliaments of

The slow emancipation of Catholics in Ireland began later the early 1800s.

British oppression led to increasing impoverishment and depopulation of Ireland (the island had still not returned to its 1800 population by the early 21st century). Between 1845 and 1849, Ireland experienced a

In 1873, the

In the 1910s, a political crisis arose in Ireland between supporters of Home Rule and its opponents, consisting of the Protestants in Ulster (Northern Ireland). In 1914, the Government of Ireland Act was finally passed, promising self-government for Ireland, but implementation had to be postponed with the start of World War I. In 1916, the Easter Rising in Ireland saw an attempt to force Irish independence by force. The uprising was violently put down by the British, with Dublin devastated.^[16]

Independence 1919–1922

After World War I, violent and constitutional campaigns for

Post-independence conflicts

Boundary commission

Main article:

Boundary Commission (Ireland)

The day after the establishment of the

which would chair the Commission. Ultimately and after some controversy, the present border was fixed, not by the Commission but by agreement between the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland) and the Irish Free State.

Anglo-Irish Trade War

Main article:

Anglo-Irish Trade War

A further dispute arose in 1930 over the issue of the Irish government's refusal to reimburse the United Kingdom with "land annuities". These annuities were derived from government financed

Anglo-Irish Trade War

or the Economic War.

While the UK was less affected by the Economic War, the Irish economy was virtually crippled by the resulting capital flight. Unemployment was extremely high and the effects of the Great Depression compounded the difficulties. The government urged people to support the confrontation with the UK as a national hardship to be shared by every citizen. Pressures, especially from agricultural producers in Ireland and exporters in the UK, led to an agreement between the two governments in 1938 resolving the dispute.

Many infant industries were established during this "economic war". Almost complete import substitution was achieved in many sectors^[19] behind a protective tariff barrier. These industries proved valuable during the war years as they reduced the need for imports. Under the terms of resulting

Articles 2 and 3 and the name Ireland

Ireland adopted a new constitution in 1937. This declared Ireland to be a sovereign, independent state, but did not explicitly declare Ireland to be a republic. However, it did change the name of the state from Irish Free State to Ireland (or Éire in the Irish language). It also contained irredentist claims on Northern Ireland, stating that the "national territory [of the Irish state] consists of the whole island of Ireland" (Article 2). This was measured in some way by Article 3, which stated that, "Pending the re-integration of the national territory ... the laws enacted by the parliament [of Ireland] shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws of Saorstat Éireann" (Saorstát Éireann is the Irish language name of the Irish Free State).

The United Kingdom initially accepted the change in the name to Ireland.

. However, by the mid-1960s, Ireland was the accepted diplomatic name of the Irish state.

During

]

As a consequence of the Northern Ireland peace process, Articles 2 and 3 were changed in 1999 formalising shared Irish and British citizenship in Northern Ireland, removing the irredentist claim and making provisions for common "[institutions] with executive powers and functions ... in respect of all or any part of the island."

Abdication crisis and the Republic of Ireland Act

The Irish Free State had been governed, at least until 1936, under a form of constitutional monarchy linked to the United Kingdom. The King had a number of symbolically important duties, including exercising the

. In the chaos that ensued his abdication, the Irish Free State took the opportunity to amend its constitution and remove all of the functions of the King except one: that of representing the state abroad.

In 1937,

British Commonwealth

and to be associated with the United Kingdom.

During the period from December 1936 to April 1949, it was unclear whether or not the Irish state was a

George VI

). The exact constitutional status of the state during this period has been a matter of scholarly and political dispute.

The state's ambiguous status ended in 1949, when the

-majority Northern Ireland).

One practical implication of explicitly declaring the state to be a republic in 1949 was that it automatically terminated the state's membership of the

British Commonwealth

, in accordance with the rules in operation at the time. However, despite this, the United Kingdom legislated that Irish citizens would retain similar rights to Commonwealth subjects and were not to be regarded as foreigners.

The Republic of Ireland Act came into force on 18 April 1949. Ten days later, 28 April 1949, the rules of the Commonwealth of Nations were changed through the London Declaration so that, when India declared itself a republic, it would not have to leave. The prospect of Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth, even today, is still occasionally raised but has never been formally considered by the Irish government.

Toponyms

A minor, through recurring, source of antagonism between Britain and Ireland is the name of the archipelago in which they both are located. Known as the British Isles in Britain, this name is opposed by most in Ireland and its use is objected to by the Irish Government.

A spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London recently said, "The British Isles has a dated ring to it, as if we are still part of the Empire. We are independent, we are not part of Britain, not even in geographical terms. We would discourage its usage [sic].".^[22]

No consensus on another name for the islands exists. In practice, the two Governments and the shared institutions of the archipelago avoid use of the term, frequently using the more appropriate term these islands in place of any term.

The Troubles

Political violence broke out in Northern Ireland in 1968 following clashes over a

.

In the wake of the riots, the Republic of Ireland expressed its concern about the situation. In a televised broadcast, Taoiseach Jack Lynch stated that the Irish Government could "no longer stand by" while hundreds of people were being injured. This was interpreted as a threat of military intervention.^[23] While a plan for an Irish invasion of Northern Ireland was rejected by the Government of Ireland, a secret ^{[citation needed]} Irish government fund of £100,000 was dedicated to helping refugees from the violence.^{[citation needed]} Some more actively nationalist Irish Ministers were tried in 1970 when it emerged that most of the fund had been spent covertly on buying arms for nationalists.^{[citation needed]}

Angry crowds burned down the

.

Throughout the conflict, the Republic of Ireland was primarily crucial for the IRA campaign against British troops and loyalist paramilitaries.^[a] Irish historian Gearóid Ó Faoleán wrote for The Irish Times that "[t]hroughout the country, republicans were as much a part of their communities as any others. Many were involved in the GAA or other local organisations and their neighbours could, to paraphrase [Irish writer Tim Pat] Coogan, quietly and approvingly mutter about the 'boys' – and then go off without a qualm the next day to vote for a political party aggressively opposed to the IRA."^[25] Shannon Airport and Cork and Cobh harbours were used extensively by the IRA for arms importation overseas during the early 1970s aided by sympathetic workers on-site. Most IRA training camps were located in the republic, as did safe houses and arms factories. The vast majority of the finances used in the IRA campaign came from criminal and legitimate activities in the Republic of Ireland rather than overseas sources. Large numbers of improvised explosive devices and firearms were manufactured by IRA members and supporters in Southern Ireland and then transported into Northern Ireland and England for use against targets in these regions. For example, one IRA arms factory near Stannaway Road, Dublin, was producing six firearms a day in 1973. An arms factory in the County Dublin village of Donabate in 1975 was described as "a centre for the manufacture of grenades, rockets and mortars." Gelignite stolen from quarries, farms and construction sites in the Republic was behind the 48,000lbs of explosives detonated in Northern Ireland in the first six months of 1973 alone. IRA training ranged from basic small arms and explosives manufacturing to heavy machine guns, overseen by Southern Irish citizens, including a former member of the Irish Defence Forces.^[26][27] Thousands of Irish citizens in the Republic joined the IRA throughout the conflict; for example, the assassination of Louis Mountbatten in August 1979 was carried out by IRA member Thomas McMahon from Monaghan.^[28]

An attempt by the two governments to resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland politically in 1972 through the Sunningdale Agreement failed due to opposition by hard-line factions in Northern Ireland. With no resolution to the conflict in sight, the Irish government established the New Ireland Forum in 1984 to look into solutions. While the British UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher rejected the forum's proposals, it informed the British government's opinion and it is said to have given the Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald a mandate during the negotiation of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement, which was directed at resolving the conflict.^[29][30] The 1992 Downing Street Declaration further consolidated the views of the two Governments and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement eventually formed the basis for peace in the province.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs established a "Reconciliation Fund" in 1982 to support organisations whose work tends to improve cross-community or North–South relations.^[31] Since 2006, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has hosted an annual "Reconciliation Networking Forum" (sometimes called the "Reconciliation Forum"; not to be confused with the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation) in Dublin to which such groups are invited.^[32][33]

Brexit

There is

The people of the UK voted to leave the European Union in a non-binding referendum on 23 June 2016, an act which would effectively make the Republic of Ireland-Northern Ireland border an external EU border.^[35] Due to the lack of supporting legislation, all referendums in the UK are not legally binding, which was confirmed by a Supreme Court judge in November 2016.^[36] Nevertheless, the UK government chose to proceed with the departure from the European Union. All parties have stated that they want to avoid a hard border in Ireland particularly due to the sensitive nature of the border. The border issue is concerned by a protocol related to the withdrawal agreement, known as the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.^[37]

Good Friday Agreement

Good Friday Agreement

Strand 1
Northern Ireland Assembly
Strand 2
North/South Ministerial Council
Strand 3
British–Irish Council British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference
Additional bodies
British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association North/South Consultative Forum
v t e

The conflict in Northern Ireland, as well as dividing both Governments, paradoxically also led to increasingly closer co-operation and improved relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom. A 1981 meeting between the two governments established the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council. This was further developed in 1985 under the

(United Kingdom) would regularly meet to share views and ideas. This was created in 1990 as the British–Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body.

The Northern Ireland peace process culminated in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 that further developed the institutions established under these Anglo-Irish Agreement. New institutions were established interlocking across "strands":

• Strand I: an Assembly and Executive for Northern Ireland based on the D'Hondt system;
• Strand II: a
  North-South Ministerial Council
  to develop co-operation and common policies within the island of Ireland;
• Strand III:
  1. a British–Irish Council "to promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands"
  2. a new
     British–Irish Agreement
     , replaced the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council and the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

The scope of the British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference is broader that the original Conference, and is intended to "bring together the British and Irish Governments to promote bilateral co-operation at all levels on all matters of mutual interest within the competence of both Governments." The Conference also provides a joint institution for the government of Northern Ireland on non-devolved matters (or all matters when the Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended). However, the United Kingdom retains ultimate sovereignty over Northern Ireland. Representatives from Northern Ireland participate in the Conference when matters relating to Northern Ireland are concerned.

The members of the British–Irish Council (sometimes called the Council of the Isles) are representatives of the Irish and British Governments, the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, together with representatives of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. It meets regularly to discuss matters of mutual interest divided into work areas (such as energy, environment or housing) allocated to individual members to work and report on.

The Anglo-Irish Interparliamentary Body developed independently over the same period, eventually becoming known as the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly and including members from the devolved administrations of the UK and the Crown Dependencies.

The development of these institutions was supported by acts such the visit of efforts by

, was the last monarch of the United Kingdom to pay a state visit to Ireland in July 1911, while it was still part of the United Kingdom.

Political landscape

Today, the

All but Northern Ireland have been independent states at one point.

There are also three

.

The devolved administrations of the United Kingdom and the three Crown Dependencies also participate in the shared institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement.

The

Republic of Ireland Act

in 1949.

Academic perspectives

Main article:

Politics in the British Isles § Scholarship of identity and politics in the British Isles

Several academic perspectives are important in the study and understanding of Ireland–United Kingdom relations. Important strands of scholarship include research on identity, especially

]

Co-operation

The British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference provides for co-operation between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom on all matters of mutual interest for which they have competence. Meetings take the form of summits between the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Irish Taoiseach, on an "as required" basis. Otherwise, the two governments are represented by the appropriate ministers. In light of Ireland's particular interest in the governance of Northern Ireland, "regular and frequent" meetings co-chaired by the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and the UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, dealing with non-devolved matters to do with Northern Ireland and non-devolved all-Ireland issues, are required to take place under the establishing treaty.

At these meetings, the Irish government may put forward views and proposals, however sovereignty over Northern Ireland remains with the United Kingdom. In all of the work of the Conference, "All decisions will be by agreement between both Governments [who] will make determined efforts to resolve disagreements between them." The Conference is supported by a standing secretariat located at Belfast, Northern Ireland, dealing with non-devolved matters affecting Northern Ireland.

'All-islands' institutions

The British–Irish Council (BIC) is an

in 1998 and created by the established by the two Governments in 1999. Its members are:

• the two sovereign governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom;
• the three devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
• the three governments of the
  Crown dependencies of Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey
  .

The Council formally came into being on 2 December 1999. Its stated aim is to "promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands". The BIC has a standing secretariat, located in

ministers

form each administration.

While the Council is made up of representatives from the executive of the various administrations in the region, it does not have executive power itself. Instead, its decisions, so far as they exist, are implemented separately by each administration on the basis of consensus. Given this – that the Council has no means to force its member administrations into implementing programmes of action – the Council has been dismissed as a "talking shop" and its current role appears to be one mainly of "information exchange and consultation".[40]

In addition to the Council, the

. It is the older of the two 'all-islands' institutions (BIC and BIPA) having been founded in 1990 as the British–Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body. Its purpose is to foster common understanding between elected representatives from these jurisdictions and, while having no legislative power, it conducts parliamentary activities such as receiving oral submissions, preparing reports and debating topical issues. The Assembly meets in plenary on a bi-annual basis, alternating in venue between Britain and Ireland, and maintains on-going work in committee.

These institutions have been described as part of a confederal approach to the government of the British–Irish archipelago.^[40][41]

All-Ireland institutions

The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) coordinates activity and exercises certain governmental functions across the island of Ireland. The Council is responsible for developing and executing policy in at least twelve areas of co-operation, of which:

• at least six are executed separately in each jurisdiction
• at least six are executed by an all-Ireland "implementation body"

Further development of the role and function of the Council are possible "with the specific endorsement of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Oireachtas, subject to the extent of the competences and responsibility of the two Administrations."

The North/South Ministerial Council and the Northern Ireland Assembly are defined in the Good Friday Agreement as being "mutually inter-dependent, and that one cannot successfully function without the other." Participation in the Council is a requisite for the operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly and participation in the Northern Ireland Executive. When devolution in Northern Ireland is suspended, the powers of the Northern Ireland Executive revert to the British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference.

Meetings of the Council take the form of "regular and frequent" sectoral meetings between ministers from the

, staffed by a standing secretariat.

There is no joint parliamentary forum for the island of Ireland. However, under the Good Friday Agreement, the Oireachtas and Northern Ireland Assembly are asked to consider developing one. The Agreement also contains a suggestion for the creation of a consultative forum composed of members of

St. Andrew's Agreement

, the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to support the establishment of a North/South Consultative Forum and to encourage parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly to support the creation of a North/South parliamentary forum.

Inter-regional relationships

Independent of the direct involvement of Government of the United Kingdom, the devolved administrations of the mainland United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies also have relationships and with Ireland.

For example, the Irish and Welsh governments collaborate on various economic development projects through the Ireland Wales Programme, under the

.

Common Travel Area

Ireland is the only member state in the European Union not obliged to join the Schengen free-travel area (The United Kingdom also had an opt out from joining prior to its withdrawal from the bloc in 2020). Instead, a Common Travel Area exists between the two states and the Crown Dependencies (which were never part of the EU, thus never obliged to join Schengen).

The Common Travel Areas is not founded on any formal agreement between Ireland and the United Kingdom and is not provided for in legislation. Instead, it is an informal arrangement between the states. When the Schengen Area was incorporated into the European Union through the 1992

exempting their obligations to join.

The UK's previous reluctance to join the Schengen Area when it was a member state, was mainly centred around concerns over loss of independent border controls, is usually cited as the reason for not joining. Britain argued that, for an island, frontier controls are a better and less intrusive way to prevent illegal immigration than other measures, such as identity cards, residence permits, and registration with the police. Consequent difficulties for Ireland, given its location and shared border with the UK (at which border points would have to be set up), would then make it very difficult for Ireland to join without the UK.

Except for a period during and in the years after World War II, neither Ireland nor the UK have placed restrictions on travel between each other for citizens resident in each others states since Irish independence. Even during wartime, when Ireland remained neutral and the UK was a belligerent during World War II, the only significant restrictions on travel between the states were an Irish prohibition on the wearing of military uniforms by British citizens when in Irish territory and the instatement of passport controls between Great Britain and the island of Ireland. When Ireland declared itself a republic in 1949, thus making it impossible at the time to remain in the

, it would not be treated as a foreign country for the purposes of British law.

Prior to post-World War II, both states mutually recognised each other's entry visas for foreigners. However, in 1952 changes to UK law rescinded this arrangement. In 2011, the first public agreement between the British and Irish governments concerning the maintenance of the Common Travel Area (CTA) was published.^[44]

The agreement, which is non-binding, envisions increased co-ordination between Irish and British immigration arrangements and that, from July 2011 Ireland would recognise UK short terms visas on an 18-month pilot basis for nationals of 16 countries. The agreement also mooted the possibility of "Common Travel Area visit visa" including the possibility of a pilot project.

The CTA applies only to Irish and British citizens. As such, residents of either state (or any of the Crown Dependencies) who do not hold one of those nationalities do not have an automatic right to enter Ireland from the UK, or vice versa, including over the land border.^[45] As a result of this, there was some controversy when the British government announced an electronic authorisation system for tourists to the UK, which would have meant non-citizen Irish residents, including EU nationals, would need to apply for an authorisation to cross the land border. This would include many who live near the border and cross regularly for leisure trips. In March 2024, the British government updated guidance to exempt residents of the republic from the scheme.^[46]

There are no special arrangements for travel between the Common Travel Area and the Schengen Area and a

using only their passports.

Citizenship and citizens rights

As a

Starting from the basis of common citizenship, the two states to this day provide reciprocal recognition to each others' citizens. British and Irish citizens can avail themselves of public services (for example, health care and

and referendums).

Northern Ireland occupies a unique location in the citizenship of the islands, with Northern Ireland people being recognised under the Good Friday Agreement as (in general terms) simultaneously British and/or Irish citizens according to their choice.

The interaction of overlapping citizens rights and laws has led to some cases of exploitation of loopholes to avoid the intention of the law. For example, the

]

Energy

A

In 2004, a natural gas interconnection agreement was signed between the United Kingdom and Ireland, linking Ireland with Scotland via the Isle of Man.[49]

In 2011, the members of the British–Irish Council agreed an "All Islands Approach (AIA)" to electricity grid infrastructure and have launched a programme of joint work examining renewable energy trading as well as interconnection and market integration.^[50]

Shared bodies

The United Kingdom and Ireland share a number of civic bodies such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, that provides sea-rescue across Britain and Ireland.

The three lighthouse authorities in the archipelago (the Northern Lighthouse Board, Trinity House Lighthouse Service and the Commissioners of Irish Lights) are funded by a single General Lighthouse Fund managed by the UK Department for Transport and paid for by light dues levied on ships calling at British and Irish ports. While this broad arrangement will continue, the total cost of the Commissioners of Irish Lights' work in Ireland (not Northern Ireland) will be met from income raised domestically as from 2015—16.^[51]

Military cooperation

The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom normalised military cooperation with the signing of a

in January 2015.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) provides a framework for developing and furthering bilateral co-operation and relations between the Department of Defence and the UK Ministry of Defence. The MOU takes into account matters such as military forces training; exercises and military education; exchange of views on EU Common Security and Defence Policy; potential for joint contributions to UN Crisis Management Operations; joint procurement initiatives; pooling and sharing resources; general sharing of reform in defence services; potential for staff exchanges; sharing of information, and joint contribution to Security Sector Reform and capacity building in crisis locations. It envisages cooperation and exchanges involving both civil and military personnel. The signing of the MoU places already existing co-operation arrangements in the Defence area between Ireland and the UK on a more formal and transparent footing, while fully respecting the differing policy positions and security arrangements of both States.

To date, I have not been requested to appear before the Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality to discuss the Agreement. However, I would welcome the opportunity to brief the Committee should the opportunity arise.

Dáil approval was not required for the Memorandum of Understanding. However, in the interests of transparency and good administrative practices, the Document has been laid before Dáil Éireann by lodging it to the Dáil Library on 21 January 2015.

— Simon Coveney, "Dáil Written Answers Nos. 354-370"^[52]

Historically, Ireland has maintained a policy of strict military neutrality since the foundation of the state. As a result, Ireland has never joined the UK as an active ally, during any modern conflict.^{[citation needed]}

Political movements

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2012)

An important political movement in several countries in the Isles is

.

The converse of unionism,

Several Irish parties are organised on both sides of the

.

Pan-Celticism is also a movement which is present in several countries which have a Celtic heritage.

Immigration and emigration

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2012)

As of 2013, the Britons represent the largest immigrant minority of European origin in the Republic of Ireland.

Culture

New Zealand Maoris

(black) in 2005

The United Kingdom and Ireland have separate media, although British television, newspapers and magazines are widely available in Ireland,

in 2011.

Ireland and the United Kingdom have agreed to a deal on the digital broadcast of

provides a subset of programming for audiences outside Ireland.

Some cultural events are organised for the island group as a whole. For example, the

Mercury Music Prize

is handed out every year to the best album from an Irish or British musician or group.

The

was originally played between a United States team and a team representing Great Britain and Ireland. From 1979 onwards this was expanded to include the whole of Europe.

In 2012, the

Many of the countries and regions of the isles, especially

Celtic league

.

Economic relations

Due to the linguistic, cultural and legal (both as common law countries) similarities between the UK and Ireland, many businesses in both countries have operations in each other country. Both countries have each other as their biggest business partner, and both in the same trade organisations include the European Union and World Trade Organization.

Examples of notable British companies that have an Irish operations come as diverse as the supermarket chain

.

Due to the closeness, some businesses often treat both countries of trade, finance and marketing as a single unit as quoting for "UK and Ireland" rather than two separate countries.

Trade agreements

After both nations' bids to join the European Economic Community were rejected, Ireland and the UK signed the Ireland–UK Free Trade Area agreement on 19 December 1965.^[57] The bilateral free trade area was legally in force from 1 July 1966 until 1 January 1973.^[58] Both countries joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973.^[59][60] The European Economic Community was incorporated into the European Union on the 1 November 1993.^[61]

Following the result of the Brexit referendum, the UK invoked Article 50 in March 2017.^[62][63] The UK officially withdrew from the EU on the 1 January 2021. Trade between the United Kingdom and Ireland is governed by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement since 1 January 2021.^[64][65]

Resident diplomatic missions

• Ireland has an embassy in London and consulates-general in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester.^[66]
• United Kingdom has an embassy in Dublin.^[67]

• 
  Embassy of Ireland in London
• 
  Embassy of the United Kingdom in Dublin

See also

• Anglo-Irish
• Foreign relations of Ireland
• Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
• Ireland–United Kingdom border
• Irish community in Britain
• Ireland–NATO relations
• List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ireland
• United Kingdom–European Union relations

Notes

References

Further reading

• Boyce, David George. The Irish question and British politics, 1868–1986 (Macmillan International Higher Education, 1988).
• Cauvet, Philippe. "‘It’s not just the economy, stupid!’ Brexit, the Good Friday Agreement and the Irish border conundrum." Observatoire de la société britannique 24 (2019): 105-118. online in English
• Doyle, John, and Eileen Connolly. "The Effects of Brexit on the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Peace Process." in Peace, Security and Defence Cooperation in Post-Brexit Europe (Springer, Cham, 2019) pp. 79–95.
• Edwards, Aaron, and Cillian McGrattan. The Northern Ireland conflict: a beginner's guide (Simon and Schuster, 2012).
• Hammond, John L. Gladstone and the Irish nation (1938) online.
• McLoughlin, P. J. "British–Irish relations and the Northern Ireland peace process: the importance of intergovernmentalism." in Dynamics of Political Change in Ireland (Routledge, 2016) pp. 103–118.
• Mansergh, Nicholas. The Irish Question 1840–1921 (3rd ed 1965) online
• Murphy, Mary C. "The Brexit crisis, Ireland and British–Irish relations: Europeanisation and/or de-Europeanisation?." Irish Political Studies 34.4 (2019): 530-550.
• O'Kane, Eamonn. Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland since 1980: the totality of relationships (Routledge, 2012).