Why the United Kingdom Is Facing New Calls for Independence | DW News

Sep 14, 2026 | Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are challenging London's authority, saying its days of control running out. We explore what is at stake for the UK's various nations – and how serious the challenge to the union really is.

The UK Is a Voluntary Union, So There Must Be a Mechanism to Leave | Stephen Gethins

Sep 14, 2026 | “Let’s figure out what the mechanism [to leave the UK] is so we can get on with the debate about the substance.”

The last Scottish independence vote was “a long time ago” and the current union doesn’t properly serve the people of Scotland, says minister for Europe, external affairs and energy for the SNP Stephen Gethins.

Burnham Cannot Stop End of United Kingdom, Says Sinn Fein

THE TELEGRAPH: First ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sign pact insisting on ‘right to self-determination’

Screenshot taken from this Telegraph article. | John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth, Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday Credit: Adrian Dennis/AFP
Andy Burnham cannot stop the United Kingdom from breaking up, Sinn Féin said after signing a pact with the SNP and Plaid Cymru.

The first ministers of the UK’s three devolved nations – John Swinney, the SNP leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, and Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s vice-president – signed a memorandum of understanding during a meeting in Cardiff on Monday.

The deal aims to pile pressure on the Prime Minister after Donald Trump, the US president, said he would “love” to see a united Ireland.

Ms O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, said Mr Burnham “will not be able to hold back the tide” of nationalism in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Speaking at a joint press conference by the four leaders, she said: “We’re certainly living in times of enormous change, change that is unstoppable, change that – no matter what is said by any British prime minister – will not be able to hold back the tide of what’s happening in front of our eyes right now.

“Our common cause here is the understanding that Westminster does not and will never serve our people well. Our common cause here is that we have the right to self-determination, and the common cause that we have here is that we need to collectively ensure that that message is heard in Westminster.” » | Simon Johnson | Scottish Political Editor | Monday, September 14, 2026

LIVE: Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders to Call for Independence from UK

September 14, 2026

Donald Trump Says Northern Ireland Joining Ireland Only Natural | BBC News

Sep 13, 2026 | US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his support for a united Ireland.

He's on day two of a visit, which he is spending at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare, for the Irish Open.

On Saturday, Trump told reporters he would love to see a united Ireland while at a meeting with the Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin in Dublin.

Speaking on Sunday at his Doonbeg golf resort, he said it would be natural to put Ireland and Northern Ireland "together".

He spoke to reporters after watching the tournament leader Irish golfer Shane Lowry tee off.

Irish, Scots and Welsh Leaders Meet to Plan Break-up of United Kingdom

THE TELEGRAPH: Pro-independence first ministers will sign ‘memorandum of understanding’ at Cardiff summit and demand referendums

The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will gather on Monday to sign a deal designed to kick-start the break-up of the United Kingdom, The Telegraph can disclose.

At an unprecedented summit in Cardiff, the three first ministers will put pen to paper on a joint declaration demanding the right to hold independence referendums.

The meeting comes after Andy Burnham suggested to MPs that he would authorise another Scottish referendum if there were a “clear consensus” in favour of one.

The summit will come two days after Donald Trump declared that he would “love” to see a united Ireland. During a visit to Dublin on Saturday, he said Northern Ireland joining the Republic would be “a great thing” and asked: “How can it be bad?” » | Nick Gutteridge Chief Political Correspondent. Simon Johnson Scottish Political Editor | Sunday, September 13, 2026

Bring it on! The English have so badly managed the UK economy over decades that these three Celtic nations would be able to achieve greater prosperity as independent nations within the European Union. Northern Ireland only has to join the rest of Ireland and become united anyway. England itself could join the corrupt USA as a US state under Trump. It would be welcome with open arms. Trump will take the English to the cleaners, and he might even steal the Crown Jewels to get himself crowned king, but the English will get used to it and I’m sure they will enjoy their new life in Cowboyland. — © Mark Alexander

Trump in Ireland: US President Drops Irish Unity Bombshell during Dublin Visit | DW News

Sep 13, 2026 | Trump's visit to Ireland sparked controversy after the US president's bombshell comments in Dublin broke a political taboo of leaders not interfering in other countries' internal affairs during foreign visits. They come just days after UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said a referendum on Irish reunification is "off the table." We talk to Pat Leahy, Political Editor of the Irish Times, and Jennifer Duggan, Dublin Bureau Chief for Bloomberg News, about reaction to Trump's intervention.

Trump's Routine Irish Golf Trip Turned into a Diplomatic Nightmare

Sep 12, 2026 | What was supposed to be a low-stakes golf stopover transformed into an extraordinary display of geopolitical incoherence, historical ignorance, and personal grievances.

Standing under a tent at the Deerfield Residence in Dublin, Donald Trump delivered a context-blind address that laid bare a alarming lack of foreign policy literacy and total indifference to the delicate history of Ireland, the UK, and international relations.

From reducing top-tier diplomatic missions to country club perks, to treating complex issues like Irish reunification with reckless street-slang, this speech highlights why off-the-cuff statecraft remains a severe global liability.


ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here »

How could Americans have been so naïve, wreckless and stupid as to elect, and then re-elect, this most unsuitable man to the presidency and into the White House? They will soon come to rue the day they did. — © Mark Alexander

What’s behind Trump’s ‘United Ireland’ Statement?

Sep 12, 2026 | Donald Trump has declared he would love to see a united Ireland - describing it as a "very cool thing".

Trump Says He Would 'Love' to See a United Ireland | Katy Balls

Sep 12, 2026 | “There’s been Anglophiles in the White House in a way that has been different to what came before.”

President Trump on his current trip to Ireland has said a united Ireland would be a "great idea", reaffirming America's “really close affiliation” with Ireland, says The Times and The Sunday Times’s Washington editor Katy Balls.

Irish Man Held in ICE Detention Says He Fears for His Life and Asks Ireland for Help

THE GUARDIAN: Seamus Culleton describes conditions as ‘torture’ as he pleads with taoiseach to raise his case with Donald Trump

An Irish man who has been held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for five months despite having a valid work permit and no criminal record says he fears for his life and has appealed for help from Ireland’s government.

Seamus Culleton said conditions at his detention centre in Texas were akin to “torture” and that the atmosphere was volatile. “I’m not in fear of the other inmates. I’m afraid of the staff. They’re capable of anything.”

Speaking from the El Paso facility to Ireland’s RTÉ radio, Culleton implored the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, to raise his case with Donald Trump when he visits the White House next month for St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

“Just try to get me out of here and do all you can, please. It’s an absolute torture, psychological and physical torture,” Culleton said, adding he did not know how much more he could take. “It’s just a horrible, horrible, horrible place.” » | Rory Carroll, Ireland correspondent | Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Leftwinger Catherine Connolly Wins Ireland Presidential Election by Landslide

THE GUARDIAN: Heather Humphreys concedes defeat after early vote tallies show insurmountable gap between candidates

The leftwing independent candidate, Catherine Connolly, has won a landslide victory in Ireland’s presidential election.

Her rival, Heather Humphreys, conceded defeat on Saturday afternoon after early vote tallies showed an insurmountable gap between the candidates.

“Catherine will be a president for all of us and she will be my president and I really would like to wish her all the very, very best,” Humphreys said.

Reports from tallymen – unofficial but usually reliable observers at count centres – gave Connolly 64% of the vote after two-thirds of ballots were counted.

Connolly 68, captured the imagination of many younger people and was backed by an alliance of leftwing opposition parties in Friday’s election.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial office but Connolly’s triumph is a humbling rebuke to the centre-right government. » | Rory Carroll, Ireland correspondent | Saturday, October 25, 2025

Ireland Losing Pubs Rapidly, Industry Group Warns

Aug 14, 2025 | Ireland is losing one pub every 2.8 days, the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) has warned.

The introduction of the breathalyser started the problem for pubs, then came the smoking ban. Both sounded the death knell for pubs. Then, add to that the extortionate prices for drinks in recent times and you have a disaster. Ireland without pubs would be like Saudi Arabia without mosques! — © Mark Alexander

Trump Accuses Ireland of Stealing US Companies in Meeting with Taoiseach

THE GUARDIAN: US president claims Dublin ‘took’ pharma industry as he holds White House press conference with Micheál Martin

Donald Trump has accused Ireland of stealing the US pharmaceutical industry and the tax revenue that should have been paid to the US treasury, in a blow to the Irish premier, Micheál Martin, who had hoped to emerge unscathed from a visit to the White House marking St Patrick’s Day.

The US president showed grudging respect for Martin, alternately ribbing and complimenting him, while also launching several broadsides against the EU.

He repeatedly took aim at Ireland’s historical low-tax policies, which helped lure US multinationals including Pfizer, Boston Scientific and Eli Lilly to its shores. » | Lisa O’Carroll, Ireland correspondent | Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Is Brexit Pulling the United Kingdom Apart? | 7.30

Mar 17, 2023 | The disruptive force of Brexit - the UK's 2020 separation from the European Union - continues to reverberate. The long-running issue of the border between the North and South of Ireland was recently resolved but what the long-term consequences of Brexit will be for the Irish people remains to be seen.

Fintan O'Toole is one of Ireland's leading writers and is in Australia for the Adelaide Writers Festival. He speaks to 7.30’s Sarah Ferguson.

Leo Varadkar Nightclub Footage Triggers Privacy Debate in Ireland

THE GUARDIAN: Leaked clip of deputy leader also fuels moves to tighten social media regulation

Leo Varadkar has said he does not wish to comment on a personal matter. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho/Rex/Shutterstock
A video of Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s tánaiste, socialising in a nightclub has triggered a debate about the right to privacy and regulation of social media.

The brief clip of the deputy prime minister was clandestinely recorded in a Dublin nightclub earlier this month and has racked up millions of views on multiple platforms.

Varadkar told reporters this week he did not wish to comment on a personal matter but hinted at regret. “Everyone makes errors in judgment. You wouldn’t be a human being if you didn’t.” He defended his record in office, saying he got the big calls – the Covid pandemic, Brexit, the economy – right.

The taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, branded the video a violation of his colleague’s right to a private life. » | Rory Carroll, Ireland correspondent | Tuesday, December 13, 2022

The Hunger I ARTE.tv Documentary

Dec 4, 2021 • 175 years ago Europe was struck by a devastating famine. The food crisis was triggered when a deadly fungus escaped from South America and destroyed the potato crops. 100,000 people died of starvation and disease in France, Belgium, Holland, Scotland and the Kingdom of Prussia.

In Ireland, where half the population relied on the potato as their main source of food, the impact was even more extreme. One million people died and between 1845 and 1855, two million emigrated. Today Ireland is the only country in the western world with a population lower than it had in the 1840s. The famine had broader repercussions. It caused the fall of the British government led by Robert Peel in 1846, was a catalyst for the revolutions that rocked Europe in 1848 and became the root for the global Irish Diaspora that today numbers 70,000,000 across the world.

A co-production with RTE

Ireland Condemns ‘de facto Annexation’ of Palestinian Land by Israel

THE GUARDIAN: Foreign minister Simon Coveney supports parliamentary motion and says treatment of Palestinians is ‘manifestly unequal’

Ireland’s government has supported a parliamentary motion condemning the “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land by Israeli authorities in what it said was the first use of the phrase by a European Union government in relation to Israel.

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, supported the motion on Tuesday, and condemned what he described as Israel’s “manifestly unequal” treatment of the Palestinian people.

But he also insisted on adding a condemnation of recent rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas before he agreed to government support for the motion, which had been tabled by the opposition Sinn Fein party.

“The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israel’s actions on settlement expansion and the intent behind it have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is actually happening on the ground. ... It is de facto annexation,” Coveney told parliament. » | Reuters | Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Brexit: Ireland Needs to Press for Reunification Vote, Says Sinn Féin

THE GUARDIAN: Party leader Mary Lou McDonald says Boris Johnson’s attitude to EU withdrawal agreement means her country cannot trust him

Ireland cannot trust an “erratic” and “dangerous” Boris Johnson on Brexit and needs to start pressuring Downing Street for a referendum on Irish unification, according to Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Féin.

Johnson has forfeited credibility by unpicking the withdrawal agreement and cannot be believed when he says he wants a trade deal, said McDonald. “He’s the prime minister and perfidious Albion just got perfidiouser, if there’s such a word.”

If Britain did not “honour a bargain fairly struck” it would face a backlash from Ireland’s allies in the EU and US, where congressional leaders could sink Downing Street’s hopes of a US trade deal, said McDonald. “If there is damage in Ireland, if there’s a hardening of the border – well, then all bets are off.” » | Rory Carroll, Ireland correspondent | Thursday, October 1, 2020

Ireland Vows to Treat All Covid-19 Patients for Free

The Irish government nationalized its hospitals, imposed a rent freeze, and authorized state-funded childcare, promising free treatment for patients with Covid-19.