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A United Ireland is the common demand of Irish nationalists, envisaging that the island of Ireland be united as a political entity. However, nationalists have suggested many different models, including federalism, joint sovereignty and joint authority, as well as a unitary state.
Ireland was a united political entity from the seventeenth century until 1921 and the majority of the island's population support the call for a united Ireland. The leading political party in the Republic of Ireland, Fianna Fáil, as well as Sinn Féin, the SDLP and other parties have often made a united Ireland a central part of their political message. However, the Unionist community – composed primarily of Protestants in the six counties that form Northern Ireland – oppose reunification. All of the island's political parties (except for tiny fringe groups with no electoral representation) have accepted the principle of consent which states that Northern Ireland's constitutional status cannot change without majority support in Northern Ireland.
The Protestants of the North (who generally refer to Northern Ireland as 'Ulster') argue they have a distinct national identity that would be destroyed in a united Ireland. They cite the decline of the protestant population of the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. Most nationalists retort that that decline is for reasons other than persecution and all would cite a very different political context for a reunified island today than in 1921.
A possible referendum on a united Ireland was included as part of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
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