By Pól Ó Dochartaigh
Published in Irish Studies in International Affairs, 2026.
Link

Abstract

Attempts to promote the concept of a 'Shared Ireland' are bedevilled by the attempts at exclusivity around the definition of Ireland since the appropriation of the term by the Southern Irish state, and the redefinition of the national territory to include only part of Ireland following the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Simultaneously, though 'Ireland' was redefined as a 26-county entity, citizenship was conferred as of right on all those born anywhere in the 32 counties. This paper compares and contrasts the use of language and definitions of nation and territory and the social consequences in both Ireland and Germany and argues that in Ireland, learning from Germany's unification mistakes, language and by extension social attitudes could and should be more inclusive in the true spirit of a shared society and a shared country, in preparation for possible constitutional change here.