Trinity College Dublin Young Unionists

In the atrium of The Palace of Westminster just outside the entrance to The House of Commons chamber, there stands an impressive monument to the unity of our islands. At each corner hangs a large painting of the patron saints of the four nations which make up The British Isles. Along with St. David of Wales, St. Andrew of Scotland, St. George of England, St. Patrick of Ireland casts his imposing gaze on David Lloyd George, Clement Attlee, and Winston Churchill.

In a debate at Trinity College Dublin the former leader of the opposition John Bruton envisaged the development on the British Isles of what he called a "multipolar variable geometry federalism." The phrase may be cumbersome, and he would no doubt not agree with all that we say here, but his point is exactly ours. Above all he points to the way in which the divisions opened up between our peoples in 1919-1923 can be bridged by a new generation of leaders free from the animosities of the past.

The Irish Unionist Alliance believes that the long term interests of the Irish people will be best served within a new federal relationship with the United Kingdom. The precise architecture of this new arrangement cannot yet be determined. But in time we hope to see all the Irish people once more represented at Westminster, but in a way that decisions which are exclusively Irish are taken in Ireland. We do not believe that Unionism should be confused with centralisation.

Irishmen have been sidelined from the centre of political life in the British Isles for too long. Irishmen and women must regain centre-place in that shared political life. We believe all Irishmen should examine with interest the evolving nature of Scottish and Welsh devolution as models through which both unionist and separatist aspirations can be reconciled. We do not believe that the so called "West Lothian" question should used to prevent the development of political institutions which reflect the realities of our islands.

Ours is therefore a practical unionism grounded in the reality that the British Isles is a cultural, economic and social union bound together by close ties of language and friendship. We plan to build on these already existing social and cultural links between our islands. We look forward to establishing relations with those whose experience and concerns are similar to ours in Scotland, Wales, and other parts of the world, and working with others in Southern Ireland who share our post-separatist agenda.

The above is taken from the Trinity Young Unionist site.

The quote below is taken from the Irish Unionist Alliance website.

The Act of Union (1801) put a political stamp on the economic, cultural and ancestral links that had existed between the peoples of the British Isles since the earliest recorded history. Today those links remain the rationale for the union. Despite breaking from the Union, the Irish Republic remains a component part of the British Isles economy. Northern Ireland (N.I.) chose to remain within the Union and her people have continued to do so. Ulster (Northern Ireland) has always been distinct from the rest of the island of Ireland. It is a hybrid of Scots and Irish culture and was marked as a place apart in the ancient Celtic legends. Scots culture became the predominant influence with the last great wave of migration which occurred before most European settlers arrived in North America. Ulster's relationship is not defined by legislation alone nor are the ties with Great Britain (GB) merely historical.