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OK, firstly NI is not a colony of the UK- it is an integral part the country with it's own MPs in Westminster just as Ireland was before it became the Free State. Indeed, it is actually better represented then us poor buggers in England as the province has it's own devolved assembly which is more then we can claim.

"The Indians have their own nations, self governing bodies on the reserved lands of their ancestors."

By the same token, it could be said the Irish have the Republic. Now of course you could argue, as you do, that all Ireland should be Irish, despite the fact that the majority of the population of the North would prefer to remain within the UK- but then in that case would you agree that the Indian tribes should recieve the full lands their ancestors once owned?

At the end of the day, the British government's position since 1949 is that Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK unless this status is rejected by the majority of the population. The last time there was a vote on the issue (1973) it was heavily defeated, partly because of the fact that the nationalists boycotted the vote, something I've always regarded as pointlessly delf-defeating unless they knew they couldn't win. Do you honestly think our government would hold on to Northern Ireland if the vast majority of the population wanted to be part of the Republic, and voted accordingly? Frankly, I imagine many would love to be shot of the place, and many more in Eire proper would be shaking their heads at the poisoned chalice they'd been handed.

Personally, I don't give a toss about the place- if the people of NI want to remain part of the UK then bully for them, and if not then they can join the Republic or go it along or anything else they fancy, as long as they don't come crying to us afterwards.

Frankly, I imagine many would love to be shot of the place, and many more in Eire proper would be shaking their heads at the poisoned chalice they'd been handed.

You have hit the nail on the head. The Irish government is more than happy to let the UK deal with the raving nutters in NI and most people in the Republic don't give a toss about the place either. Both the Irish and British governments, along with most of their constituents, would love to see NI towed out to the middle of the Atlantic and sunk. Good luck convincing the Irish Americans of that though. Why they think that the nutters will suddenly decide to get along with each other if the Tricolour is flying over Belfast City Hall instead of the Union Jack mystifies me.

....At the end of the day, the British government's position since 1949 is that Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK unless this status is rejected by the majority of the population....

I have no fundamental disagreement with your position save for the above referenced. I see no reason why the segregated population of Ulster should alone have a veto against unification. The decision should be made by all properly franchised Irish citizens.

As noted several times on this thread, the citizens of the Republic may be pleased as punch with the current arrangement. They may be perfectly happy to abandon the Irish-heritage communities of Ulster to the barricades manned by armed thugs (or RUC in disguise?), bombings, carjackings and terroristic threats of the Orangemen. Or, perhaps not. Let's have a vote of all the Irish to see how they want to proceed politically. That will settle the matter.