Republic of Ireland-United Kingdom border

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The Republic of Ireland-United Kingdom border, also referred to as The Irish border, or (in Ireland) as The Border, is the international boundary between the north-east part of Ireland, Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the rest of Ireland, which forms the Republic of Ireland.

The Border runs for a total of 224 miles (360 km) from Lough Foyle on the northern edge of the island to Carlingford Lough in the east on the Irish Sea, and is the only land frontier in either the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. In common with many internal borders in the European Union, it is very inconspicuous and open by world standards.

1 History
2 Customs and Passport Checks
3 The Troubles
4 Border Cities, Towns and Villages
5 Border Traffic and Trivia
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] History

Main article: Boundary Commission (Ireland)

The Border was created in 1920 by the United Kingdom Parliament's Government of Ireland Act of that year, legislating for Home Rule in Ireland, with separate parliaments for Southern Ireland and what became Northern Ireland. Six of the thirty-two counties of Ireland were assigned to Northern Ireland, and the remaining twenty-six to Southern Ireland.

Originally intended as an internal frontier within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Border effectively became an international frontier on 6 December 1922 upon the transformation of Southern Ireland into the Irish Free State. Initially created as a Dominion, the Irish Free State was largely independent of the United Kingdom from its creation, with this status being formalised by the adoption of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and the Republic of Ireland Act in 1949.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921, which led to the creation of the Irish Free State, retained the 1920 border as a provisional frontier. A boundary commission was to draw a border between the two jurisdictions, based on the demographic make-up in the north of Ireland (including the counties now in the Republic of Ireland). However, its recommendations were not favoured by either side and the boundary was agreed formally, without changes from the 1920 demarcation lines, between the United Kingdom and Irish governments in 1925. The Boundary Commission Report has never been published: the detailed article explains some of the factors involved.

[edit] Customs and Passport Checks

Customs controls were introduced on the frontier shortly after the establishment of the Irish Free State. This was due to the southern government's desire to establish its own fiscal and import control policies, distinct from those of the United Kingdom.

These controls were maintained, with varying degrees of severity, until 31 December 1992 when the European Single Market came into effect and thus there are no longer any operational customs posts along either side of the Border.

In particular, rail transport in Ireland became a casualty of the instigation of customs and administrative divisions. The railway network on either side of the Border relied on cross-border routes, and eventually a large section of the Irish railway's route network was shut down. Today only the cross-border route from Dublin to Belfast remains, and counties Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone and most of County Londonderry have no rail services.

Whilst it has never been necessary for Irish or British citizens to produce a passport to cross the Border, during the troubles, security forces regularly asked travellers for identification. In recent times (since the early 90s) such controls have not been in operation on the Border.

[edit] The Troubles

The Troubles ensured that attempts were made from the early 1970s until the late 1990s to make the Border secure. Many smaller cross-border roads were cratered or blockaded, with the intention of making them impassable to regular vehicular traffic, while bridges were also destroyed to prevent access at unauthorised Border crossings (known officially as "unapproved roads"). In particular, the Border area in South Armagh, was dominated by British Army surveillance posts. Despite these measures, the Border was simply too long and had so many minor access roads that it was difficult to control the majority of cross-border movements without a continuous border fence in place. Authorised crossing-points on the Border remained open to civilian traffic in both directions at all times.

Difficulty in patrolling parts of the Border and large tax/currency differences (particularly during the 1980s) led to widespread smuggling. However, greater European integration has lead to roughly similar tax rates on most items and easing of restrictions on cross-border trade, with the result that that smuggling is nowadays mostly limited to fuel, agricultural livestock and a seasonal trade in illegal fireworks (which are to all intents illegal in the Republic^[1]).

While it still exists, the Border now has much less significance than before. This has been mainly due to the Common Travel Area between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as a sharp reduction in terrorist activity. European integration has also played a part. Following the Northern Ireland peace process, military surveillance has been substantially scaled down.

[edit] Border Cities, Towns and Villages

The following cities, towns and villages are located close to, or on the Border (from north-west to south-east):

Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and Lifford, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland; the two towns are linked by a bridge
Belleek, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; part of Belleek is actually in County Donegal, i.e. the Border passes through the town but most of it is on the "northern" side
Pettigo, County Donegal and Tullyhommon/Pettigoe, County Fermanagh (actually the same village but officially known by different names on either side of the Border passing through it!)
Belcoo, County Fermanagh, and nearby Blacklion, Co Cavan, the two villages being separated by a bridge
Ballyconnell, County Cavan
Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, and Clones, County Monaghan
Aughnacloy, County Tyrone
Cullaville, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Newry, Counties Armagh and Down, Northern Ireland
Warrenpoint, County Down, is separated from the town of Omeath, County Louth, by Carlingford Lough, a stretch of water a couple of hundred metres wide. The recent resumption of a ferry service across to Omeath (and the recently proposed construction of a new bridge) will revive interaction with the other side of the lough, Omeath being almost 13 miles away by road.

[edit] Border Traffic and Trivia

The Border is not officially marked, though it is noticeable due to the change in road-sign format, styles of road marking and minor changes in road surface. Since the adoption by the Republic of Ireland of metric speed limits, warning signs have been placed on either side of the Border to alert motorists to the change from miles per hour to kilometres per hour, or vice-versa. At some crossings there are signs welcoming visitors to the relevant county or local government district or (occasionally) reminding visiting motorists of the need to ensure their insurance is valid in Northern Ireland.

Experienced cross-border travellers soon learn subtle clues as to the location of the Border and which side they're on such as.....

Road signs in the United Kingdom use European style red/black/white triangular roadsigns, following the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Road signs in the Republic of Ireland are mainly American style black/yellow diamonds.
Place-name signage in the Republic is bilingual (Gaelic and English), whereas UK place-name signage is (usually) English only with subtle differences in colouring and fonts.
Differences in road markings and colour scheme used; the hard shoulder in the Republic of Ireland is marked with a yellow (usually broken) line; in the UK it is a white (usually continuous).
All roads in Northern Ireland are named and prominently signed (in the Republic of Ireland usually only urban streets are named and signage is not standardised and can vary in clarity.)
The road numbering systems are different: In Northern Ireland roads use A and B route prefixes, while the South's route prefixes are N and R (formerly T and L); for example, the road between Sligo and Enniskillen is known as the A4 in Northern Ireland but becomes the N16 on crossing into the Republic.
UK postboxes are red, the Republic's are green; there are also other hints like colours/logos on telephone boxes or post offices.
Subtle differences in road surface arising from differing technical standards for construction and materials used in roads and pavements.
Petrol stations and shops displaying prices in Sterling or euro and advertising signs at shops for lottery tickets etc.
Mobile phones often alert the user with a beep when the Border has been crossed, as they change between Irish and UK networks. However, as in most places radio signals from the cellular networks on both sides often travel several kilometres across the Border this is not a reliable indication as to which side one is on (indeed it is not unusual to have a strong signal from one or more cellphone networks on the opposite side of the Border and little or no signal from the side one is actually on). This, incidentally, is a source of annoyance to those resident in Border areas, as with most service providers roaming charges are incurred if the phone is accidentally connects to the "wrong" network when making or even receiving a call.