That would be the best thing, the Irish should have their own future in their own hands.
Grew up in England, all my grandparents were Irish Catholics.
Obama doesn't have a [bleep]' clue as to the depth of the hatreds in Ulster, mostly I'm eternally grateful to my parents and grandparents and their siblings (who have an impeccable combat record in both World Wars) that we were willfully raised free of such hatred.
My impression was that the Brits would LOVE to get out of Ulster, but cannot until a million plus Prods voluntarily relinquish their British passports. If the British unilaterally pulled out, a bloodbath would result, or would have back then. Prob'ly still would.
I dunno how the Brits get to be evil personified in Ireland, and yet were the most benevolent of Colonial overlords everywhere else who did more to plant the seeds of human rights and eventual universal suffrage than anyone wherever the Empire spread.
As is true of most everywhere, IIRC prior to total occupation more Irish died at the hands of other Irish than the Brits ever killed.
As for the famine, saying the landowners were "cruel" for exporting wheat during the famine is about like saying folks back then were being "cruel" for doing anything we regret today.
The Irish population, fueled by the potato, exploded only AFTER total domination/dispossession by the English. Looking for WHY the Irish population didn't explode until after forced subjugation from outside I'd take a long look at incessant clan warfare.
Expecting the powers that be in Ireland to have suddenly turned into saints during the great famine and given their all to the millions of impoverished peasants that surrounded them is a bit much.
The potato famine was a catastrophe without precedent, and even among the Native Irish, I don't recall that the Irish who weren't starving were any more forthcoming to their dying peers than the were the Brits.
Actually, their were charitable famine-relief endeavors among the English to succor the Irish during the famine that were remarkable in their time and place. Heck, even today we'd have problems feeding four million people suddenly starving overnight.
O'Birdwatcher
