US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he believed that Brexit would work out well from an Irish point of view — and raised eyebrows by evoking the idea of a "wall" across the island of Ireland.
Dublin has long insisted there must be no physical barrier at the frontier between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, and the president was immediately picked up on his faux-pas.
Read more: Brexit: Why is the Irish backstop so controversial?
"Probably you will ask me about Brexit because I just left some very good people who are very much involved with Brexit, as you know," said Trump, who had arrived in Ireland after a three-day state visit to the UK. "I think that will all work out very well, and also for you with your wall, your border."
Trump then compared the border situation in Ireland to that of the US and Mexico, but he was quickly corrected on his wording by the Irish prime minister.
"I think one thing we want to avoid, of course, is a wall or border between us," said Leo Varadkar.
Stumbling block to Brexit deal
Many in Ireland are concerned that Britain's exit from the European Union — in particular, any no-deal scenario — could see the return of a hard border between the North and the Republic. The overriding fear is that this could stoke the sort of sectarian tensions and violence that have haunted Northern Ireland for decades.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
The Irish Free State
Britain's response to Irish demands for independence was devolution within the UK, or home rule. Pro-British Unionists didn't want to be governed by Dublin, so two parliaments were set up, for Northern and Southern Ireland. However, nationalists still pushed for full independence and in 1922 Southern Ireland was superseded by the Irish Free State as enshrined in the Anglo-Irish Treaty (pictured).
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
The Six Counties
Northern Ireland had been carved in a way that allowed Protestant loyalists to stay in control, but also ensure the region was large enough to be viable. It included four majority-Protestant counties in the ancient province of Ulster, as well as the two Catholic nationalist counties. Three of Ulster's counties — Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan — were placed on the Southern Ireland side of the border.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
No laughing matter?
Involving members of the British, Irish and devolved Belfast governments, a 1924-25 boundary commission looked at the whether the border should stay where it was. It broadly remained in the same place, often cutting through communities across its 310 miles. The Spike Milligan novel "Puckoon," made into a film (above), charted the problems brought to a fictional Irish village divided by the border.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
Roadside customs checks
The new border's checkpoints initially regulated the movement of certain goods, with movement of people being free. However, the Anglo-Irish Trade War of the 1930s saw tariffs imposed on foods and later coal and steel. The dispute ended in 1936, but Ireland still pursued protectionist policies into the 1950s. Customs stayed in place until the advent of the EU Single Market in 1993.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
Bloody legacy
With an escalation in fighting in Northern Ireland in 1969, British troops were sent to the province, fueling nationalist resentment. The border was heavily guarded to stop weapons smuggling from the Republic. The South Armagh stretch was particularly notorious. The Irish Republican Army's South Armagh Brigade is thought to have killed about 165 British troops and police from 1970 to 1997.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
South of the Border
The border was also policed by the Republic of Ireland's security forces, who intensified their anti-terror efforts in the late 1970s. They worked with the British, but the working relationship was not an easy one. To communicate with Irish counterparts, British troops at one time had to speak to the Northern Irish police, who would contact the Irish police, who would then call the Irish army.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
Watchtowers and rifle sights
Despite the end of customs in 1993, the threat of terror still loomed and the border remained militarized, with watchtowers and soldiers. After the 1998 Good Friday Agreement — which brought back devolved government to Northern Ireland and sought to address issues such as policing and paramilitarism — the IRA eventually halted its campaign of violence as border security disappeared.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
Barely noticeable
The border today is as invisible as it has ever been, with free movement of traffic between the Republic and the North. The picture shows two policemen, one British, one Irish, watching as a foreign leg of the 2014 Giro d'Italia crosses the border in Armagh.
-
Northern Ireland's changing border
Anything to declare?
There are fears that Brexit would make a hard border necessary, given that Britain appears set to leave the EU Customs Union and Single Market. The border issue is one of three conditions laid out by the EU for trade talks to begin. Brussels says there must be no hard border. Campaigners, like those pictured above, have sought to remind the public of what such a frontier would look like.
Author: Richard Connor
Trump admitted that maintaining the present system — with no customs checks between the two EU neighbors — was Ireland's preferred scenario. "I know that's a big point of contention with respect to Brexit," said the US president. "I'm sure it's going to work out very well."
The existence of a "back-stop" guarantee to Dublin written into the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement was a major obstacle in UK Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to win approval from British lawmakers for the agreement her government negotiated on leaving the EU. While visiting the UK earlier this week, Trump appeared to support a no-deal Brexit — the scenario expected to pose the biggest headache of all for Ireland.
Meeting on neutral territory
Trump and Varadkar met at Shannon Airport in western Ireland, near to Trump's Doonbeg golf resort. The US president initially wanted to meet his host at the golf course, but the Irish government declined — initially suggesting a historic castle should instead be the venue.
The compromise location of Shannon was Ireland's first transatlantic airport and was the first real aviation gateway between the Americas and Europe. While the airport has a history of use by the US military, it was also used by the Soviet military until the 1990s, as Ireland had no formal relations with NATO until 1999.
Read more: Opinion: The forgotten lessons of D-Day
Earlier in the day, the US president had attended commemorations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in the southern English naval port of Portsmouth. He met briefly for dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also attending the event, before heading for Ireland.
Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.