How many nations are there in Ireland?

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Abstract
In answer to the question ‘How many nations are there in Ireland?’, the Irish nationalist tradition has long argued for a ‘one‐nation’ view, which has sometimes been challenged by a unionist ‘two‐nations’ perspective. It is argued here that these views are flawed and, moreover, that the imprecision of existing terminology confuses the picture further. The ‘two‐nations’ label is employed here to apply to the perspective according to which the island of Ireland contains both an Irish nation and an Ulster nation, while the view that sees it containing an Irish nation and part of the British nation is better summed up as a ‘nation and a bit’ theory. A ‘no‐nation’ view, according to which no nations at all have yet come into existence in Ireland, is also identified. It is argued here that all these answers to the question are inadequate. One common shortcoming is that they ascribe to Ulster Protestants a uniformity that does not exist in reality and thus they fail to take adequate account of the depth of the intra‐Protestant cleavage, which is more than merely a tactical disagreement about short‐term political aims. A ‘three‐nations’ (or ‘two nations and part of another nation') perspective, identifying an Irish nation, an Ulster Protestant nation and a part of the British nation, is the most appropriate.