Another Megali Idea

Unlike Greece, Ireland had its civil war immediately after the war of independence in 1922. The cause was the peace treaty between Britain and Ireland which agreed on the partition of the island, with six counties (Ulster) remaining in the UK and 26 becoming, eventually, the Republic of Ireland. The civil war was between those who accepted this partition as the only practical way forward, and those who resolutely held out for a united Ireland. A century later, the long arm of civil war again disturbs the equilibrium, with the cataclysmic success of Sinn Fein, a hardline republican and nationalist party, in the recent general election.

The two sides of the civil war emerged in peacetime as Fianna Fail (the more republican-oriented party) which dominated the political scene for decades, and Fine Gael (the more diplomatic party) which has held office most recently since 2011.<...