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| Invisible Irish Border Carries the Scars of a Fractured Past | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| PETTIGO, Ireland — Along the winding open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Cuilcagh Mountain trail rises into a steep wooden stairway that comes to a halt at a lookout deck. | PETTIGO, Ireland — Along the winding open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Cuilcagh Mountain trail rises into a steep wooden stairway that comes to a halt at a lookout deck. |
| Tourists scale the steps and pause here to gaze over a landscape dotted with lakes, rivers and farmland, the two nations indistinguishable. | Tourists scale the steps and pause here to gaze over a landscape dotted with lakes, rivers and farmland, the two nations indistinguishable. |
| Driving from the Republic of Ireland, which has been independent for almost a century, into Northern Ireland, the only way to know you’ve crossed into the United Kingdom is the change in signs from kilometers to miles. | Driving from the Republic of Ireland, which has been independent for almost a century, into Northern Ireland, the only way to know you’ve crossed into the United Kingdom is the change in signs from kilometers to miles. |
| But not that long ago, decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles — between republicans, mostly Catholic, who wanted Northern Ireland to become part of a united Ireland; and unionists, mostly Protestant, who wanted to stay joined with Britain — played out over the very dividing line that the mountain peers over. | But not that long ago, decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles — between republicans, mostly Catholic, who wanted Northern Ireland to become part of a united Ireland; and unionists, mostly Protestant, who wanted to stay joined with Britain — played out over the very dividing line that the mountain peers over. |
| The border has again become a point of contention as Britain tries to navigate its divorce from the European Union — the process known as Brexit. The withdrawal from the bloc will require agreement about how to avoid having a physical border between the Republic and the North. | The border has again become a point of contention as Britain tries to navigate its divorce from the European Union — the process known as Brexit. The withdrawal from the bloc will require agreement about how to avoid having a physical border between the Republic and the North. |
| While the frontier is now largely invisible, signs of the island’s fractured past are still visible, both in the borderlands and in Northern Irish communities still divided along religious lines. | While the frontier is now largely invisible, signs of the island’s fractured past are still visible, both in the borderlands and in Northern Irish communities still divided along religious lines. |
| Tributes to paramilitary groups are painted proudly on the walls of some homes and shops. British and Irish flags mark allegiances. And parades are held every July 12 in Protestant areas to celebrate the victory, in 1690, of William of Orange over King James II, a Catholic, at the Battle of the Boyne. | Tributes to paramilitary groups are painted proudly on the walls of some homes and shops. British and Irish flags mark allegiances. And parades are held every July 12 in Protestant areas to celebrate the victory, in 1690, of William of Orange over King James II, a Catholic, at the Battle of the Boyne. |
| Some fear that any change to the free movement between Ireland and Northern Ireland could reignite the sectarian tensions that took decades to ease. The border would be the only land frontier between Britain and the European Union when they part ways. | Some fear that any change to the free movement between Ireland and Northern Ireland could reignite the sectarian tensions that took decades to ease. The border would be the only land frontier between Britain and the European Union when they part ways. |
| And while debate has focused on the political, economic and security implications of a hard border, any changes would also mean a significant change for the approximately 30,000 people who cross between the countries each day and who have come to take the seamless passage for granted. | And while debate has focused on the political, economic and security implications of a hard border, any changes would also mean a significant change for the approximately 30,000 people who cross between the countries each day and who have come to take the seamless passage for granted. |
| Abandoned customs houses in the town of Pettigo, which spans the border, were once important to regulate trade. Now, they sit vacant, the paint peeling from their walls. | Abandoned customs houses in the town of Pettigo, which spans the border, were once important to regulate trade. Now, they sit vacant, the paint peeling from their walls. |
| The current border “doesn’t impinge on people’s lives,” said Prof. Margaret O’Callaghan, a historian and political analyst at Queen’s University Belfast. “Yes, they are two different territorial units,” she said of the Republic and the North, “but they are within the E.U., and it doesn’t affect the day-to-day living.” | The current border “doesn’t impinge on people’s lives,” said Prof. Margaret O’Callaghan, a historian and political analyst at Queen’s University Belfast. “Yes, they are two different territorial units,” she said of the Republic and the North, “but they are within the E.U., and it doesn’t affect the day-to-day living.” |
| At a cattle market at Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, about 10 miles from the border, farmers travel from both sides to auction their animals, and many own land in both the North and the Republic. | At a cattle market at Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, about 10 miles from the border, farmers travel from both sides to auction their animals, and many own land in both the North and the Republic. |
| They say they worry more about the extra bureaucracy and cost that Brexit could bring than about the possibility of sectarian tensions. | They say they worry more about the extra bureaucracy and cost that Brexit could bring than about the possibility of sectarian tensions. |
| The border wasn’t always so invisible. It was once a toxic symbol of the Troubles, heavily militarized and dotted with checkpoints patrolled by British soldiers from about the late 1960s to the 1990s. | The border wasn’t always so invisible. It was once a toxic symbol of the Troubles, heavily militarized and dotted with checkpoints patrolled by British soldiers from about the late 1960s to the 1990s. |
| “Most of the little back roads were blown up,” Professor O’Callaghan said. “It was a frontier.” | “Most of the little back roads were blown up,” Professor O’Callaghan said. “It was a frontier.” |
| The border itself is a legacy of the 1920s, when Ireland gained independence from Britain. | The border itself is a legacy of the 1920s, when Ireland gained independence from Britain. |
| Six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster were carved out to become Northern Ireland and remain part of the United Kingdom. The winding, 300-mile frontier snaked along waterways and bogs, sometimes cutting through villages and farms, serving a political purpose rather than a practical one. | Six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster were carved out to become Northern Ireland and remain part of the United Kingdom. The winding, 300-mile frontier snaked along waterways and bogs, sometimes cutting through villages and farms, serving a political purpose rather than a practical one. |
| The border left some sleeping in homes “with their heads in one state and their toes in another,” said Diarmaid Ferriter, a professor of modern Irish history at University College, Dublin. | The border left some sleeping in homes “with their heads in one state and their toes in another,” said Diarmaid Ferriter, a professor of modern Irish history at University College, Dublin. |
| During the Troubles — an era of violence that eventually cost more than 3,600 lives — the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary force fighting for a united Ireland, targeted border checkpoints. The British military occupied the streets of Belfast and other locations across Northern Ireland, and thousands of soldiers were deployed to the border. | During the Troubles — an era of violence that eventually cost more than 3,600 lives — the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary force fighting for a united Ireland, targeted border checkpoints. The British military occupied the streets of Belfast and other locations across Northern Ireland, and thousands of soldiers were deployed to the border. |
| But after the 1998 peace deal known as the Good Friday Agreement, the border virtually disappeared. | But after the 1998 peace deal known as the Good Friday Agreement, the border virtually disappeared. |
| As discussions over the fate of the border after Brexit have become mired, some have become disillusioned by the process. | As discussions over the fate of the border after Brexit have become mired, some have become disillusioned by the process. |
| Chris Williams, a resident of Lack, a village between Pettigo and the town of Omagh, voted in favor of Britain’s leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum. Now, he says he is having second thoughts. | Chris Williams, a resident of Lack, a village between Pettigo and the town of Omagh, voted in favor of Britain’s leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum. Now, he says he is having second thoughts. |
| “They tell you ‘porky pies,’ ” he said, using a slang term for lies. “But you only find out when it’s all over and done.” | “They tell you ‘porky pies,’ ” he said, using a slang term for lies. “But you only find out when it’s all over and done.” |
| Complicating matters, Northern Ireland currently has no regional government, after a coalition collapsed in January 2017 — an impasse that has left the political situation at perhaps its most critical juncture since the Good Friday Agreement. | Complicating matters, Northern Ireland currently has no regional government, after a coalition collapsed in January 2017 — an impasse that has left the political situation at perhaps its most critical juncture since the Good Friday Agreement. |
| “Throw Brexit into the middle of it, and you’ve thrown another spanner in what is already a pretty messy-looking scene,” Professor Callaghan said. | “Throw Brexit into the middle of it, and you’ve thrown another spanner in what is already a pretty messy-looking scene,” Professor Callaghan said. |
| While tensions thawed in the years since the agreement and under subsequent power-sharing governments, some communities remain deeply divided. Even 20 years after the peace deal, the conflict is woven into many customs. | While tensions thawed in the years since the agreement and under subsequent power-sharing governments, some communities remain deeply divided. Even 20 years after the peace deal, the conflict is woven into many customs. |
| In the largely Catholic village of Drumquin, just west of Omagh, a Gaelic football team celebrated a win this summer while elsewhere in the town Protestants practiced for the coming July 12 parade. | In the largely Catholic village of Drumquin, just west of Omagh, a Gaelic football team celebrated a win this summer while elsewhere in the town Protestants practiced for the coming July 12 parade. |
| “The communities get along, but essentially we lead separate lives,” said Patrick Fahy, a local lawyer. | “The communities get along, but essentially we lead separate lives,” said Patrick Fahy, a local lawyer. |
| Some places in Northern Ireland remain effectively segregated, with Catholics living in one neighborhood and Protestants in another. Efforts at integration, particularly in central Belfast, have had mixed success. | Some places in Northern Ireland remain effectively segregated, with Catholics living in one neighborhood and Protestants in another. Efforts at integration, particularly in central Belfast, have had mixed success. |
| Still, few expect a return to the violence of the 1970s. Both the Republic and Northern Ireland have grown prosperous in the years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, and hundreds of thousands born since then can remember only a peaceful island. | Still, few expect a return to the violence of the 1970s. Both the Republic and Northern Ireland have grown prosperous in the years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, and hundreds of thousands born since then can remember only a peaceful island. |
| On an improbably hot afternoon this summer, the teenagers David Curran, Connor Honney, Shane MacGuire and Sean Quigley dangled their legs from a makeshift jetty into the cool waters of Lough Erne, which is just a few hundred yards from the border in some places. | On an improbably hot afternoon this summer, the teenagers David Curran, Connor Honney, Shane MacGuire and Sean Quigley dangled their legs from a makeshift jetty into the cool waters of Lough Erne, which is just a few hundred yards from the border in some places. |
| Three of them, ages 16 to 18, are from the Republic of Ireland, the other from the North. Unlike their parents, who lived through a time when driving across the border meant having soldiers search their car at a militarized checkpoint, these boys crisscross the border without a second thought. | Three of them, ages 16 to 18, are from the Republic of Ireland, the other from the North. Unlike their parents, who lived through a time when driving across the border meant having soldiers search their car at a militarized checkpoint, these boys crisscross the border without a second thought. |
| They said the border had little effect on their lives — except for the timing of the school year: Schools tend to close for summer at slightly different times on different sides of the border. | They said the border had little effect on their lives — except for the timing of the school year: Schools tend to close for summer at slightly different times on different sides of the border. |
| In the end, the bigger threat from any changes to the border may be psychological. Professor Ferriter, who grew up in Dublin, recalled his shock when, as a child, he saw the heavy military presence at a crossing point for the first time. | In the end, the bigger threat from any changes to the border may be psychological. Professor Ferriter, who grew up in Dublin, recalled his shock when, as a child, he saw the heavy military presence at a crossing point for the first time. |
| “The psychology around the border,” he said, “was inevitably inward-looking, resentful, accompanied by a degree of paranoia and just sheer inconvenience.” | “The psychology around the border,” he said, “was inevitably inward-looking, resentful, accompanied by a degree of paranoia and just sheer inconvenience.” |