Republic of IrelandUnited Kingdom border

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A map showing the Republic of Ireland United Kingdom border.

The Republic of IrelandUnited Kingdom border is the boundary between the Republic of
Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is also referred to as
the Irish border (Irish: teorainn ireannach) or on the island of Ireland simply as the
border (an teorainn).
The border runs for a total of 360 kilometres (220 mi) from Lough Foyle in the north of the
island to Carlingford Lough in the north-east (on the Irish Sea). The only international land
border in Ireland, it is inconspicuous, in common with many international borders in the
European Union. While both states are outside the European Union's Schengen Area, they do
share the Common Travel Area, resulting in an essentially open border.

Contents

1 Establishment

2 Customs and identity checks

o 2.1 Military checkpoints

o 2.2 Possible reinstatement of border controls

o 2.3 The 2011 inter-government agreement

3 The Troubles

4 Maritime border
o 4.1 Waters around Northern Ireland

5 Identification

6 Mobile phone roaming charges

7 Border settlements

8 See also

9 Sources
o 9.1 References

10 External links

Establishment
Main articles: Partition of Ireland and Boundary Commission (Ireland)

The border at Killeen (British side) marked only by a metric (km/h) speed limit sign
Originally intended as an internal frontier within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the border was created in 1921 under the United Kingdom Parliament's Government of
Ireland Act 1920.[1] The act established Home Rule in Ireland, with separate parliaments for
Southern Ireland and what became Northern Ireland. Six of the thirty-two counties of Ireland
were assigned to Northern Ireland, and the other twenty-six to Southern Ireland.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 led to the creation of the Irish Free State, a Dominion
established for the whole island of Ireland on 6 December 1922. The Free State was largely
independent of the United Kingdom from its creation, a status formalised by the Statute of
Westminster in 1931. The border became an international frontier after the Parliament of
Northern Ireland exercised its right to opt out of the irish Free State on 7 December 1922. The
1920 border was a provisional frontier; a Boundary Commission met in 19245 to fix a
permanent border between the two jurisdictions "in accordance with the wishes of the
inhabitants, so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions".[2] However,
its recommendations were not favoured by either side and the interim boundary was confirmed
formally in 1925, without changes from the 1920 demarcation lines.[2][3] The Boundary
Commission report was not published until 1969.[2] The Irish Free State was renamed Ireland
(Irish: ire) by the 1937 constitution, and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 formally declared
that it was a republic with the official description Republic of Ireland.

Customs and identity checks

The Irish border on the Lenamore Road, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The Republic of
Ireland begins just in front of the speed signs. The Republic of Ireland is to the north of Northern
Ireland at this location.
Main article: Common Travel Area
Customs controls were introduced on the frontier on 1 April 1923, shortly after the establishment
of the Irish Free State.[4] These controls were maintained, with varying degrees of severity, until 1
January 1993, when systematic customs checks were abolished between European Community
member states as part of the single market.[5][6][7] There are no longer any operational customs
posts along either side of the border. Except during a brief period in WWII it has never been
necessary for Irish or British citizens to produce a passport to cross the border. However during
the 1970s troubles, security forces regularly asked travellers for identification.[citation needed]

Military checkpoints
During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, there were British military checkpoints on main border
crossings and UK security forces made the remaining crossings impassable. By about 2005, in
phase with implementation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, these controls were removed.

Possible reinstatement of border controls

In October 2007, details began to emerge of a British Government plan that might end the
Common Travel Area encompassing the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (and also
the Isle of Man and Channel Islands) in 2009, possibly creating an anomalous position for
Northern Ireland in the process.[8] In a statement to Dil ireann, the Irish Taoiseach Bertie
Ahern assured the House that "British authorities have no plans whatsoever to introduce any
controls on the land border between North and South. I want to make that clear. All they are
looking at is increased cross-border cooperation, targeting illegal immigrants."[8] This
immediately raised concerns north of the border. Jim Allister, a former member of the
Democratic Unionist Party and then a Member of the European Parliament, told The Times that it
would be "intolerable and preposterous if citizens of the UK had to present a passport to enter
another part of the UK".[8]
In July 2008, the UK and Irish governments announced their intent to resume controls over their
common border and the Common Travel Area in general. Each proposes to introduce detailed
passport control over travellers from the other state, where travel is by air or sea.[9] However, the
land border will be 'lightly controlled'.[10] In a joint statement, Jacqui Smith, the British Home
Secretary, and Dermot Ahern, the Irish Justice Minister, said:
It is crucial that our two countries work closely together to ensure our borders are stronger than
ever. Both governments fully recognise the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland. Both
governments reaffirm that they have no plans to introduce fixed controls on either side of the
Irish land border.[9]
The Times reported that another consultation paper was to be published in the autumn of 2008 on
whether people travelling between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom should
be subject to further checks.
One proposal is expected to suggest extending the electronic borders scheme, requiring travellers
from Northern Ireland to provide their personal details in advance. This would mean residents of
one part of the UK being treated differently from others when travelling within the country,
something to which Unionists would object.[9]
However, in 2011, the Governments renewed the 'de facto' agreement.

The 2011 inter-government agreement

2011 marked the first public agreement between the UK and Irish governments concerning the
maintenance of the Common Travel Area. Officially entitled the "Joint Statement Regarding CoOperation on Measures to Secure the External Common Travel Area Border" and referred to by
both governments as a memorandum of understanding, it was signed in Dublin on 20 December
2011 by the UK's immigration minister, Damian Green and the Republic's Minister for Justice,
Alan Shatter.[11]

The Troubles
Main article: The Troubles

The Troubles in Northern Ireland required that attempts were made from the early 1970s until the
late 1990s to enforce border controls. Many smaller cross-border roads were cratered or
blockaded with the intention of making them impassable to regular traffic. Bridges were also
destroyed to prevent access at unauthorised border crossings (known officially as "unapproved
roads"). In particular, the border area in south County Armagh was dominated by British Army
surveillance posts. Derry, the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, is close to the border with
County Donegal. This meant that there was a heavy security presence around the city, often
impeding traffic and general movement between Derry City and County Donegal. Despite these
measures, the border was simply too long and had too many minor access roads to enable control
of all cross-border movements. In any case, authorised crossing-points on the border remained
open to civilian traffic in both directions at all times although vehicles and their occupants were
subject to detailed searches while some crossing points were closed to vehicle traffic at night
when customs posts were unstaffed.
Difficulty in patrolling parts of the border and large taxation/currency differences (particularly
during the 1980s) led to widespread smuggling. However, greater European integration has led to
roughly similar tax rates on most items and easing of restrictions on cross-border trade.
Smuggling nowadays is mostly limited to fuel, livestock and a seasonal trade in illegal fireworks,
which are strictly regulated in the Republic. (In both countries there are restrictions on the types
which can be used and a licence is required to possess/use fireworks, but in the Republic such
licences are almost never issued to private individuals.)[citation needed]
While it still exists, the border presents no impediments to traffic in either direction. This has
been mainly due to the Common Travel Area between the Republic of Ireland and the United
Kingdom, as well as a sharp reduction in cross-border activity by paramilitaries. EU integration
has also played a part. Following the Northern Ireland peace process, military surveillance has
been replaced by routine PSNI patrols.

Maritime border
A 1988 treaty demarcates the boundary of the exclusive economic zones across the continental
shelf from the south Irish Sea southwest to the Celtic Sea.[12]

Waters around Northern Ireland

The exact division of territorial waters between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland ('Southern
Ireland' being coterminous with the territory of the modern-day Irish state) was a matter of some
controversy from the outset. Section 1(2) of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 defined the
respective territories of Northern Ireland and the then Southern Ireland as follows:[13]
...Northern Ireland shall consist of the parliamentary counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down,
Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and the parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and
Londonderry, and Southern Ireland shall consist of so much of Ireland as is not comprised within
the said parliamentary counties and boroughs.

At the time of that Act, both Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland were to remain parts of the
United Kingdom. Perhaps because of this, the Act did not explicitly address the position of
territorial waters although Section 11(4) provided that neither Southern Ireland nor Northern
Ireland would have any competence to make laws in respect of "Lighthouses, buoys, or beacons
(except so far as they can consistently with any general Act of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom be constructed or maintained by a local harbour authority).
When the territory that initially was Southern Ireland ultimately became a separate selfgoverning dominion outside the United Kingdom known as the Irish Free State, the status of the
territorial waters naturally took on a significance it had not had before. Northern Ireland's
Unionists were conscious of this matter from an early stage. They were keen to put it beyond
doubt that the territorial waters around Northern Ireland would not belong to the Irish Free State.
In this regard, James Craig, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland put the following question in
the British House of Commons on 27 November 1922 (the month before the establishment of the
Irish Free State):[14]
Another important matter on which I should like a statement of the Government's intentions, is
with regard to the territorial waters surrounding Ulster. Under the Act of 1920, the areas handed
over to the Governments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland respectively, were defined as
the six Parliamentary counties of Northern Ireland and the twenty-six Parliamentary counties of
Southern Ireland. I understand there is considerable doubt in the minds of lawyers and others as
to whether these Parliamentary counties carry with them the ordinary territorial waters,
extending three miles out from the shore. It has been asserted in some quarters that the
Parliamentary counties only extend to low water mark. That has been exercising the minds of a
good many people in Ulster, and I shall be glad if the Government in due course will inform the
House what is their opinion on the subject and what steps they are taking to make it clear..... Am
I to understand that the Law Officers have actually considered this question, and that they have
given a decision in favour of the theory that the territorial waters go with the counties that were
included in the six counties of Northern Ireland?
In response the Attorney General, Sir Douglas Hogg, said that "I have considered the question,
and I have given an opinion that that is so [i.e. the territorial waters do go with the counties]".
However, this interpretation that the territorial waters went with the counties was later disputed
by Irish Governments. A good summary of the Irish position was given by the then Taoiseach,
Jack Lynch, during a Dil debate on 29 February 1972:
...[W]e claim that the territorial waters around the whole island of Ireland are ours and our claim
to the territorial waters around Northern Ireland is based on the Government of Ireland Act of
1920. This Act is so referred to in the 1921 Treaty that the Northern Ireland which withdrew
from the Irish Free State is identical with the Northern Ireland defined in the Government of
Ireland Act, 1920, and defined as consisting of named counties and boroughs. It is, I think,
common case between us that in English law the counties do not include adjacent territorial
waters and, therefore, according to our claim these territorial waters were retained by the Irish
Free State.

A particular dispute arose between the Government of the Irish Free State of the one part and the
Northern Ireland and UK governments of the other part over territorial waters in Lough Foyle.[15]
Lough Foyle lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the
then Irish Free State. A court case in the Free State in 1923 relating to fishing rights in Lough
Foyle held that the Free State's territorial waters ran right up to the shore of County Londonderry.
[15]
In 1927, illegal fishing on Lough Foyle had become so grave that Northern Ireland Prime
Minister James Craig entered into correspondence with his Free State counterpart, W. T.
Cosgrave. Craig indicated to Cosgrave that he proposed to introduce a Bill giving the Royal
Ulster Constabulary powers to stop and search vessels on Lough Foyle. Cosgrave asserted all of
Lough Foyle was Free State territory and that as such a Bill of that nature would be rejected by
the Free State and its introduction would create "a very serious situation".[15] Cosgrave then
raised the matter with the British government.
It appears that the territorial waters generally are no longer disputed between the two states but
the maritime boundary dispute between Ireland and the United Kingdom concerning Lough
Foyle (and similarly Carlingford Lough) may still not have been settled. As recently as 2005,
when asked to list those areas of EU member states where border definition is in dispute, a
British Government minister responding for the Secretary of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs stated: "Border definition (ie the demarcation of borders between two
internationally recognised sovereign states with an adjoining territorial or maritime border) is
politically disputed [between] Ireland [and the] UK (Lough Foyle, Carlingford Lough
quiescent)"[16] It appears moves have been made on the Irish side to settle the issue. During Dil
debates on the Carlingford Fisheries Bill, a contributor to the debate stated that he welcomed
"the Bill's aim of defining the area of jurisdiction over the Foyle."[17] However, it appears that the
Carlingford Fisheries Act 2007 ultimately remained silent on the point.

Identification

A bilingual traffic sign in County Louth, in the Republic of Ireland, warning drivers travelling
south across the border that metric speed limits are used in the Republic, whereas the United
Kingdom uses imperial units.
Unlike other borders in the EU, the Irish border is not officially marked by either government.
This can make identifying the border difficult for those unfamiliar with landmarks known to
locals as the crossing point. At some crossings, there are signs welcoming visitors to the relevant
local government authority district or, occasionally, reminding motorists of the need to ensure
that their insurance is valid in the relevant jurisdiction.

Generally, signposts in the Republic of Ireland which indicate distances to destinations are
bilingual (in Irish and English) and give distances in kilometres while such signposts in Northern
Ireland are only in English and give distances in miles. On larger roads, the approximate location
of the border can be determined by signs reminding the driver of the change in units. In Northern
Ireland, place-name and street/road-name signs are usually (but not always) English-only and
street/road-name signs are more standardised and extensively used.
There are other immediate indicators when crossing the border: differences in the design of road
signage and a change in road markings. The hard shoulder on non-motorway roads in the
Republic is marked with a yellow, usually broken, line. The same marking in Northern Ireland is
white and usually continuous. In Northern Ireland, roads use A (major) and B (minor) route
prefixes, whereas the Republic's route prefixes are N (major, standing for national) and R
(minor, standing for regional). Road signs in the Republic of Ireland are mostly black/yellow and
diamond shaped (similar to those in North America and Australasia) whereas those in the UK are
mainly black/white/red triangles or circles (the same as the rest of the European Union). Signs
also have subtle differences in colouring and fonts.
Since the adoption by the Republic of metric speed limits, warning signs have been placed on
either side of the border to alert motorists to the change to or from miles or kilometres per hour.
As the United Kingdom does not use the euro, advertised prices for service stations and shops
will change currency on crossing, although many places along the border will accept crossborder currency informally (albeit usually at a rate favourable to the trader). Other typical signs
of crossing a European border are also noticeable. These include subtle differences in the paving
materials of road surfaces and pavements, sometimes with visible differences in colour between
materials across the border, Changes to street lighting when crossing the border, (though these
also vary across intra-county borders), changes in the colour of postboxes (green in the Republic,
red in Northern Ireland).
By rail, there is no immediate sign of crossing the border, but the trackside mileage markers
change from Irish-style [clarification needed] markers at the 59-mile post (from Dublin Connolly
railway station) to black-on-yellow markers, common to the United Kingdom, at the 60-mile
(97 km) post, between Dundalk and Newry stations.

Mobile phone roaming charges

As in most places, radio signals from the cellular networks on both of the border sides often
travel several kilometres across it. This is a source of annoyance to those resident in border areas
as roaming charges are incurred with most service providers if the phone connects to the "wrong"
network when making or even receiving a call.[18][19] It is believed that one third of mobile phone
users in Northern Ireland have been affected by this.[20] Discussion between the relevant
communication regulators in the two jurisdictions is under way in an attempt to resolve the issue
with Irish operator Meteor abolishing charges for receiving calls in Northern Ireland, once their
customers roam on T-Mobile there, and creating a special Northern Ireland roaming tariff for
both Post and Prepay customers. O2 Ireland introduced and then abandoned an initial "all Ireland
tariff", however they still have one available on request, to billpay customers and businesses in
the Republic, and another test all-Ireland plan for businesses in the North.[21] UK mobile

networks have not provided such tariffs to their Northern Ireland customers. 3 Ireland also has a
3 Like Home tariff which allows Irish mobile phone users to use their phones in the UK at no
extra cost, similarly 3 UK have introduced "Feel at Home" which offers the same in reverse.

Border settlements
The following cities, towns and villages are located on the border or not far from it (listed from
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough):

Greencastle, Inishowen, County Donegal

Muff, Inishowen, County Donegal

Culmore, County Londonderry

Derry, County Londonderry

Bridgend, County Donegal

Killea, County Donegal

Newtowncunningham, County Donegal

Carrigans, County Donegal

St. Johnston, County Donegal

Lifford, County Donegal (linked to Strabane by Lifford Bridge)

Strabane, County Tyrone (linked to Lifford by Lifford Bridge)

Clady, County Tyrone

Castlefin, County Donegal

Castlederg, County Tyrone

Killeter, County Tyrone

Pettigo, County Donegal and Tullyhommon, County Fermanagh (separated by a river)

Ballyshannon, County Donegal

Bundoran, County Donegal

Belleek, County Fermanagh (part of Belleek is actually in County Donegal, as the border
passes through the town but most of it is on the 'northern' side)[22]

Kiltyclogher, County Leitrim

Blacklion, County Cavan and

Belcoo, County Fermanagh (linked to Blacklion by bridge)

Swanlinbar, County Cavan

Ballyconnell, County Cavan

Scotshouse, County Monaghan

Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh

Clones, County Monaghan

Aughnacloy, County Tyrone

Glaslough, County Monaghan

Caledon, County Tyrone

Middletown, County Armagh

Cullaville, County Armagh

Forkhill, County Armagh

Dundalk, County Louth

Jonesborough, County Armagh

Newry, County Armagh/County Down

Meigh, County Armagh

Warrenpoint, County Down

Omeath, County Louth

See also

Gibraltar-Spain border

BritishIrish relations
o Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
o Foreign relations of the Republic of Ireland
o Irish nationality law
o British nationality law
o British nationality law and the Republic of Ireland
o Common Travel Area

Repartition of Ireland

Partitionism

Sources

Denton, Gilbert; Fahy, Tony (1993). "The Northern Ireland Land Boundary 19231992".
Belfast: HM Customs and Excise. OCLC 56443670.

References
1.
The island of Ireland was partitioned into two distinct regions of the United Kingdom, by
Order in Council on 3 May 1921 (Statutory Rules & Orders published by authority (SR&O)
1921, No. 533).
Report of the Irish Boundary Commission, 1925 Introduced by Geoffrey J. Hand
(Shannon: Irish University Press, 1969) ISBN 0-7165-0997-0
Treaty (Confirmation of Amending Agreement) Act, 1925 Irish Statute Book
Denton and Fahy 1993, pp.1920
Denton and Fahy 1993, p.iii
O'Kane, Paul (29 December 1992). "500 Customs workers are redeployed to new tasks".
The Irish Times. p. 7.

 Paymaster-General, Sir John Cope, House of Common Debates volume 208 column 5567W (3 June 1992): "With the creation of the single market, fiscal frontiers between member
states will disappear. As from 1 January 1993, there will be no routine or systematic customs
formalities and goods will move freely across internal EC frontiers."
Sharrock, D. (25 October 2007). "New border control will abolish free movement
between UK and Ireland". The Times. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
Britain and Ireland agree to tighten border check
Strengtening the common travel area: a consultation paper (PDF) "We are clear that we
will not introduce fixed immigration controls on the land border between Northern Ireland and
the Republic of Ireland or on traffic from the Crown dependencies to the UK. However,
mirroring activity in the Republic of Ireland, the UK will consider increasing ad hoc immigration
checks on vehicles in order to target non-CTA nationals on the Northern Ireland side of the land
border."
CO-OPERATION ON MEASURES TO SECURE THE EXTERNAL COMMON
TRAVEL AREA BORDER The Home Office December 2012
Janes, Andrew (7 November 2013). "The boundary line". Records and research. London:
The National Archives. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
Section 1(2) of the Government of Ireland Act 1920
Hansard Commons Debate on Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Bill, 27
November 1922
Division and Consensus By Michael Kennedy, Institute of Public Administration
(Ireland)
Hansard report of House of Commons Debate on 13 January 2008
Dil ireann Volume 629 14 December 2006
"Cross-border telecoms issues", Report of ComReg/Ofcom Joint Working Group, 19
January 2005
"Follow O2 roaming move Dempsey", RT News, Wednesday, 8 February 2006
"Mobile users take border roaming hit", RT News, Wednesday, 19 January 2005
All-Ireland tariff 'will be good for business' Belfast Telegraph, Tuesday, 19 June 2012.
1.

Picture: N3 Northbound sic (with yellow margin lines) becomes the A46 (with
white margin lines and speed limit in MPH. At 54:28:38N,8:05:54W

External links

Centre for Cross Border Studies promotes "Cross-border Cooperation" under the Good
Friday Agreement; spinoff websites:
o Border People "the central access point for cross-border mobility information on
the island of Ireland", developed for the North/South Ministerial Council
o Border Ireland "online searchable database of cross-border information" (funding
ended in 2009)

Mapping Frontiers 200406 joint project of Queen's University Belfast and University
College Dublin

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