Genuine historical question, is there any chance that the IRA could have succeed in creating a unified 32 county Irish state after 1955? Where they really anywhere near powerful enough for this?
Just to reiterate militarily the answer is no. No-one was ever in favour of partition. Historically all were actually in favour of a united Ireland - Home Rule was not going to be an independent Irish Republic.
The Presbyterians, who historically are the dominant grouping in the North were against Dublin rule. In the late 1800's Belfast was the largest city in Ireland and was its industrial power base. They knew that their wealth lay in continuing doing business within the worlds most powerful economy at that time. If you care to go to the Linnenhall Library in Belfast and check the records, you will recognise places such as Andersonstown, Falls Road etc back in the 1800's were presbyterian not Roman Catholic as they are today.
The Ulster Scots Presbyterian roots are in the Island of Ireland, Thayer are not and never were planters. When trying to understand our crazy little world, please try at least to get the facts not the myths.
The troubles only enhanced the sectarian hatred. It really was counterproductive to its desired cause. After the defeat of the ira by the USC/RUC in 1963 the border was really only a line drawn on a map. The currency was the same North & South. Local trade from Fermanagh to Sligo was the same as Antrim to Down or Wexford to Cork. Without the troubles we could really have been considering, on the 100th anniversary of Home Rule, we would be better off together. For the PUL community the bitterest pill to take was the deliberate destruction of the industrial base in Belfast by the British government. Followed closely by the spending of EEC social improvement funding to garrison the troubles. Remember also the fact that Operation Banner was in response to Loyalist attacks on the Nationalist community. Perhaps it should've been the loyalists fighting the British and the Republicans supporting the British.
This is a crazy place - full of crazy people. Is their any-one out there that could talk sense to us?