Abstract
Since the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1922, the territory of Ireland is divided between two parts. The first one, Northern Ireland, is still taking part of the United Kingdom whereas the Republic of Ireland became an independent state. Since then, there is a constitutional conflict about the legitimacy of Northern Ireland as well as the possibility of united Ireland. In the late 1960s, ‘troubles' broke up in Northern Ireland because of this separation as the ‘Bloody Sunday' in 1972 often stands for with the shooting of 13 civil rights demonstrators by the British troops in Derry. Since then, agreements have been signed and the violence seems to have been reduced. In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was supposed to end the NI problem by releasing the prisoners of the IRA as well as putting a peaceful framework for the probability of united Ireland.
Have southern attitudes towards the NI problem changed significantly since this period? Moreover, it can be wondered to what extent southern understanding of the problem is greater. By southern attitudes, it will be referred to the public opinion in the Republic of Ireland as well as to elite's attitudes.
