The Boundary Commission: Why the Commission Failed to Produce Expected Gains

The Government of Ireland Act, 1920 established northern and southern Ireland as separate devolved entities within the UK: Northern Ireland consisting of six Ulster counties and two county boroughs, and the Free State consisting of the rest. It was an imperfect separation, as Northern Ireland contained a substantial Catholic minority that did not wish to be ruled by a unionist government in Belfast, politically separated from the rest of Ireland. Two of the six counties – Tyrone and Fermanagh – and one county borough – Derry city – had Catholic majorities, and there were substantial Catholic minorities in Armagh and Down. It was clear, however, that devolution within the UK would not meet the aspirations of the Sinn Féin government in Dublin. It was equally clear that the Northern Ireland government would refuse to come under the jurisdiction of an all-Ireland parliament in Dublin and was determined that Northern Ireland should remain a devolved entity within the UK.