Brexit has further complicated and polarized the primary political actors and institutions in Northern Ireland. The dysfunction that existed before Brexit under the Good Friday system has led many to suggest the likelihood and need for significant constitutional change for the region. However, the primary two options, remain as part of the United Kingdom or unification with Ireland, both seem extraordinarily problematic and likely possible to result in even more uncertainty and acrimonious community relations. This research undertakes an effort to assess the benefits and deficits of these options but also other options that have been discounted or rejected, most notably condominium. Condominium options emerged as early at the 1960s and 1970s but were rejected at the time. However, current conditions could lead to an opportunity in which condominium may be the most politically acceptable compromise versus the other two primary options. Nonetheless, the most likely option would not be anything as radical as condominium but would rather be modification and revision of the existing system to a greater or lesser extent. However, even significant modification of the Good Friday system would perhaps be insufficient to address the scope and scale of governing problems in Northern Ireland which have only been exacerbated and magnified since Brexit. This research, from a political institutional perspective, suggests that policymakers and leaders in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the European Union need to consider numerous alternatives for the future of the region. Alternatives, while eschewed in the past, could be viable under the right circumstances and provide long-term political solutions to the governance issues of Northern Ireland and the relationships between the UK, Ireland, and the EU in regard to the region. While this research is not optimistic about such change, the failure of the status quo does suggest that some meaningful change could ultimately meet political consensus and begin to address the Northern Irish governance problem.

This paper examines the actual, perceived and potential socio-economic impacts of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on women in Northern Ireland. The findings stem from an Equalities Commission Northern Ireland funded project that was conducted in partnership with civil society organisations. The empirical data was collected through focus groups, expert seminar and interviews. We argue that women and women’s concerns have been structurally side-lined from the Brexit process, including most recently in respect to The Northern Ireland Protocol, through a lack of sustained engagement and consultation with women’s civil society by the EU, UK and Ireland. Moreover, there has been a lack of recognition by the Westminster government specifically concerning the knock-on impact of Brexit on peace in Northern Ireland with gendered repercussions. We further argue that this stems from a wider failure of these actors to live up to their national and international obligations, for example, the UK on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the EU, UK and Ireland on the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Importantly, we identify women not as a homogenous group, but as one with a myriad of concerns often complicated by intersectional or multiple identities. We find that the impact of Brexit on women in Northern Ireland is distinct and disproportionate from other parts of the UK for a number of reasons, including that it is a post-conflict society; existing and diverse patterns of violence against women; and a prior reliance by the third sector on EU funding.

The city of Derry/Londonderry has long been known for its history of conflict, from the siege of Derry in the 17^th century to the “Battle of the Bogside” and the tragedy of “Bloody Sunday”. Like the rest of Northern Ireland, Derry/Londonderry has received a considerable amount of funding from the European Union, through programmes like Interreg or the PEACE programmes.

EU money has been particularly important in a city like Derry/Londonderry, which has historically suffered from economic problems (de-industrialisation, high unemployment) as well as a lack of investment, making it one of the most deprived areas of the UK. Unlike other struggling regions of the UK which voted massively to leave the EU, the Foyle constituency strongly supported "Remain" in the 2016 referendum, which suggests a higher level of awareness of how important the role of the EU was in the region.

Of particular importance was the building of the “Peace Bridge”, inaugurated in 2013 and entirely funded by the European Union. In the space of a few years, the bridge has come to be used as the one image that stands for the city – thus literally living up to the ambition of becoming an “iconic” landmark in this city. Furthermore, the bridge has been a catalyst for many other changes: a rediscovery of the potential of the River Foyle, redevelopment of the former army barracks at Ebrington (a symbol of the conflict being turned into a “shared space”), and in general, the development of a narrative that tends to portray the city as a “city of peace” rather than a “city of conflict”.This trend is visible also in other programmes funded by the European Union through PEACE IV, like the Peace Tourism project or the Derry Model project.

My paper will attempt to show how these projects have been transforming the image of the city of Derry/Londonderry, by fostering confidence in its potential and a projecting to the world a more future-oriented and consensual vision of its identity, past and present. This new narrative will also be examined critically, as promoting a new narrative can lead to a hegemonic discourse, marginalizing more subversive discourses which are seen as less compatible with the "reconciliation" political agenda.

The paper will look into the results from Census 2021 in Northern Ireland, with a special focus on identity related questions, such as national identity, ethnic group belonging, but also nationality, country of birth, and religion. The paper will focus on Northern Ireland, acknowledging the differences in how census has been run in different UK countries. The results obtained in 2021 will be compared to the previous census results. The main research questions in this paper will be as follows. To what extent can Manuel Castells’ concept of project identity provide a useful analytical framework to analyse Northern Irish national identity? To what extent can Northern Irish national identity offer an attractive cross-community option for EU migrants residing in this part of the UK? And finally, to what extent Brexit and current North-South relations impact identity choices? In order to answer these questions, the quantitative analysis of the census data will be supplemented by the qualitative analysis of previous research into Polish and Lithuanian communities, the consultation documents of the Census forms, as well as other sources of data on – among others – citizenship applications.