Ulster Catholic Opinion

According to the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (link here, though might be broken at moment) just more than half of northern Catholics (60%) think of themselves as Irish and a still smaller proportion, 52%, said they were nationalist. Yet just 38% favour Irish unity over a range of other options. Nearly as many Catholics (32%) wanted to remain in the UK while 13% would prefer an independent Ulster. Only 3% said they would find it “almost impossible to accept” if Irish unity never happened.  There are some details reported in the Sunday Times and there's some discussion of this over at Slugger O'Toole. 

There is quite a substantial pro union minority in evidence even if such individuals wouldn't designate themselves as "unionist" and they certainly don't usually vote for unionist parties.  I'm a bit surprised that even as much as 13% would favour an independent Ulster.  Marianne Elliot, in the prologue to her book The Catholics of Ulster, says that few Catholics today would admit to an "Ulster" identity, even less than those who adhere to a "Northern Ireland" allegiance.  Elliot argues that it is surely high time for Ulster Catholics to re-assert their regional identity and challenge the view that "Ulster" necessarily means Protestant.  As there's scarcely a major clamour for Irish unity, it's likely that any Irish Government strategy to end partition, as urged by Sinn Féin, would be met with indifference.

Comments

[EWI]

Maybe some might note too, that

i) "Ulster" is an identity pre-dating Plantation

ii) that "Ulster" is more than just six counties

iii) that the size of what was to become the Protestant reservation of "Northern Ireland" varied between four and nine counties when the OUP were planning their last-ditch effort to escape the Taigs escaping their hitherto place in the scheme of things.