In a recent Red C poll published in the Sunday Business Post, more than a third (36%) of those polled based in the 26 counties, when asked if they supported a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland to curb onward migration from the UK, responded that they would. 41% of respondents were opposed to a hard border, while the remaining 23% were unsure.

While it could be argued that the question was clearly framed to elicit strong responses on immigration, it still is surprising that so many people favour the return of a hard border. It reflects the toxicity that surrounds the issue of immigration now, where people seem willing to forego their own freedoms to prevent someone from another country coming into Ireland - a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

History shows us that the effectiveness of creating a hard border would be negligible in preventing immigration into the Republic and crucially it would have a detrimental effect on movement across the border for everyone, particularly for those who live closest to it.

Since the partition of Ireland, there have been attempts to limit movement across the border at different junctures. Security concerns in the first half of 1922, during the IRA’s border campaign (1956-62), and most visibly throughout the Troubles resulted in large security presences on the border, manifested by checkpoints, craters, iron spikes and watchtowers.

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