Northern Ireland

A new book outlines why the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is becoming one of the most controversial as Britain leaves the E.U.

By Elena Souris

Border Communities Against Brexit protesters pose as customs officers at a rally along the border between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom on March 30th, 2019, in Newry, Ireland.

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Protesters pose as customs officers at a rally along the border between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom in Ireland.

By Pacific Standard Staff

Amnesty International protesters (front) call for a change in Northern Irish abortion law as they walk past a counter demonstration at Parliament Square on February 26th, 2019, in London, England. Northern Ireland is currently the only country in the United Kingdom where it is illegal to have an abortion. Each protester with Amnesty International carried a suitcase containing sheets of paper with the names of 62,000 people calling for the decriminalization of abortion in Northern Ireland. The counter protesters each held a box containing 10,000 names symbolizing the 100,000 people who are alive today because of Northern Ireland's abortion laws.

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Amnesty International protesters call for a change in Northern Irish abortion law as they walk past a counter demonstration at Parliament Square on February 26th, 2019, in London, England.

By Pacific Standard Staff

The remains of a railway bridge between the villages of Blacklion in the Republic of Ireland and Belcoo in Northern Ireland can be seen on February 22nd, 2019, in Belcoo, Northern Ireland. The bridge was blown up by the British army in the 1970s during the Troubles. Along the winding 499 kilometers of the Irish border are vestiges of a harder boundary: derelict customs houses, "dragon's teeth" bollards and two-toned tarmac. These relics evoke a time when movement between the countries was less free, and underscore what is at stake as the U.K. negotiates its exit from the E.U. Both parties have vowed to avoid a physical border, but, as the Brexit deadline approaches on March 29th, a final agreement has so far eluded them.

The Week in Photos

Questions remain over what will happen at the border after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

By Kelley Czajka

Gay rights campaigner Gareth Lee speaks to the media outside the Supreme Court in London, England, on October 10th, 2018.

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