# Did an independent Ireland ever consider joining the United States? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146 "2011-08-18T12:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/21 "2011-08-18T22:09:55Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > Looks like the Irish parliament, beside having funky names (Dáil Éireann? Ack!) is proportionally representative. > Therefore, 310million \> 6.2million means WE get to decide the number of Irish Counties (again, Contaetha na hÉireann? ack!), NOT you! > > This whole Gaeilge nonsense will have to go too… Eh, join on our terms, you get one county, called Co. United States with two gombeen TDs. You can also have our debt if you like, drop in your ocean. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/22 "2011-08-18T22:12:06Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Co. United States with two gombeen TDs. They get Palin and Bachman, and they’ll bloody well like it. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/23 "2011-08-18T22:35:58Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Well, based on my reading we apparently got pretty close to having a State of Newfoundland No, no you weren’t. There was some minor popular support for the idea, during WWII, but there was never any serious chance of it happening. The only options that had any serious chance at any point were Newfoundland returning to being a proper, self-governed Dominion in its own right, or joining Canada. The other options (joining the US, remaining governed from London) were not nearly so popular, nor were they in any way workable. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/24 "2011-08-18T22:59:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Ireland has been secretly invading America since the 19th century. There are millions of us here and ready to take over when the signal is given. It would already have happened except for that damned Brit Lee Harvey Oswald. Sweet! :dubious: You’re bringing the beer, right? ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/25 "2011-08-20T11:55:18Z")
[Harry Harrison](http://www.harryharrison.com/) wrote an alternate history series (The Stars and Stripes trilogy) set after the Trent incident, iirc, in which the US ended up invading and freeing Ireland from British rule… Don’t remember what Ireland’s ultimate fate was, independence or an American dependency. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/26 "2011-08-20T13:36:44Z")
It would have been one very good way for Ireland to get independence revoked. Ireland has for far too long been used by England/GB/UK as a place to dump undesirables and beat up when they need stress relief; do you really think they wanted that again. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/27 "2011-08-20T15:29:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t think the OP understands the concept of “independence”. Exactly. The Irish wanted their own country, not to switch from control by London to control by Washington. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/28 "2011-08-20T15:56:43Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Well, based on my reading we apparently got pretty close to having a State of Newfoundland, and we wanted to have a State of Nova Scotia but they weren’t terribly interested. There was minor support during the Occupation for Japan applying to join the US. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/29 "2011-08-20T17:14:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Exactly. The Irish wanted their own country, not to switch from control by London to control by Washington. The irony of course being that Ireland is now increasingly controlled by Brussels. You do occasionally see the odd letter to the Irish Times asking “why don’t we just go ahead and join the United States” - in a lot of ways Ireland is culturally closer to it than to continental Europe - but nobody to my knowledge has ever seriously considered it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/30 "2011-08-20T17:52:25Z")
Belgium? How and why is Ireland under the thumb of Belgium? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146/31 "2011-08-20T17:59:47Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Belgium? How and why is Ireland under the thumb of Belgium? [Brussels means the EU.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_and_the_European_Union) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-an-independent-ireland-ever-consider-joining-the-united-states/593146.md?page=1)