Prospects of Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth?

[psychonaut]

What is the current status of proposals for Ireland to rejoin the Commonwealth? Are there any proposals before the legislature, or is the idea just being bandied about informally? Are there any recent statistics on what proportion of legislators and of the general population support rejoining the Commonwealth? What major and minor political parties, if any, officially support rejoining?

Wikipedia’s article on the Commonwealth of Nations has some brief information, but it doesn’t answer all my questions:

Although Heads of Government have the power to suspend member states from active participation, the Commonwealth has no provision for the expulsion of members. However, Commonwealth Realms which become republics automatically cease to be members unless, like India in 1950, they obtain the permission of other members to remain in the organisation as a republic. The Republic of Ireland did not apply for re-admittance after becoming a republic in 1949, as the Commonwealth at the time did not allow republican membership. However, the leader of its Opposition at the time, Eamon de Valera, believed that the Republic of Ireland’s decision not to apply to stay was a mistake. He and his successor as Taoiseach, Sean Lemass, both considered re-applying. Éamon Ó Cuív, a minister in the present Irish Government (and himself de Valera’s grandson), raised the issue of the Republic’s possible reapplication a number of times in the 1990s. The issue does, however, arouse both some hostility and indifference in Ireland, where many people still associate the Commonwealth with British imperialism, even though the majority of member states are now republics. The Republic of Ireland was the first nation ever to leave the Commonwealth and not rejoin.

I suppose this could cross into GD territory, but I’ll pose the question here for now to see what the response is.

[UDS]

Although Ireland didn’t formally leave the Commonwealth until 1949, it ceased to take any active part in it in 1932, and this policy was observed by governments of all parties until 1949. Since 1949 there has, so far as I know, been no proposal from any source to rejoin the Commonwealth; certainly none that was seriously entertained or discussed. It 's not currently a matter of political interest or discussion. I doubt if you will even find any polls of public opinion on the subject, since no pollster would bother - or would be commissioned - to ask the question.

The only conceivable reason why Ireland woudl consider rejoining the Commonwealth would be in the context of some broader political settlement of affairs involving Northern Ireland. Even then, none of the ideas that gets bandied around tends to involve Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth. I think it would be seen by republicans/nationalists as offensive to their sensibilities, and by unionists/loyalists as at best meaningless, so I can’t see that rejoining the Commonwealth would be a useful bargaining device.

In my assessment, Ireland is a bit less lilkely to join the Commonwealth than such other former British possessions as Massachussets or Georgia.

[psychonaut]

@UDS

Although Ireland didn’t formally leave the Commonwealth until 1949, it ceased to take any active part in it in 1932, and this policy was observed by governments of all parties until 1949. Since 1949 there has, so far as I know, been no proposal from any source to rejoin the Commonwealth; certainly none that was seriously entertained or discussed

If you had read the quote in my original posting this ignorance would have been rectified. Or is it your contention that Éamon Ó Cuív and Sean Lemass were not serious in their many proposals to rejoin the Commonwealth?

[UDS]

@psychonaut

If you had read the quote in my original posting this ignorance would have been rectified. Or is it your contention that Éamon Ó Cuív and Sean Lemass were not serious in their many proposals to rejoin the Commonwealth?

I’m not aware that Sean Lemass advanced “many proposals to rejoin the Commonwealth”, although I’m open to correction on the point. Certainly the Wikipedia article doesn’t suggest that he did. Ó Cuív did float the idea a few times, but so far as I can recall he got no reaction, positive or negative, from anyone. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that he proposals were not seriously entertained or discussed.

I think the most I could say is that, if it appeared that rejoining the Commonwealth was going to make a useful contribution to some broader settlement in Ireland, then it would be seriously considered. But as matters stand I don’t think many people feel that it would make a useful contribution.

[Gladstone]

Are there any particular benefits of Commonwealth club membership that Ireland is missing out on? Surely the Irish can petition to use the EU’s saunas and hot tubs.

[yojimbo]

Nil I would say.

Throughout the 1990s, Mr Ó Cuív visited IRA prisoners in British jails arguing successfully for their transfer to Ireland. In 1994, he raised a few eye-brows in Fianna Fáil circles when he argued for a conditional return to the British Commonwealth as a gesture to Unionists in Northern Ireland.

http://www.rte.ie/news/oireachtas/tds/ocuive.html

This is really the only modern attempt and that didn’t go far. Today joining the Commonwealth would have little to no effect on the problems in NI. They have moved on to bigger problems like power sharing and devolution.

There is no real advantage to Ireland in joining the Commonwealth and it would be a potentially very unpopular move with a lot of Irish people. We have embraced the EU. The Commonwealth is old news.

[Pushkin]

From the Wiki article;

The primary activities of the Commonwealth are designed to create an atmosphere of economic co-operation between member nations, as well as the promotion of democracy, human rights, and good governance in those nations.

The Republic does all this quite well by itself, for the political angst, there would be little practical gain. As yojimbo mentioned, Ireland has already embraced the EU which offers all the help it needs.

[irishgirl]

I think the general opinion is “why bother”?

We’re in the EU, and the Canadians, Australians and Kiwis don’t seem to have any problems dealing with Ireland under the Status Quo.

Plus, we can always rely on March 17th diplomacy. Other countries use Paddy’s Day as a chance to get drunk, Ireland uses it as an opportunity to foist our politicians on the rest of the world in order to advance Irish interests.

Joining the Commonwealth wouldn’t really benefit Ireland in any tangible way, and it would piss enough people off to make it a controversial and unpopular move.