Ireland Looks Ahead Despite Brexit Vote

President Barack Obama, right, is introduced by Billy Lawless, left, on stage before speaking at the Copernicus Community Center in Chicago to discuss immigration reform, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Obama visited his hometown to promote his executive action on immigration.
Billy Lawless introduces Barack Obama on stage before speaking at the Copernicus Community Center in Chicago to discuss immigration reform in 2014. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo
President Barack Obama, right, is introduced by Billy Lawless, left, on stage before speaking at the Copernicus Community Center in Chicago to discuss immigration reform, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Obama visited his hometown to promote his executive action on immigration.
Billy Lawless introduces Barack Obama on stage before speaking at the Copernicus Community Center in Chicago to discuss immigration reform in 2014. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo

Ireland Looks Ahead Despite Brexit Vote

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Since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union last month, other nations have been trying to figure out what it might mean for them. It’s an especially important question for the Republic of Ireland, which is the only country with a land border between the UK and the EU.

The border was a point of conflict for decades before the 1998’s Good Friday peace agreement which opened the border between the countries. Now that the UK has voted to leave the EU over fears of migration, the contentious border needs to be revisited.

Now, some Irish politicians are calling for a united Ireland. We talk about the issue with Billy Lawless Sr., an Irish-American recently appointed to the Irish Senate. Before coming to the Irish government, he was involved in Irish immigration issues in the United States.