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question
shannon_164
Community Champion Posts: 1,262 Wise Owl
in Help Desk
hey, this is just a random question really that has just come into my head but obviously the mix is a service for the uk only - england, scotland, wales & northern ireland.
as someone from northern ireland, i am very much aware of this issue, however i imagine many in mainland uk are not actually aware as many people ive encountered from mainland uk don’t seem to even know northern ireland exists and cant get their head around the fact that i live in the uk, but not in england, scotland or wales but i also dont live in ireland - it is a common issue haha but as a citizen of northern ireland you can choose whether you choose to identify as british or irish, or even if you want to hold a british passport, an irish passport or both. it depends on who you talk to, some people believe northern ireland is northern ireland and apart of the uk therefore we are british, others believe northern ireland is actually the north of ireland and apart of ireland therefore we are irish.
knowing that information, it’s really made me think, what if a person who was living in belfast lets say, therefore can access the mix as belfast is located within the uk technically speaking, however they have grew up in a family that believe that belfast is apart of ireland and they are irish, which is totally ok, so they would then say they live in ireland - would this mean they couldn’t access the mix then? even though they live in northern ireland, they just hold the belief that this is ireland?
especially now with the box that pops up saying “are you currently in the uk?” as they would highly likely hit no then as they believe they are in ireland. i know from living here that some people take it really seriously, as in is this ireland / northern ireland and even on the likes of tiktok, anyone who mentions northern ireland / north of ireland on a tiktok or puts a place in northern ireland with a british flag or an irish flag, the comment section is the just filled with people arguing over is this northern ireland / north of ireland / ireland / the uk.
*i hope this doesn’t at all come across as i have an issue with people choosing to identify as irish when technically speaking they are from northern ireland which is apart of the uk, as i genuinely do not care what people identify as, if you feel you’re british then that’s cool, if you feel you’re irish then that’s cool - i don’t at all have a problem and just wanted to clarify!!*
sorry this is such a random question (and sooo long too!!!) but things like this randomly pop into my brain at silly o’clock when i should be sleeping lol anyways thank you if you made it this far, here is your medal: 🏅 hehehe
as someone from northern ireland, i am very much aware of this issue, however i imagine many in mainland uk are not actually aware as many people ive encountered from mainland uk don’t seem to even know northern ireland exists and cant get their head around the fact that i live in the uk, but not in england, scotland or wales but i also dont live in ireland - it is a common issue haha but as a citizen of northern ireland you can choose whether you choose to identify as british or irish, or even if you want to hold a british passport, an irish passport or both. it depends on who you talk to, some people believe northern ireland is northern ireland and apart of the uk therefore we are british, others believe northern ireland is actually the north of ireland and apart of ireland therefore we are irish.
knowing that information, it’s really made me think, what if a person who was living in belfast lets say, therefore can access the mix as belfast is located within the uk technically speaking, however they have grew up in a family that believe that belfast is apart of ireland and they are irish, which is totally ok, so they would then say they live in ireland - would this mean they couldn’t access the mix then? even though they live in northern ireland, they just hold the belief that this is ireland?
especially now with the box that pops up saying “are you currently in the uk?” as they would highly likely hit no then as they believe they are in ireland. i know from living here that some people take it really seriously, as in is this ireland / northern ireland and even on the likes of tiktok, anyone who mentions northern ireland / north of ireland on a tiktok or puts a place in northern ireland with a british flag or an irish flag, the comment section is the just filled with people arguing over is this northern ireland / north of ireland / ireland / the uk.
*i hope this doesn’t at all come across as i have an issue with people choosing to identify as irish when technically speaking they are from northern ireland which is apart of the uk, as i genuinely do not care what people identify as, if you feel you’re british then that’s cool, if you feel you’re irish then that’s cool - i don’t at all have a problem and just wanted to clarify!!*
sorry this is such a random question (and sooo long too!!!) but things like this randomly pop into my brain at silly o’clock when i should be sleeping lol anyways thank you if you made it this far, here is your medal: 🏅 hehehe
1
Comments
Though, Northern Ireland is part of the UK, so so long as the person is aware of that, it shouldn’t stop them from using the mix if they want to.
i know technically speaking, being in a place that is northern ireland even if you feel that this is ireland, you can still access the mix, however, there are people that take it rather seriously to say the least so that’s what i was thinking i guess?
apologies if this comes across as having a go at you or something as that is not at all what i mean - i’m just unsure of how best to explain, but i apologise if that’s how it comes across!!
Maybe a good way to tackle this would be to put “are you currently in the UK (including NI). Carefully wording this myself because “northern Ireland” is insulting for some. 😂😂😂
Tbh, I feel like however you identify, British or Irish, Catholic of Prod, you can’t deny that once you cross the border and you’re using euro you’re no longer in the UK😂 and you don’t have to be British to be living in the UK. You can live there and identify as Irish. Many people do.
I’d be interested to hear how it works for me though.. and for all those touching the border. Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth etc 😅
I miss you bro
Really relevant and insightful questions here folks. Here's where we stand:
As defined by the UK Government, the UK is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And as we are a UK based charity, our services are for those in these four jurisdictions.
We acknowledge that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are both on the island of Ireland. However, unlike the Republic of Ireland, legally Northern Ireland is a devolved government within the UK, therefore we can provide services to those located in Northern Ireland.
When it comes to answering the pop-up question "Are you currently in the UK?", we understand that whether or not a person living in Northern Ireland believes themselves to be in the UK may depend on their own knowledge and beliefs. All Community members are welcome to answer the pop-up question in whatever way feels accurate to them, however the remit of our services is based on the legal definition of the UK.
Super valid question @Faolan and we're mindful that those living in these areas along the borders may have their own political and personal beliefs about whether or not they are located in the UK. These beliefs are valid, and at the same time as a charity we define our remits of our services based on the current-standing legal definition of the UK.
It's not our place to undermine the beliefs of individuals, but as a UK registered charity we are legally obligated to conduct our services within the areas of the legal definition of the UK.
We're also going to take your feedback on board about possibly editing the pop-question so that it's clearer that the definition we're using of the UK includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - really good suggestion here
My question was more about what about the folk who live near to the border. The border from ROI to NI is invisible. It’s literally just a normal path like😂
For example - I spend majority of my time in ROI but we do our shopping in north of Ireland and have family who live in NI (my mam for example) It’s a 5 minute walk, if that. Sure sometimes I walk my dog over the border 😂
So in theory, id have to do a quick 5 min walk over the border and stand there like a melon to write a reply or to post a thread and then walk back to ROI
It’s just a bit silly 😂 I understand why though it’s just funny how it’s all changed. Is it due to investors ? Or was the mix previously breaking rules by letting others use the website
I get you here and whilst this isn't the exact same, where I live we have two towns side by side so there's a street near me where one half is one town and the other is the other town. However, there does have to be a divide/border somewhere to differentiate between the two, and even though you can walk between the two, they're recognised as being two different towns (two different countries in your case!).
In theory, yeah I guess that's all you'd have to do. And your answer to the pop-up question relies on an element of trust and whether you're telling the truth about which side of the border you are
It technically hasn't all changed - we've always been UK based, however we are moving towards a model of checking people's locations now via Geo-Fencing to update our practices. For funding purposes, we do receive funding as a UK-specific registered charity, so it's important we have measures in place to check that those using our services are in the UK. For example, previously this would rely on our conversations with community members and if they told us where they were based, but it was important we put better practices in place so we could start checking whether our community members are located in the UK. Furthermore, we're not wanting to isolate those who are living on the border, however in cases where we need to contact other services (such as emergency services), or signpost to other organisations, we can only safely and legitimately do this for those located in the UK.
I hear you that it's a bit silly though and I can imagine it feeling a little strange knowing whether you can use our services or not is based on if you've walked 5 minutes across the border. However, that's how the UK has been defined, and we're just following what areas are classed as the UK.