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"And by 'country' we mean a sovereign state that is a member of the UN in its own right" to quote the famous UK Quiz Show "Pointless". Team GB enters the Olymp
by tialaramex 2mo ago
"And by 'country' we mean a sovereign state that is a member of the UN in its own right" to quote the famous UK Quiz Show "Pointless".
Team GB enters the Olympics but as you may have noticed it was England who came Third in the World Cup recently, and likewise England play international rugby, including against Wales and Scotland.
- M2Ys4U 2mo ago>and likewise England play international rugby, including against Wales and Scotland. Except when they play as part of the British & Irish Lions!
- alexchamberlain 2mo agoAnd, of course, the Ireland rugby team picks players from both the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland.
- tialaramex 2mo agoThat's a citizenship thing though right? The Republic is of the opinion that everybody on Ireland† is a citizen of the Republic. If my mother had happened to be in Portavogie when she gave birth to me last century, my understanding is that the RoI considers I am automatically a citizen, because I was born on "their" island even if certainly Portavogie is not under their control. † The exact rules are complicated, but they don't depend on where on the island you were born or stuff like that.
- alexchamberlain 2mo agoI don't think so. My understanding was "confirmed" by ChatGPT, though I haven't looked at the sources. > Rugby in Ireland is governed by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), which was established in 1879, decades before Ireland was partitioned in 1921. It has always organised rugby on an all-Ireland basis.
- tialaramex 2mo agoOh! I looked into it more and you're quite right that the IRFU decides and their rule happens to be about the island of Ireland and so who may control some or all of the island is irrelevant. Thanks.