A referendum was held in 1973, so I should have said partition continued due to a referendum.

However even the opt-out of 1922 could be seen as the result of a public vote, as Sinn Féin campaigned the 1921 election focused almost solely on the issue of partition, and underperformed with 20% of the popular vote.

Unionist and nationalist paramilitaries had been formed during the previous decade, and both had been generously armed by Germany during the war. Unionist paramilitaries had taken to marching through English cities en masse, promising England would face consequences if a united Ireland gained independence.