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Is Ireland independent in Harry Potter?


The HP Wikia page for the British Ministry of Magic claims that:



The same Ministry also appears to govern the wizarding population in Ireland.



But it fails to give any source for this claim, which I find quite dubious as there is no authority in the real (Muggle) UK that also governs Ireland.


Is there any canon source for the claim that Ireland is not an independent country in the Potterverse?


Any level of canon (books, Pottermore, or even films) is acceptable, but not Wikia or other unreliable sources.




Answer



It seems like Ireland is separate from Britain, but still governed by the Ministry of Magic.


There are very few references to Ireland or the Irish in the books – I counted maybe a dozen, if you exclude the Irish team in the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet of Fire. It’s very hard to draw any solid inferences about the state of magical politics in the British Isles.


What references there are play fast and loose with mentions of “Britain” and “Ireland”. It’s not always clear which entity is being referred to.


Clearly we need some prequels which spend all their time explaining the politics. I’m sure such a work would be universally beloved.


This stuff is sufficiently complicated in Muggle politics that I won’t try to come up with a unified theory of British politics, but here are some facts that can be inferred from canon:




  • There seems to be a distinction between “Britain” and “Ireland”.




    • In Goblet of Fire, Hermione gives Harry a book Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland.

    • In Philosopher’s Stone, Hagrid has a book Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland.

    • Quidditch through the Ages has a chapter “Teams of Britain and Ireland”.

    • There’s Ministry department called “the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters”.


    If Ireland was part of “Britain”, it would be strange to list it separately. This is probably “Great Britain”, but that would let Northern Ireland slip through the gap.




  • “Northern Ireland” and “Ireland” are distinct entities.


    Quidditch through the Ages tells us about the thirteen teams in the British and Irish league. Here’s a description of two of the teams:




    Ballycastle Bats. Northern Ireland's most celebrated Quidditch team.


    Kenmore Kestrels. This Irish side was founded in 1291.



    Northern Ireland only split from Ireland in 1921, well after magical society broke away from the Muggles. This suggests that at least some events in Muggle politics have carried over to magical society.




  • Hogwarts covers both the UK and Ireland.


    Quoting from JK Rowling in an interview with Telegraph Magazine:




    A month before your's child's 11th birthday, if you are a resident of the UK or Ireland, you will receive a letter delivered by owl telling you your child is due at Hogwarts.



    We know at least one Irish student at Hogwarts – Seamus Finnigan – although I don’t think we know whether he actually lives in Ireland.


    Since the Ministry has some control over Hogwarts, this might suggest their role includes some of Ireland. And indeed…




  • The Ministry has some jurisdiction over Ireland.


    The Department for Magical Games and Sports, part of the London Ministry, seems to preside over the entire British and Irish Quidditch League. This included asking some professional teams to disband when the League was established – something they could only do if they had at least some authority.


    We don’t get more detailed descriptions than that, or another specific incident involving the Ministry asserting authority over Irish affairs.


    There are discussions in the HP Wikia talk pages for Ministry of Magic and Minister for Magic about the exact jurisdiction of the Ministry – but nobody there has a definitive answer. The sentence quoted in the original question seems to be entirely hypothetical.





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