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Photos: Brexit already changing lives on the UK-Ireland border

In the United Kingdom European Union Membership Referendum two years ago, Britain paid little attention to how exiting the European Union might affect the Irish border when 51.9% of British people voted to leave the EU. But people in Northern Ireland had voted to remain by a majority of 56%. As the debate rages on, some kind of border posts will eventually have to go up, many in the area are anxious about what lies ahead for business, daily life and even peace on the divided island. For many, Brexit has already changed their lives.

Updated on: Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM IST

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1/10

Cancer Support Worker Betty Holmes poses in Donegal, Ireland. Speaking on the border post Brexit, Holmes said, “A serious division of people who have lived and worked together... Long queues, angry people, loss of jobs, missed appointments, flights and a younger generation who can’t understand why. My greatest fear after Brexit is the serious loss of access to cancer services for Donegal patients at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

Cancer Support Worker Betty Holmes poses in Donegal, Ireland. Speaking on the border post Brexit, Holmes said, “A serious division of people who have lived and worked together... Long queues, angry people, loss of jobs, missed appointments, flights and a younger generation who can’t understand why. My greatest fear after Brexit is the serious loss of access to cancer services for Donegal patients at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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The border was not always trouble-free. Northern Ireland suffered 30 years of sectarian and political violence known as ‘the Troubles’, during which the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) waged an armed struggle against British state forces and loyalist paramilitary. Back then, the border was heavily fortified with militarized British Army checkpoints. The Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998 and power-sharing arrangements brought relative peace to the region. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

The border was not always trouble-free. Northern Ireland suffered 30 years of sectarian and political violence known as ‘the Troubles’, during which the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) waged an armed struggle against British state forces and loyalist paramilitary. Back then, the border was heavily fortified with militarized British Army checkpoints. The Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998 and power-sharing arrangements brought relative peace to the region. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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Undertaker Johnny McKeegan crosses the border several times a week attending to the recently deceased from both sides of the frontier. He said “There’s no reason in the world that they can’t come to some common sense agreement. Can you imagine waiting in a queue at the border with family sitting in cars behind you? It’s undignified! You just can’t close the border off with a brick wall and red tape.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

Undertaker Johnny McKeegan crosses the border several times a week attending to the recently deceased from both sides of the frontier. He said “There’s no reason in the world that they can’t come to some common sense agreement. Can you imagine waiting in a queue at the border with family sitting in cars behind you? It’s undignified! You just can’t close the border off with a brick wall and red tape.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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Fisherman Brian Cunningham on board his boat out in the Irish Sea in Kilkeel. Cunningham said “My biggest fear is displacement of fishing effort. There are 40 small boats in Kilkeel harbour who seek shelter through the winter from the prevailing south west winds, when Brexit happens where will they go? Small boats exposed 12 miles out to sea, that’s life or death stuff and that’s not bullshit, that’s reality!” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

Fisherman Brian Cunningham on board his boat out in the Irish Sea in Kilkeel. Cunningham said “My biggest fear is displacement of fishing effort. There are 40 small boats in Kilkeel harbour who seek shelter through the winter from the prevailing south west winds, when Brexit happens where will they go? Small boats exposed 12 miles out to sea, that’s life or death stuff and that’s not bullshit, that’s reality!” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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Catriona Walsh stands in a barley field along the Irish border in Londonderry. Catriona attends nearby St. Mary’s college in Derry and her journey to and from school threads through the border. She said, “At most we will have checkpoints which will take a great step back into the past of Northern Ireland and my biggest fear is that it will damage my future education through travelling to university and affecting my pathway of study.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

Catriona Walsh stands in a barley field along the Irish border in Londonderry. Catriona attends nearby St. Mary’s college in Derry and her journey to and from school threads through the border. She said, “At most we will have checkpoints which will take a great step back into the past of Northern Ireland and my biggest fear is that it will damage my future education through travelling to university and affecting my pathway of study.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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A horse makes its way across an open field along the Irish border in Newry. Coming to terms between those who favour a ‘hard’ Brexit and those who prefer a ‘soft’ Brexit has so far been a challenge for Theresa May. A hard Brexit would see the UK giving up access to the EU’s single market whereas a soft Brexit would see the UK leave the EU, lose its seat on the European Council —but retain access to the market. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

A horse makes its way across an open field along the Irish border in Newry. Coming to terms between those who favour a ‘hard’ Brexit and those who prefer a ‘soft’ Brexit has so far been a challenge for Theresa May. A hard Brexit would see the UK giving up access to the EU’s single market whereas a soft Brexit would see the UK leave the EU, lose its seat on the European Council —but retain access to the market. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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A former customs guard hut is illuminated on the Irish border in Ravensdale. Following the United Kingdom European Union Membership Referendum in 2016, 51.9% of British people voted to leave the EU. People in Northern Ireland voted to remain by a majority of 56% to 44%. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

A former customs guard hut is illuminated on the Irish border in Ravensdale. Following the United Kingdom European Union Membership Referendum in 2016, 51.9% of British people voted to leave the EU. People in Northern Ireland voted to remain by a majority of 56% to 44%. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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Farmer and landowner John Sheridan stands beside the Cuilcagh mountain boardwalk in Florencecourt, which allows thousands of tourists to walk across the border as it meanders between County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. A member of the Border Communities Against Brexit group, Sheridan predicts the UK will become a third-world country after Brexit. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

Farmer and landowner John Sheridan stands beside the Cuilcagh mountain boardwalk in Florencecourt, which allows thousands of tourists to walk across the border as it meanders between County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. A member of the Border Communities Against Brexit group, Sheridan predicts the UK will become a third-world country after Brexit. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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The Vice Chairman of Newry Chamber of Commerce, Emma Marmion, stands at the Flagstaff viewpoint on the border in Newry. On being asked what she thinks the border will look like post-Brexit, she said “I have really no idea and that’s the scary part, no one does! My greatest hope is that it would be division-less and prosperous, not just for business and trade but for the navigation of everyday life.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

The Vice Chairman of Newry Chamber of Commerce, Emma Marmion, stands at the Flagstaff viewpoint on the border in Newry. On being asked what she thinks the border will look like post-Brexit, she said “I have really no idea and that’s the scary part, no one does! My greatest hope is that it would be division-less and prosperous, not just for business and trade but for the navigation of everyday life.” (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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The Irish tricolour flutters as the sun rises along the border between in Newry. The EU Withdrawal Act of 2018 declares the UK will exit the EU on the March 29, 2019. The frontier between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland runs for 310 miles and is the only border between the UK and the EU. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 11:59 AM

The Irish tricolour flutters as the sun rises along the border between in Newry. The EU Withdrawal Act of 2018 declares the UK will exit the EU on the March 29, 2019. The frontier between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland runs for 310 miles and is the only border between the UK and the EU. (Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

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