Yesterday, I was certainly not alone in being left shocked at the results of the EU referendum. Perhaps it was due to being sheltered at a university in a city where 73.8 per cent voted to remain. Possibly it was also that I had a more provincial view of the referendum, worrying about what the result would mean for Northern Ireland and hoping that we would be able to continue down the path to peace, seeing the vote only as a potential bump in the road. It seems that the majority of my country stood with me, voting to remain part of the EU.

In writing about Northern Ireland today, I am not going to present it as a conflict-ridden wasteland where a bomb threat lurks around every corner – but nor am I going to pretend that everything is rosy. We still encounter paramilitary activity, and there will always be tension in a post-conflict society, no matter how far life has moved on. For years, the IRA and many others campaigned to destabilise NI; perhaps ironically, it was the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who have managed the task. Despite being a party which bases its ideology on union, they still campaigned to leave. Outside of the province, this seemed very much an English debate, with the so-called “Celtic fringes” of the UK not being considered. Indeed, it was England and Wales who exerted the greatest numerical influence over results, with Scotland and Northern Ireland being dragged out of the EU with them. Briefly, the Trade Union Congress (TUC)  General Secretary made a plea about Northern Ireland, but it had little resonance. I can only see this as unfortunate, as I see Brexit as a destabilising force in Northern Ireland.

I'm not going to talk about the devaluation of the pound, poor currency exchange rates, or companies relocating from England. The financial problems in NI seem much greater: as a small country with a small economy, we relied on EU subsidies. We have lost peace process support funds, as well as economic support equating to around one billion pounds per annum. In the last round of funding we received from the EU, we were given approximately £2.5 billion, and we were due another two billion by 2020.  

The fate of EU cross-border programmes also remains unknown. How can we continue with Intertrade, or Peace and Tourism Ireland when import and export taxes, as well as an enforced border, may stand between us? One of our selling points was access to the Republic, and to Europe as a whole. The ease of movement north and south has promoted our burgeoning film industry. Almost everyone in the country can boast of being an extra in Game of Thrones, but with the landscapes of the North Coast being interrupted by passport control, I can only wonder if we will still seem as appealing to filmmakers.

We also occupy the unique position of being the only part of the UK to border an EU state. I don't know what's going to happen there.  The border as it is physically is not an issue of contention (of course, politically, the border remains a huge issue).  Aside from road signs, and an alert from your mobile phone operator that EU roaming has been turned on, there is nothing to indicate that you are entering another country. Bureau de changes dot the border counties, and it is easy for those living there to pop down south to pick up cheaper fuel or groceries. In the future, residents will need to grab their passports and documentation in order to get cheap petrol from Lifford.

Last week, David Cameron confirmed that border controls would be necessary. There have been suggestions of a physical border going up between north and south, a move which certainly won't help relations. I don't know what will happen to north-south shared enterprises and hospices. A shared space, sometimes fraught with conflict, will now morph into an immigration barrier. The Belfast to Dublin train will have to stop for passport controls. The border was not effectively managed by army watchtowers during the Troubles, so the logistics obviously still need ironing out. The psychological impact of seeing the re-erection of watch towers and the presence of police or armed forces cannot be ignored. Some of the worst violence of the Troubles occurred in border areas, and plans for immigration control seem to hark back to the 1970s. This might include the resurgence of terrorist activity on the border counties and in other hotspots. Just last month Theresa May raised the threat from NI to Great Britain from moderate to severe. Even without terror threats, there has been an historic fear that Ireland provides a backdoor into England. The other suggestion of a border between the mainland and NI seems isolating and extreme.

I also don't know if we will remain British or join a United Ireland. What I do know is that either option – enforcing a border or having an Irish referendum - will have serious repercussions. Sinn Fein have been quick off the mark in asking for a referendum, and despite Theresa Villier’s denials, it seems likely that we may follow in Scotland’s footsteps. The Good Friday Agreement specified that a majority of political representatives in both communities must demand a poll before one can take place. As it is, only the unionists have shown their opposition, but public opinion could prove decisive. EU membership is vital to the national identity of those in NI. The Good Friday Agreement offers joint citizenship, but is it possible to hold both EU and non-EU citizenship when the only claim to both is having been born in NI?

Thankfully we have moved on from the NI of the 60s, 70s and 80s, but I think that issues so deeply rooted to national identity as these could reignite at least a little trouble.