Re: An outsider asks....
RobThBay,
I don't think that is a silly question. Irish reunification is inevitable eventually, demographically speaking. The thing is Northern Ireland has a bad reputation in the UK *and* in the Republic of Ireland, due to it being an economic drain as much as due to the sectarian divide.
63% of the British Conservative and (nominally) Unionist party would be happy to lose Northern Ireland if it got them out of the EU, yet currently they rely on the hardline loyalist DUP votes in Westminster so it won't happen anytime soon.
Can you imagine Trump giving Texas back to Mexico in exchange for Mexico building a border wall? It would unify Tex-Mex cuisine but there would be blood shed.