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As someone from a unionist background, I do consider myself to be Irish.  However, as proven in this thread it seems Ulster Protestants will never be considered to be as "Irish" as their catholic, GAA playing, Irish speaking Celtic supporting neighbours.  If these are the qualifications required to be considered a true Irishman, is it any wonder that unionists are no nearer to being convinced that their futue lies in a UI?

[the vast majority of Nationalist have no allegience to NI]

You miss the point, the vast majority of Nationalist have no allegience to NI, they would even support England first.

What about Marty McG the Deputy First Minister and half of the Executive?

Do you mean the IFA?

As someone from NI who follows the NI football team I can understand and appreciate why a young nationalist might prefer to opt for the Republic team.  The anthem for one ought to be changed. 

However, a point that has not yet been fully acknowledged in this thread is that as yet there have been no moves made by the FAI to attract young non-nationalists to opt for the ROI team.  As such, the FAI's approach could be construed as being sectarian in nature.  Given the attempts made to remove sectarianism from NI football, the approach adopted by the FAI does little to help improve the situation further and help make NI football more representative of everyone in NI society.