Islands of the North Atlantic

Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA) was suggested by Sir John Biggs Davison as a less contentious alternative to the term "British Isles" to refer to Britain and Ireland and the smaller associated islands. It has been used particularly in the context of the Northern Irish peace process as a neutral description of the those islands.

One nice feature of this name is that the acronym IONA has the same spelling as the island of Iona which is off the coast of Britain but which Irish people have strong cultural association. It is a name with which people of both main islands can identify. However, it has the problem that Iceland and Newfoundland, to name just two, are also islands of the North Atlantic.

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References:

[1] Denis Canavan MSP, British Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, Summary of the 15th Plenary Session, 9. The Future of the Body

[2] Trevor Sargent TD, "The Good Friday Agreement", Dail speech

[3] Mr. Peter Luff MP, House of Commons speech

[4], Kevin Barry, "Resiliency, Tolerance and Avoidance in Northern Ireland"

[5] Taoiseach Mr Bertie Ahern TD, "Ireland and Britain A New Relationship for a New Millennium"

[6] Paul Sharp, "When New Meets Old: Irish Diplomacy, Northern Ireland and the Peace Process"

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