> People from the RoI can join the armed forces of the UK? How?
The UK and the RoI obviously have a lot of complex cultural, social, family interlinks, and there are many exceptions to normal international boundaries between the two.
That includes yes RoI nationals, even if that's the only nationality they have, can join the British Army, and I think a couple hundred a year join in practice. The British Army has several regiments which specifically are Irish and recruit from the whole of Ireland, but they can join any part of the Army.
> Is it like a foreign legion kind of thing?
No it's fully integrated. English people for example can also choose to apply to join a traditionally Irish regiment if they wanted to.
> NI is part of the UK but the RoI is an independent nation, is it not?
Yes.
> The were even neutral in WW2, officially.
Yes and that's partly where the tradition of service in the British Army came from.
The UK and the RoI obviously have a lot of complex cultural, social, family interlinks, and there are many exceptions to normal international boundaries between the two.
That includes yes RoI nationals, even if that's the only nationality they have, can join the British Army, and I think a couple hundred a year join in practice. The British Army has several regiments which specifically are Irish and recruit from the whole of Ireland, but they can join any part of the Army.
> Is it like a foreign legion kind of thing?
No it's fully integrated. English people for example can also choose to apply to join a traditionally Irish regiment if they wanted to.
> NI is part of the UK but the RoI is an independent nation, is it not?
Yes.
> The were even neutral in WW2, officially.
Yes and that's partly where the tradition of service in the British Army came from.