Scotland’s ‘Little Ireland’ fearful of change Brexit might bring

"I voted to stay," says Willie Devlin, setting down his pint at the Columba Bar in Coatbridge. An old Irish country tune plays on the stereo. In the corner, a pair of afternoon drinkers are chatting about Ireland's victory over Italy the previous night.

Coatbridge is often called "Little Ireland" due to the scale of Irish migration to the town, 10 miles east of Glasgow. Devlin says Ireland was partly in his mind when he voted to remain.

"I was always going to vote to stay but I did think if [leaving] could negatively affect the land of my fathers then I couldn't vote for it," says Devlin, whose grandfather was from Armagh.

On the other side of the bar, Des Hamill (61) also voted to remain. “I believe in one world,” says the barman, whose aunt is a Sisters of Charity nun in Dublin.

An estimated 70 per cent of Coatbridge residents trace their ancestry to Ireland. “We are Scottish but we are also European,” says Hamill.

The pro-Brexit campaign failed to convince people of the benefits of leaving the EU, he says. "The majority in Coatbridge want to stay in. People are frightened about coming out. Better the devil you know, than the devil you don't."

Even on polling day there is little sign of the EU referendum in Coatbridge. A solitary Vote Leave poster is on a flat in a pebble-dash postwar tower block across from the train station.

Next generation

“You’re better with what you know than what you don’t know,” says Isabel, who only gives her first name. “I’ve got children and grandchildren. You have to worry about their future.”

Coatbridge is not the thriving town it once was. The massive ironworks that earned the “Iron Burgh” its nickname are long gone and the quiet main street is pockmarked with empty shops. But there is little enthusiasm for voting for change.

“It would be a huge gamble. You don’t know what would happen,” says Gerry O’Connor, who runs a family sweet shop.

Scottish independence

Coatbridge was solidly Labour for decades, but voted Yes in the Scottish independence referendum and returned Scottish National Party representatives to Westminster and the

Edinburgh

parliament. Both Labour and the SNP opposed Brexit.

Emma Bickerton (22) supports Scottish independence but voted to remain. “If it’s not broke don’t fix it. We are better off where we are. I don’t think there’s a problem with the EU,” the shop assistant says.

Polls suggested Scotland would vote to remain in the EU, and by a bigger margin than elsewhere. But Bickerton says she was "really surprised a lot of my friends are voting to leave, because of immigration".

At Cradle Care children’s clothing shop proprietor Bill Petrie is leaning towards Brexit, but not because of concerns about incomers.

"I just don't see that trade would be a problem. We already deal with Poland, we deal with China, we deal with Portugal, we deal with Spain. What difference would it really make to us [if we left]?" says Petrie.

His assistant Elisabeth McGowan is pro Leave. “We already have a Scottish parliament and a British parliament. I don’t see why we should pay for another government too,” says McGowan, whose brother lives in Dublin.

Her friends are split. “Some of them want to leave, some to stay. I think most people are fed up with it by now.”