David Laird, 49, is from Northern Ireland but moved to Scotland 30 years ago. The sales engineer, who lives in Edinburgh, talks us through his long journey from being a Unionist in Northern Ireland to an independence supporter in Scotland. I WANTED to tell my No to Yes story, as I’m told it’s quite a journey. I was born in Northern Ireland to Scottish parents in 1971. Both were Protestants so immediately I became a Rangers-supporting Protestant Unionist. Not that I have ever believed in God, but that was the norm in 1970s NI. Either you were a Protestant Unionist, or a Catholic Nationalist.