Why the Shared Island Initiative matters…

gray stone on green grass

Nobody would ever accuse the former Taoiseach, Micheál Martin (now Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs), of being an inspirational public speaker. But listening to his speech at the big Shared Island event in Dublin Castle earlier this month, I realised he was outlining an inspiring vision of Irish people, North and South, genuinely coming together around vital shared goals and aspirations, practical and achievable and mutually beneficial. Not political unity – that remains the dangerously risky issue that continues …

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“The harsh reality is that in the past two decades we have done too little to take up the historic opportunity of the Agreement to build understanding and cooperation on this island”

Today’s Irish News reports on a speech by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at a commemoration event for former Taoiseach Seán Lemass yesterday in Dublin. From the article: PEOPLE making the loudest calls for Irish unity are “the most divisive” in how they treat opponents, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. People who do not conform to a specific approach on how to achieve unity have been dismissed and abused. “It is remarkable how often it is that those who are loudest in …

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Behind the Paddy’s Day rituals, how deep is the Stormont crisis?

With so much guff, bluff and ritual about it, St Patrick’s Day is a poor bellwether for judging the state of affairs in Ireland remotely – and perhaps no better on the spot either. One glance at privileged youff crowding Botanic Gardens in defiance of lockdown, you might have groaned with me: “ Not the Holylands again. “ However BBCNI’s news story was encouraging. St Patrick's Day: Police clear crowds at Belfast's Botanic Gardens https://t.co/Fp6LvjTOC8 — Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) March …

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Disregarding the poppy will only hinder Irish unity

It seemed the annual poppy debate, like many events in 2020, was cancelled or run with socially distanced measures in place. It was not until Taoiseach Micheál Martin appeared in Enniskillen, laying a wreath on Remembrance Day that the topic resurfaced down in the South. It is not an overly new occurrence of a Taoiseach attending such event. Enda Kenny during his time as Taoiseach, started the tradition and was followed by Leo Varadkar and now Micheál Martin.

Irish government’s Covid 19 framework represents an important shift of pace…

It’s interesting how the framing of the Covid crisis is beginning to subtly change. There seems to be a realisation that this is going to be long war, not a short campaign. The news of two new Covid deaths in Northern Ireland is carried by most major titles… Both victims were aged between 60-79. One of the deaths took place in the Newry, Mourne and Down council area, and the other was in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon. A further …

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It would be a mistake for Unionists to seek terms for Irish unity now. There’s a bigger future to discuss

The time, therefore, has finally come for unionists, particularly those in Northern Ireland, to consider the terms on which they could tolerate, if not accept, a united Ireland… On the eve of Northern Ireland’s centenary next May, Unionism needs to form an assembly of its own to answer that question. So what should unionism demand in exchange for its tolerance of unification? First, let’s acknowledge that unionism holds a pretty decent hand should it care to play it: the knowledge …

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Micheál Martin elected as the 15th Taoiseach…

Micheál Martin is a lesson in having patience. If you hang around long enough and play the long game you eventually get the top job. The Corkman is not exactly the most exciting politician but maybe a steady hand on the tiller is exactly what Ireland needs in these turbulent times. As I said in the Dáil earlier, being elected Taoiseach of a free Republic is the greatest honour that any Irish person could hope for. I am humbled by …

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“UK policy is towards a more unilateral approach which carries with it many dangers…”

Interesting speech by Micheal Martin at Queens at the end of last week. Certainly an attempt at providing a grounded analysis, by a senior Irish political leader speaking in a U.K. University which even in the best case scenario is unlikely to do well out of any putative Brexit deal. First, a well aimed dig at ‘Perfidious Albion’ for breaking with the EU: It is simply impossible to look at the referendum debate and the arguments used to promote Leave …

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Micheál Martin throws a few questions at the all island dialogue on #Brexit to consider…

The Royal Hospital in Kilmainham was the venue for a series of Reconciliation Networking Forums which take place annually [amended from my mistake earlier]. The venue is now being pressed back into the purposes of north-south engagement. Unlike those previous events, this all island civic forum on Brexit (Live Feed available here) has been much more overtly political, making almost inevitable there would be no formal representation from any unionist party. It began this morning with a series of pitches from each of the political leaders and …

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Post #Brexit northern nationalism needs its politicians to step up. Enter Fianna Fáil?

Maybe we were far too rigid in our approach [to partition], too tenacious of our point of view, too proud to temporise or placate… whatever may have been the reason, we made no headway, so our successors must start from “square one”. Sean MacEntee, 1970 The head-quote is from Stephen Kelly’s Fianna Fail, Partition and Northern Ireland 1926 – 1971. It could fit the situation nationalism faces now that Brexit looks set to alter intra-island relations more profoundly than any …

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Micheál Martin invokes Hume to argue that the centre has, can and must continue to hold…

“Will it be said, when the array of tombs which stretch from end to end of Europe have been multiplied, that there had been plenty of time.., but that the statesmen waited too long and the soldiers took control?” – Eamon De Valera, address to the League of Nations I’ve been away over the weekend so I missed Micheal Martin’s speech at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties. The media generally picked up on his observation that Brexit could make the …

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Kenny makes his first serious move towards forming a grand coalition

In the first meeting between the Micheal Martin & Kenny, the Fine Gael Press Office told us about this offer; This evening the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Leader of Fianna Fáil Micheal Martin had a positive and constructive meeting during which they discussed the current political situation and options for the formation of a stable and lasting Government.  The Taoiseach made a formal offer for the formation of a full partnership Government including Fine Gael, Independents and Fianna Fail …

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Whatever the lobby thinks poll suggests Micheal Martin is preferred to Enda as Taoiseach

For those in the southern press who think a grand coalition is just grand, and imminent, I’m just putting this here… …more people favoured a Fianna Fail-led minority government (14pc), rising to 37pc of Fianna Fail supporters ahead, of a Fine Gael-led one (8pc), rising to 19pc of Fine Gael supporters. The poll also found that 70pc of people would vote the same way if a new election was called, rising to 82pc of Fianna Fail supporters, 83pc of Sinn …

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First Leaders’ Debate – Where to now?

Politics is a fast moving game. What’s done is done and you have to get on with things. After the first Leaders Debate last night on TV3/Newstalk all the Leaders will be pondering what they have to do for the next time. Here at Slugger O’Toole we are all heart. So Johnny Fallon has some free and open advice for each of the participants.

Martin: “Economic and social situation in Northern Ireland should cause real concern”.

So the news from Ballymena, again, is not good. Another vestige of the work put in under O’Neill (and more directly, Brian Faulkner) in trying to modernise the economic base of Northern Ireland goes. The truth is that Northern Ireland is in an uneviable position as a periphery region both within the UK (water imposes major costs for manufacturing industry) and across the border. The ‘all shall have prizes’ governance model of peacebuilding at Stormont means there is little or …

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“Are people certain the proceeds from the organised crime is not finding its way into the [SF] political project?”

Micheal Martin took his second pot shot of the week at Sinn Fein in Leader’s Questions in Dail Eireann in as many days. But this was a more forensic strike than yesterday‘s more on-the-hoof affair. He starts with a reference to £28 Million raised by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) from individuals with “connections or associations” with the Provisional IRA, and then from here asks… Are people absolutely certain Taoiseach that any of the proceeds from the organised crime that’s been going …

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Micheal Martin: “Real Irish republicanism is founded on generous, anti-sectarian and international idealism”

So for me (as I noted in this morning’s SluggerReport) the most interesting event of the weekend was Micheal Martin’s speech at Bodenstown (not Ballyboden as I said this morning) commemorating Wolf Tone, the father of Irish Republicanism. It’s something I’ve been keeping an eye over the last few years because I think Martin has been using this annual occasion to sharpen some of his thinking on north south relations, but more particularly his party’s response to the Sinn Fein …

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Why do we price in all manner of ugly affairs but not the possibility of change?

There seems to be a presumption that the withdrawal of the UUP was purely in response to the muder of two men and the unstated relationship to those killings to the sill existing commandstructure of the IRA. Micheal Martin’s statement yesterday provides deeper context: “The decision of the UUP to withdraw its minister from the Executive is deeply regrettable. It confirms Fianna Fáil’s concerns about the seriousness of the situation facing the Northern Ireland institutions. This latest development comes following …

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“We need to sort out a dysfunctional and deeply cynical approach by the dominant parties.”

There’s a strong sense of politicians going through the motions each time there’s a plenary debate on Northern Ireland issues. Two exceptions this afternoon were Paul Murphy of the Anti Austerity Alliance who gave a pretty blistering account of SF’s role in the signing up to the so called fantasy budget, and Micheal Martin… I’ll add Murphy’s speech when we get the text, but here’s Martin’s in full: The sad reality is that the situation in Northern Ireland is now …

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