That a Fine Gael ex-Taoiseach would emerge as a primary advocate for Irish reunification was not on my bingo card. From the Irish Times:
Irish-America can offer vitally needed help in the next steps to bring about “the great cause” of Irish unity, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has told an audience in the United States.
Speaking in Philadelphia to guests of the pro-unity campaign group, Ireland’s Future, Mr Varadkar said they had all gathered “as friends of Ireland – and as dreamers and architects of its future”.
“Here in the city of brotherly love – where a new nation declared itself free – we are reminded that history can be made by courageous and spirited people who choose hope over fear and find new ways of moving past seemingly insurmountable obstacles,” he declared.
Mr Varadkar, a former leader of Fine Gael, has become increasingly outspoken on his support for Irish unity since he stepped down as taoiseach in April last year.
“Every generation has its great cause. I believe ours is the cause of uniting our island, working to embrace differences instead of trying to erase them. Working to build a new home where all traditions, all stories and all our people belong,” he said.
The issue is “the political project of our generation”, that “belongs to no one person, no one party, no one community and no one government. It belongs to all of us who believe in it”.
Throughout his Philadelphia speech, Mr Varadkar emphasised the role that Irish-Americans have played in the history of the island of Ireland, especially in the last number of decades.
Thanking the gathering for their “love for Ireland”, Mr Varadkar said Ireland “has been part of the story of America. And America has been part of the story of Ireland”.
Patrick Pearse had spoken in 1916 of how Ireland was “supported by our exiled children in America”, he said, while Éamon de Valera had spoken to huge crowds in the US and raised €5 million during the War of Independence.
“In the same way the exiled children of Ireland once built a new life here, so too can we build a new Ireland at home. A new home founded on our shared hopes, our shared responsibilities, and our shared pride in our diverse identities and traditions,” he told his audience.
Once again emphasising the importance of the Irish-American voice, Mr Varadkar said: “London does not always pay attention to what’s happening in Ireland, North or South. But they always pay attention to the White House.
“This is something I learned when negotiating Brexit and I am profoundly grateful for the help we got at difficult moments from president Biden, a son of Pennsylvania.”
The US is “in many ways” the third guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, he said, which offers a democratic route to a united Ireland “once a majority on both sides of the border want it”.
“So, twenty-five years later, we ask for your support again,” he told the Philadelphia audience, describing the Good Friday Agreement as one of “the stepping stones” to unification.
“I firmly believe that building a new and united Ireland is the next step in our national journey and I believe that Irish-America can help us to make those next steps. While there is not yet a majority for it north of the border, support grows with every year and unification now is supported by a clear majority of younger voters. The tectonic plates are shifting and in one direction only,” he said.
“Unification, however, is not inevitable. The case has to made and it has to be worked for. It should be an ‘objective’, not just an ‘aspiration’.”
He had always argued against a quickly called Border referendum, but he said he believed “we should prepare for one”, even though it is “evident” there is not yet majority support for one in Northern Ireland.
“A border poll defeated would be divisive and could reverse momentum, setting us back a generation. Australians rejected a republic in 1999 because they were offered the wrong model,” he said.
“No government has risked asking the question again since, even though many were led by republican prime ministers. In Scotland, which rejected independence in a referendum 10 years ago, a second referendum seems far off. Nearer to here, Quebec rejected sovereignty by a whisker.
“The lessons are clear: Don’t do it until you are confident you can win it, and make sure you have answers to all of the hard questions even if they are imperfect ones.”
So, Leo Varadkar, once the leader of a party not exactly known for Republican romanticism, is now standing on a Philadelphia podium invoking Pearse, de Valera, and the Good Friday Agreement like he’s been mainlining Sinn Féin leaflets. It’s quite the pivot.
There’s a certain irony in seeing Varadkar—the polished, centrist technocrat—take up the mantle of unification cheerleader. And not just at home, but on a US tour. It’s like finding out your local bank manager’s gone full Rage Against the Machine.
To his credit, he didn’t hedge his words. This wasn’t the usual diplomatic fluff. He called Irish unity “the political project of our generation,” and suggested that Irish-America, with its sentimental pull and real-world lobbying clout, could be key to pushing things forward. He even threw in a cheeky dig at London’s selective hearing: “They always pay attention to the White House.”
Fair play.
Still, it’s hard to tell whether Leo’s actions over the past year are a solo flyer or the first drops of rain before an Irish establishment downpour in support of reunification. Fine Gael isn’t exactly stuffed with Wolfe Tone groupies, and you’d have to wonder what Sinn Féin makes of all this. Do they see it as useful momentum-building or just as Leo trying to steal their thunder without inviting them to the gig?
Either way, there’s no denying he’s opened the door to conversations that, just a few years ago, were too toxic for polite political company. The call to “prepare for” a Border poll is significant, especially with the warning that a failed one could slam the door shut for another generation. As he put it, “Don’t do it until you are confident you can win it.” Wise words—and not just because they rhyme.
As for the shifting demographics, Varadkar noted the growing support among younger voters in the North. That’s the slow burn of history doing its thing. The tectonic plates are moving, and, as he said, they’re moving in one direction only.
But here’s the clincher: Unification is not inevitable. It’s not a passive process. Someone has to make the case. Build the scaffolding. Fill in the uncomfortable blanks with at least plausible answers.
And let’s be honest—nobody’s really done that yet. Not in detail.
What’s clear, though, is that if Irish unity does come to pass in our lifetime, the story won’t just be written in Dáil Éireann or Stormont. It’ll echo from Washington to West Belfast, from Whitehall to White House. And the cast of characters will be… unexpected.
Personally, I can’t wait for the Wolfe Tones song about how a half-Indian, openly gay ex-Taoiseach helped deliver a united Ireland. Now that will be a rebel anthem for the 21st century.
Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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