The BBC has a new podcast out dealing with the topic of the border called ‘Borderland- UK or United Ireland?‘ which pits former Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew (who lost her job with Sinn Féin earlier this year) and former DUP MP Ian Paisley (who lost his seat in the 2024 election) against each other as they advocate for a united Ireland and maintenance of the union with Great Britain respectively. Both former politicians seem to be taking advantage of the freedom offered of not having to hew so strictly to their respective party lines, with Gildernew notably straying from the more nuanced language Sinn Féin now employs on Northern Ireland to simply label the place ‘a shithole’. Whether that is her own personal view or one more widely held within Sinn Féin will be up to the listener to decide for themselves.
But the BBC news report highlighting the podcast is headlined by another former politician, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Varadkar takes aim at the Irish government itself.
“The former Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar has accused the Irish government of putting up an “artificial barrier” to a referendum on a united Ireland.
Varadkar said Dublin needed to begin planning for a border poll. He claimed the current Taoiseach Micheál Martin was not prepared to push forward with that work until there was “total reconciliation” across the island – something which his predecessor said may never be possible. “This is where I differ with Micheál Martin,” said Leo Varadkar. “There will always be people who are not reconciled for one reason or another but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pursue it,” he told the BBC’s new Borderland podcast. “I don’t think we should put up an artificial barrier towards a border poll.”
The reconciliation versus unification debate has become increasingly salient in recent years as Martin has emphasised the need for reconciliation to make reunification work. We have had several posts on Slugger on the topic this year (some of which you can find here, here, here and here) However, it seems that has generated something of a backlash in pro-unity circles who seem to be increasingly concluding that reconciliation is being turned into an excuse for permanent procrastination and delay on the part of the Irish government, and much of the blame for this (whether warranted or not) seems to be attaching to Martin.
Obviously Martin has a lot on his plate right now with the Republic’s budget having just been announced and with recriminations still roiling Fianna Fáil in the aftermath of the botched Jim Gavin Presidential candidacy so it is doubtful he has the time or even the inclination to worry about his predecessor’s criticisms. After all, he would doubtless argue that a reunification without reconciliation would be worthless. On the other hand, his detractors argue his focus on it to the point he may have turned it into a pre-requisite for unity may actually have put the aim of reconciliation further off than ever.
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