Ireland – Page 32 – Slugger O'Toole

“Northern Ireland to become an EU province” after a Brexit breakdown. Did we not know that already?

Brian Walker on February 27, 2018, 11:46 am

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Tomorrow the EU will publish its legal version of December’s joint Report or Withdrawal Agreement that was supposed to guarantee against a hard border. The intention is to remove any idea of a fudged political deal that could be changed later. It will however become the EU’s law not the UK’s. Britain will argue that Withdrawal Agreement will be superseded as a result of a final free trade agreement. However as has been well trailed, it will omit the guarantees …

“The Irish language is just the latest in a list of tribal provocations by the Pied Piper of Sinn Fein”

Mick Fealty on February 27, 2018, 10:34 am

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You have to hand it to Sinn Fein, they do seem to understand narrative better than most of their rivals. They managed to dump democratic powersharing (and the Stormont institutions to boot) with one that too many nationalists cannot resist. That is that whatever goes wrong, it’s always “the fault of the Unionists.” It’s genius is that its still plays very well in the most un-Provisional parts of Irish society, north and south. It even features in that 1994 memo …

Laura

Soapbox on February 26, 2018, 8:05 pm

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William Ennis, an east Belfast loyalist and PUP member, pays tribute to sex worker, rights campaigner and activist, Laura Lee. It was just before midnight when my phone rang. It was a dear friend. As soon as she spoke, I knew something was wrong. Her voice was broken, and she demanded to know if I was seated. I assured her I was. “Laura’s gone”, she wept. “Laura’s gone.” My voice simply failed me, and I could only listen to her sobs. When I finally could make a sound, I …

A timely reminder that today’s unionists and other non-nationalists have as big a stake in human rights as nationalists. Further polarisation must therefore be avoided

Brian Walker on February 26, 2018, 3:02 pm

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The stale stereotype that nationalists are all for civil rights and unionists fight them tooth and nail is challenged in an open letter signed by over 100 “civic unionists, pluralists and other forms of civic leadership” published in the Irish Times. It’s a riposte to similar letters from “ civic nationalism” appealing to the Dublin government “to defend the legal, human and language rights of Irish citizens in the North, and warning that the British government’s deal with the DUP …

Time for Sinn Fein to stand up for the Irish National Interest over Brexit at Westminster?

Mick Fealty on February 25, 2018, 9:52 am

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No doubt the Sindo isn’t making this suggestion for the sake of Sinn Fein’s good health, but it actually does make sense that an Irish party – wishing to represent the nation’s interest at home and abroad – should make its seven seats in Westminster available alongside Tory rebels in a crucial vote over the UK’s customs arrangements post Brexit… Members of the Conservative Party who wisely support the UK remaining in the customs union intend to vote against Mrs …

Picks of the Week – First Communions, Protestant Gaels, Squaddies and Stuckness

Claire Mitchell on February 24, 2018, 9:23 am

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There’s a lot of highfalutin political goings on at the moment. But what are the ordinary humans talking about? Here are some media magpie treasures from the last week… RTÉ Documentary on One rebroadcast the gorgeous 2014 doc, Mairead’s First Communion. It follows two culturally Catholic, but non-religious, parents’ experience of their daughter’s First Communion. They didn’t like the idea of her doing it, but 8 year old Mairead really wanted to, so they let her. There’s so much to …

And man created the nation in his own image

Andrew Gallagher on February 23, 2018, 6:44 pm

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When we say we belong to a particular ethnicity or nationality, we are implicitly saying that we share traits in common with the other members of this group. Or are we saying that the other members of this group share traits in common with us? There is a subtle but important distinction. In the popular imagination, the formation of an ethnic or national identity is an objective process whereby the members of the group find commonalities amongst themselves and thereby …

Does Brexit threaten rights protection for Irish citizens in the North?

Brian Walker on February 22, 2018, 9:33 am

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What happens to a raft of human rights when we leave the European Union and the European Charter of Human Rights no longer applies? The question is raised by the leading constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor. Successive UK governments (and I!) thought we had opted out of it for years, but the European Court of Justice ruled in 2013 that we hadn’t. Inevitably there is an Irish angle to this that may be of particular concern to Irish-EU citizens in Northern …

A St Patrick’s Day Grand Slam showdown at Twickers? Probably.

ItwasSammyMcNally on February 22, 2018, 9:19 am

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Ireland last won a Grand Slam back in 2009. In odd years, like 2009, Ireland play England and France (the 2 traditional heavyweights) at home – and odd years were therefore deemed Ireland’s best chance of winning a 6 Nations Championship and particularly a grand slam. But in more recent times, France’s form has fallen off a cliff and Ireland has taken to beating them both home and away. In contrast to France, Ireland has moved up the pecking order …

Congratulations are due to the DUP and Sinn Fein negotiators. How can the DUP be persuaded to implement it in their own long term interests?

Brian Walker on February 21, 2018, 1:26 pm

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After rubbing our eyes several times, the first thing to do about the 13 pages of the Draft Agreement published in full by Eamonn Mallie is to have it recognised for what it claims to be. As Sinn Fein has already insisted on its authenticity, the initiative now lies with the DUP. Clearly the document was the hymn sheet the secretary state Karen Bradley was working off in her Commons statement yesterday , although she understandably refused to publish it, …

Is it time for the churches to become more Christian?

Soapbox on February 21, 2018, 9:15 am

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Cathal O’Hagan is a Monaghan native and law graduate, currently doing an MA in Conflict Transformation at QUB. Just like there isn’t momentum for a re-prohibition on contraception; or mood for re-implementing a ban on divorce, the penny will soon finally drop that debates over marriage equality and abortion are not the way for churches to regain influence in Ireland. Churches can either continue with the prominence they give to so-called “moral” issues, or they can refocus on the core …

Whatever happened to the ‘designated parents’ role in the Belfast Agreement?

Mick Fealty on February 21, 2018, 8:45 am

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As ever, the breakdown of Stormont, and the inability of the two main parties to agree on anything substantive is being treated as a novelty. In fact, when you put two ideologically rigid parties in a rigid system breakdown is merely the status quo. As Siobhan Fenton recalled with admirable clarity on Monday, the Belfast Agreement was the product of a liberal rather than the fanatical mindset that presently dominates thinking in both the DUP and Sinn Fein: https://twitter.com/SiobhanFenton/status/965598112432697344 Brian …

Care is needed to stop the wheels coming off the Good Friday Agreement

Brian Walker on February 20, 2018, 1:04 pm

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I suppose it was inevitable. On the fringes of Westminster politics the alignment of Leave with a Brexit Union and Remain with support for the GFA is hardening, as shown in reaction to the failure so far to restore Stormont. This is what happens when people dip into the issues and pull out again. Living with them requires steadiness. Former secretary of state, stout Brexiteer and Shropshire lad Owen Paterson tweets that the GFA “has outlived its use.” Kate Hooey, …

Meanwhile on Brexit … the British fog may be about to lift a little

Brian Walker on February 20, 2018, 12:27 am

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Don’t get too excited, but this really could be a significant week for achieving greater clarity on British government aims for Brexit. The fiercely anti-Brexit FT reports that on an awayday at Chequers on Thursday, Theresa May will nail her ministers’ hands to the table (well, the FT didn’t quite put it that way) until they agree on a high level of alignment between the UK and EU rules. Haven’t we heard something like that before? Oh yes, December’s joint …

Varadkar says the Irish government does not want to see Direct Rule

David McCann on February 19, 2018, 8:43 pm

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The Taoiseach’s been on the phone to @theresa_may and told her Ireland will not support direct rule in Northern Ireland pic.twitter.com/pNh8KsVQLS — Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) February 19, 2018 David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

The draft agreement revealed: So far but yet so near

Brian Walker on February 19, 2018, 11:19 am

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The cats have been let out of the bag thanks to the sources of Eamonn Mallie and Barney Rowan, (Sinn Fein?). From documents of “a dozen pages or so plus annexes and separate agreements,” we pick up the story below from a week ago last Friday. The secretary of state will no doubt be questioned on the details in a statement on the talks failure when the Commons resumes tomorrow. The Sinn Fein leadership will meet Theresa May on Wednesday …

As the 20th anniversary approaches, the contrast is glaring between the commitment and success of the Good Friday Agreement and the neglect and failures of today

Brian Walker on February 18, 2018, 4:51 pm

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Bill and Hillary Clinton may register a no-show at a conference called to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement on 10 April, the Sunday Times reports. Organised by the impressively branded Senator George J Mitchell Institute For Global Peace, Security And Justice at Queens University, the conference line up includes every surviving key figure from the 1998 peace settlement except the incapacitated John Hume. If Bill and Hillary scratch, Tony Blair may follow suit. And then …

Arlene and Mary Lou are at least explaining themselves. But how much does Stormont matter now?

Brian Walker on February 17, 2018, 5:39 pm

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“tiocfaidh ár lá Pat Leahy in the Irish Times The extent to which coaxing the DUP back into powersharing is secondary for Sinn Féin was captured perfectly by McDonald’s speech at her ardfheis coronation at the RDS last weekend. If Sinn Féin was primarily concerned with helping Arlene Foster to bring her party back into Stormont then McDonald wouldn’t have rounded off her peroration with that rousing “Tiocfaidh ár lá!”Never mind that it was unscripted; it wasn’t accidental. Arlene …

“The relationship between the two governments hasn’t been everything it should have been…”

Mick Fealty on February 16, 2018, 11:54 am

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Cue Arlene saying it is all over, “in our view, there is no current prospect of these discussions leading to an executive being formed”. Her Majesty’s government, “to set a budget and start making policy decisions about our schools, hospitals and infrastructure”. As the UUP leader pointedly noted Tuesday, the no deal came after 402 days of deadlock. From what I can figure, the idea for three interlocking acts came from a senior civil servant, possibly the same one …

London and Dublin must clear their lines for close cooperation on direct rule

Brian Walker on February 16, 2018, 10:52 am

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Clarity rather than coyness is now needed over moves toward direct rule. Working on its scope and duration is one more compelling reason for London and Dublin to stick together. On Monday at the otherwise disastrous Stormont meeting, Theresa May and Leo Varadkar pledged “to work together on a new plan on how to achieve a frictionless Irish border.” Good luck to them with that. On the continuing local stand-off, two elements are essential. Enough action must be taken to …