Unionism – Page 4 – Slugger O'Toole

Unionism Playing Senior Hurling?

Choyaa on April 1, 2021, 12:01 pm

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For many in the Nationalist community, the ‘United Ireland’ debate broadcast on RTE and hosted by Claire Byrne was highly significant as it represented the first such debate on mainstream Irish media. Following the debate, I was sent a short message from a Nationalist friend that went, “Unionism is now playing senior hurling and you’ve lost the first match”. My last article for Slugger outlining why I felt it was an apt time for Unionism to be confident and call …

Unionism needs to step out from the shadows on the Unity referendum question…

Choyaa on February 28, 2021, 10:14 am

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It’s difficult to avoid the reality that discussions about a referendum on the constitutional position of Northern Ireland are gaining momentum. For better or for worse it has become part of our daily lexicon in which every problem within Northern Ireland that arises is a result of partition which can easily be rectified if only the island was united. It also means that every mistake Unionism makes (and there are innumerable) make the demands for a referendum louder. The conversations …

Ireland’s Future-Changing Narratives and Changing Language

Soapbox on February 25, 2021, 6:15 pm

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Gerry Carlile is the CEO of Ireland’s Future The labelling of people ‘Green’ and ‘Orange’ to describe their political outlook is becoming increasingly dated. In fact, the laziness inherent in those labels are patronising and offensive. The peace process signalled an end to such broad sweeping and blunt labels to describe an increasingly complex and nuanced spectrum of political views across the north. Even a cursory analysis of those who use these descriptors reveal a certain brand of intellectual and …

Do not let your loyalty become slavery

Peter Farrelly on February 18, 2021, 1:49 pm

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Seven weeks. That is the number of weeks since Christmas Eve 2020. Remember the day? The UK celebrated the “oven-ready” Brexit deal brokered with the European Union. A deal heralded by the British Government as the perfect Christmas present for all those within the UK. Seven weeks. That is the number of weeks it took for some members of the British Government to start murmuring discontent at their prestigious deal of leaving one union to solidify their own. “Teething issues” …

Grass Roots Unionist culture – lacking the voices it needs…

Philip Orr on January 30, 2021, 9:54 am

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When I was working on a community history project in Mid-Antrim several years ago, I engaged with bonfire committees across the district. They were in receipt of a grant from the local council to help make their Eleventh Night festivities family-friendly and to enable participants to be more aware of the traditions they sought to uphold. As part of my work, I referred to the (possible) origins of bonfires in 17th century celebrations to greet the victory of William of …

Border Poll: Take Stormont off the table

Jay Burbank on January 19, 2021, 7:08 pm

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Strand one was the name given to the collective socio-legal structures of devolution and inter-community governance in Northern Ireland as part of the Good Friday Agreement. Unlike the North-South Ministerial Council (strand two) or the British-Irish council (strand three) it is the part of the agreement most relevant to and most recognised by the NI population. At its heart strand one is beyond the structural concerns of the Assembly and Executive, it is about the principle of subsidiarity so that …

Gavin Robinson; “incumbent on unionists not to take the status quo for granted”

David McCann on January 18, 2021, 1:21 pm

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The East Belfast DUP MP, Gavin Robinson spoke to the Irish News Political Correspondent, John Manley about Unionism and the issue of a border poll. For context, readers will remember the former First Minister, Peter Robinson argued that Unionists should prepare for the possibility of a poll at some point in the future. Speaking to Manley he said; Asked by The Irish News about his namesake’s remarks, Gavin Robinson said the former DUP leader was correct to urge unionism to …

Unionism Fighting a Border Poll…

Choyaa on January 17, 2021, 9:06 am

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There are two fixed rules within Unionism – (1) you do not talk about a ‘Border Referendum’ and (2) you do not talk about a ‘Border Referendum’. However, today I will break that cardinal rule and discuss how Unionism approaches such a referendum and what we can learn from the two recent big referendums, namely ‘Scottish Independence’ and ‘Brexit’. It’s difficult to hide that calls for a ‘Border Referendum’ have been growing in recent years. We may not be quite …

When are the DUP going to ditch the Tories?

Sarah Creighton on January 14, 2021, 9:00 am

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“What did we do to members on those benches over there, to be screwed over by this protocol,” Ian Paisley asked in Parliament yesterday, “ask your hearts, what did we do?” Oh Ian. It’s a cliché at this point to quote Edward Carson’s “What a fool I was…” speech. It’s boring. We all know it by now. I prefer the bit after that famous line: “And of all the men in my experience that I think are the most loathsome it …

Unionism behind closed doors

Ian Clarke on January 13, 2021, 7:47 am

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Brian O’Neill’s post on Sunday, suggesting that elder statespeople from our two political communities should be approached to lead a commission on reunification proposals, was a very interesting and challenging one. While it can be strongly argued that Brian’s proposal is at least premature, it can equally be argued that his logic was sound in light of the ambiguities exploited by leave campaigners in 2016. Clearly in the period leading up to a future border poll there would need to …

Post Nationalism is a sign of political maturity…

Jay Burbank on December 15, 2020, 6:35 pm

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In the history of ideas, Nationalism has burst through as nearly universal in its application, understanding and complexity. The Northern Ireland political scene has long been described as two competing nationalisms, our polity birthed as it was in the cradle of nationalist fervour unleashed on the battlefields of the Great War and continuing into the 1920s with Ireland’s (eventual) split from the British Empire. What we colloquially call “unionism” is a form of British nationalism intent on protecting the interests …

Unionism’s Year-End Review…

Choyaa on December 13, 2020, 8:58 am

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During a year in which a global pandemic has eclipsed all other matters in Northern Ireland, Unionism still managed to have an extremely troubled 365 days which has left it in a damaged and weakened position. As it is the time of year for year-end reviews, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how Unionism has performed in 2020. The major talking point is the Northern Ireland Protocol which has come about as a result of …

Does Queen’s need an academic specialist in unionism?

Queen’s Policy Engagement on November 12, 2020, 12:41 pm

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Dr Marie Coleman provides a response to a recent call to create a Queen’s professorship to study unionism and its contribution to Northern Ireland. Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday (9 November 2020), the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr Stephen Aiken, encouraged Queen’s University to establish a new academic post ‘to study unionism and its contribution to Northern Ireland’, in the context of the approaching centenary of partition and the creation of Northern Ireland. This suggestion appears not …

Unionism’s journey into the future should be based on evidence, conviviality and conviction

Terry Wright on October 27, 2020, 7:26 am

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Not renowned for public discourse on internal thinking or admitting to failings, it is a positive development that both Peter Robinson, former First Minister and key strategist within the DUP and Reverend Mervyn Gibson, Leader of the Orange Order are hinting at a need for fresh thinking within Unionism on the part of Peter Robinson and Orangeism in the case of Reverend Gibson. Both however are tentative in their critique, especially so in the case of the Orange leader. He …

What is a shared island?

Sarah Creighton on October 23, 2020, 1:53 pm

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I am but a mere local political commentator who occasionally gets asked to do TV and radio. Occasionally I regurgitate my annoying opinions in written form. Thanks to my involvement with an upcoming Institute of Irish Studies project, I got the opportunity to ask the Taoiseach about the new Shared Island Unit. There were scenes on Whatsapp when I told my mum what I was doing. “Martin or Wee Higgins?” she texted, getting mixed up. In his speech, Micheál Martin …

Unionisms Difficulty Reaching Out…

Choyaa on October 18, 2020, 7:00 pm

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When discussing Unionism, a characteristic often cited is the difficult relationship it has with anyone from outside of its ideology. However, it would be equally true to state that Unionism has a difficult relationship with itself, both its internal and external relationships are a problem. In this article, I wanted to focus on Unionist outreach in terms of those seeking to better understand Unionism and also how Unionism projects itself onto others. Nobody Understands Us Unionism is unhelpfully stereotyped by …

Why can’t the Johnson government see that pure parliamentary sovereignty is incompatible with the survival of the UK?

Brian Walker on September 15, 2020, 12:02 pm

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Fintan O’Toole has written another of his entertaining essays trying to get to the bottom of why the UK and the English in particular are behaving like lemmings throwing themselves over a cliff over Brexit. In the Irish Times today he comes with up “England as Ireland.” The big problem with English nationalism is that it is naïve. Because it has been buried for centuries under two layers of disguise – the United Kingdom and the British Empire – it …

Unionism: so what’s the plan ?

Brendan Heading on September 12, 2020, 11:17 pm

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The BBC reports this evening the following remarks from DUP North Antrim MP, Ian Paisley: Northern Ireland will not be used as a pawn – we opposed the withdrawal agreement, we warned about this protocol, we said it would damage the integrity. “I am glad, maybe at the last minute, the PM has wakened up to the serious threat that this poses to the union,” he said. “If the prime minister has the mettle to finish the job I welcome …

Northern Ireland Centenary: This country

Sarah Creighton on August 15, 2020, 10:59 am

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This is about the centenary of Northern Ireland. But first, a slight detour. In Lucy Caldwell’s, ‘Multitudes,’ one of her characters describes the heartache of watching her teenage school friend move from Northern Ireland to England. “They’ve had enough is what Susan’s mum says. She just can’t take it anymore. ‘This country,’ she says to my mum. ‘This country,’ my mum says back to her, and neither of them says anything else.” The scene has always stuck with me because …

’The unity conversation needs to be open, transparent, and let’s keep open minds, because we need to flesh out what Irish unity would look like and what the UK union would look like’

Paul Gosling on August 3, 2020, 9:02 am

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Ian Marshall is a beef farmer, a former dairy farmer, and was president of the Ulster Farmers Union from 2014 to 2016. But more significantly he was until earlier this year a senator in Ireland’s Oireachtas – a unionist in Ireland’s second legislative chamber. A quite remarkable situation. Many observers were disappointed – as was Ian – that he was not elected back into the Seanad’s agricultural panel, nor appointed on the lists of new Taoiseach Micheál Martin or the …