According to Europe the departure of the UK from the EU will put a hard border between the two parts of Ireland. This will have a profound and devastating effect on the economy of the island, but more pressing than this is the uncomfortable reality that republicans and nationalists in the North will find themselves locked into the British state once again, where Britain has the monopoly on violence – the exact conditions that played a significant part in the ignition of the conflict.
Ireland’s Greatest Shame is Asleep in a Doorway
There were toys scattered about the floor, the previous occupant’s belongings unceremoniously packed up into bin bags (of course it has to be bin bags for people who are routinely treated as rubbish), and tins of baby formula in the kitchen presses.
Pennies from Apple: Tax Evasion and Irish Sweetheart Deals
Europe has smacked technology giant Apple with a whopping €13 billion tax bill, but rather than leaping at the money to address domestic issues like the highest level of homelessness since the Famine Ireland is trying to get Apple back to tax free trading.
Threatening us with “Ulsterisation”
When the Union has run out of arguments, and it looks like Scotland is about to take the high road, it throws the dice for the last time: The Ulsterisation of Scotland. “Leave this empire,” it says, “and we’ll treat you like we treated the Irish.”
Whitewashing the Easter Rising
The policy, which is as clear as day to see, is one of co-opting the totality of the right to remember the Rising in order to do such an appalling job of it so that no one in Ireland will ever want to go through it again.
Why is Ireland so Ashamed of the Easter Rising?
Let’s cut to the chase; the 1916 Rising was never their history. It has always been the story of an incomplete revolution, a revolution that even today threatens to turn their incomplete and failed state upon its head.
Controlling Democracy in Dublin’s South Inner City
Each election sees the country return an overwhelming majority of centre-right and right wing representatives to the Dáil – regardless of their individual party affiliations – who tirelessly serve the interests of the privileged and middle classes.
Can Terrorism Ever Be Justified?
So given that Terrorism now has the same potency as a means of defamation on the international stage as the word Paedophile has on a housing estate, can we ever justify the terrorist as a freedom fighter? To begin with it has to be acknowledged that violence must only ever be a last resort.
