Until the Scottish independence campaign all of this has remained alien to my experience of Ireland and Scotland. Now I hear and say this word “unionism” every day. As a concept and as an identity it has become more real to me.
Going Back to the Shankill Road
By voting to leave the EU and by insisting that the people of Northern Ireland leave with “Britain” regardless of their needs and interests, London has shown its true contempt for its loyal citizens in Belfast.
An Unexpected Route to Irish Unity
From the moment the Brexit referendum result was announced there has been a phenomenal demand in the province for Irish passports – a sign of at least a pragmatic willingness to bury the hatchet.
Some Scottish Impressions of Ireland
Everywhere I have travelled on this island people have been keen to welcome me as a fellow Celt and assure me of how similar our two countries are. They’re not that similar. At bottom the Scots and the Irish think differently.
Our Phoney War beneath the Peace Process
In the north of Ireland it is silly season again. April 18 this year marks the three-hundredth-and twenty-sixth anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Derry, and the Apprentice Boys of that city are out in force marking their territory and celebrating a victory in which they had no part. In April 1689, more … Continue reading Our Phoney War beneath the Peace Process
Random Public Journal 