You've really taken to this only quoting two paragraphs business!
Denis Staunton's insightful piece laying out how "Irish prominence in EU negotiating guidelines is due to months of graft and cunning" makes for interesting reading.
'How Ireland achieved a crucial Brexit coup': http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world...coup-1.3066703
Applauding a Blueshirt is difficult, but perhaps I'd been a tad unfair on Enda and the government earlier.Originally Posted by Denis Staunton
You've really taken to this only quoting two paragraphs business!
Bertie Ahern and Leo Varadkar appear to be keen on shifting the goalposts insofar as a unity referendum under the agreed terms of the Good Friday Agreement is concerned: http://www.northernslant.com/leo-and...nt1-is-enough/
Bertie's recent pronouncement is particularly odd considering he played such a central role in facilitating and finalising negotiations for the agreement during the latter stages of the peace process.Originally Posted by Kevin Meagher
The fact is that unionists have already democratically agreed upon the the future terms of the unity referendum; to renege on that and demand a change to the agreement as soon as its terms are no longer convenient for them would be unacceptably poor form.
The rest of Meagher's piece is worth a read; he confidently asserts that "Irish reunification increasingly represents the rational, evidence-based way forward". As a former special adviser to the previous Labour government's secretary of state for the north, Shaun Woodward, his contributions to the debate are both welcome and interesting.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 30/04/2017 at 5:33 PM.
I wouldn't be too surprised by that Danny, sure you even get people up here coming out with that nonsense.
The naivety displayed by some nationalists amazes me at times.
I've also seen it written (by nationalist/republican commentators), and have often heard it repeated unfortunately, that if an initial unity referendum fails to deliver unity, there has to be another one every six/seven years until unity is achieved, supposedly under the terms of the GFA. Here, for example.
This is a total misunderstanding of what the GFA actually states and it is worth striking it down and correcting it when it raises its head as misleading information like this could breed misguided complacency.Originally Posted by Donal Lavery
The section of the GFA relating to the calling of a referendum states:
“1. The Secretary of State may by order direct the holding of a poll for the purposes of section 1 on a date specified in the order.
2. Subject to paragraph 3, the Secretary of State shall exercise the power under paragraph 1 if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland.
3. The Secretary of State shall not make an order under paragraph 1 earlier than seven years after the holding of a previous poll under this Schedule.”
There is no obligation therein to keep holding a poll every seven years (or six, wherever that notion came out of) until unity is achieved. Paragraph 3 simply means that a subsequent border poll cannot be called by the secretary of state within seven years of the previous one.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 01/05/2017 at 1:27 PM.
TheJournal.ie are currently running a poll asking: "Do you think a united Ireland is likely to happen anytime soon?": http://www.thejournal.ie/united-irel...67490-May2017/
The results (as of the time writing this post) show that, of just over 16,600 participants, 84 per cent believe a united Ireland will happen at some point in the future, whilst 52 per cent of those 16,600 participants see it happening within the next twenty years. Only 14 per cent think it will never happen.
(I'm not sure where the missing two per cent are...)
Self-selecting polls are admittedly of limited anecdotal-type value, but can be interesting nonetheless. The article also mentions another poll conducted by Claire Byrne Live and Amárach Research, however, in which 59 per cent of those who gave a positive or negative response (deleting the "don't knows") agreed that it is time to have a united Ireland.
A new 1,200-word evidence-based report - entitled 'Brexit and the Future of Ireland: Uniting Ireland and Its People in Peace and Prosperity' - that outlines in detail what needs to happen to achieve a peaceful reunification of Ireland will also be discussed by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement next week. More info on that here: http://www.thejournal.ie/united-irel...64240-Apr2017/
The wheels of unity really have been set in motion.
I understand these to be the final and agreed European Council guidelines for Brexit negotiations: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/pr...it-guidelines/
The paragraph relating to Ireland reads as follows:
There's nothing further relating to Ireland in the document, as far as I can make out, so where exactly is the guarantee, which I assume has to be written somewhere, that the north will be able to maintain its EU status via Irish unity?Originally Posted by European Council
Although Gerry Adams welcomed the confirmation that the north would resume full status with the EU following a successful unity referendum, he seemed to think the Irish government could have harnessed greater support from Europe and might have secured stronger guarantees if it had done so: http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/44399
Meanwhile, Dr. Janice Morphett, a planning expert with University College London, has shed some light on a potential means to soften any potential hard border in Ireland: http://www.centreonconstitutionalcha...island-irelandOriginally Posted by Gerry Adams
Originally Posted by Dr. Janice Morphett
Just saw this, which answers my question above: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world...tion-1.3066569
Originally Posted by Denis Staunton and Pat Leahy
I just wanted to expand on my earlier reply as I didn't have the time to before.
Aside from the probable politics at play in the contributions from Bertie and Leo, their comments are also indicative of a general naivety that one encounters amongst a fair number of nationalists. In effect what they are asking for is for unionists to no longer be unionist; this can be achieved because they aren't really British at all and simply labour under some sort of false consciousness.
What they don't get is that Ulster unionism, in essence, is a form of British nationalism and that the vast majority of unionists will never vote for reunification even if it was proven that they'd be better off in such a scenario. The union, or, more to the point, identity, is about more than just economics.
Last edited by The Fly; 03/05/2017 at 12:54 AM.
Something further from Slugger in relation to the nonsense spouted by Bertie: https://sluggerotoole.com/2017/05/01...angerous-game/
I thought the following comment succinctly demonstrated the illogic of Bertie's position, which contradicts the terms set out in the GFA besides:
Originally Posted by Brendan Heading
Anything but 50%+1 is impossible to justify in practice. In the event that 52% vote for ending partition it simply must happen. If 52% doesn't justify unity how can 48% possibly justify the union?
Bertie and Leo can say what they like.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator for Brexit, announced in his address to the Dáil today that there would be at least a customs border on the island post-Brexit.
Text of the full speech here: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release...17-1276_en.htmOriginally Posted by Michel Barnier
And video here:
"French farmers call for ‘hard’ border between Republic and Northern Ireland": http://www.independent.ie/business/f...-35721095.html
Originally Posted by Ciaran Moran
Here's a subtitled Russian news report on the potential impact of Brexit upon the Irish border:
The Russian reporter visits Derry city, the Donegal border and Belfast, with most of the focus being on Derry, but it's interesting to hear a take on local matters from beyond Europe.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 19/05/2017 at 2:46 AM.
This report on a similar theme is actually pretty amusing:
It provides a brief outline of Irish-British history, but it's certainly nothing like what the BBC (or even RTÉ) would produce anyway!
That last one is f*ckin quality
''history in Ireland as in Russia is a living matter and the blood rivers the British shed in Ireland are not forgotten''
Indeed comrade, indeed.
Zdravstvitye Tovarishch, afternoon all.
Just switched on Twitter and did a double-take as a smiling McGuinness endorsed the SF candidate in Derry. Party Marty's son Fiachra, looks very like his father
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