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- Ireland in the 20th century contained not one rotten little state, but two
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Author Archives: andypollak
My plea to Irish voters: don’t put Sinn Fein close to power
We in the Republic have a general election in two days, and it looks as though Sinn Fein are going to do exceptionally well. The unhappiness of people – particularly young and poor people – with the shortcomings of Fine … Continue reading
Posted in General, Republic of Ireland, Sinn Fein
4 Comments
The Seamus Mallon I knew: a brave and generous Irish chieftain
My much-admired friend Seamus Mallon was buried yesterday. This was my tribute to him in yesterday’s ‘Belfast Telegraph’. Courage and generosity: those are the two words that come to mind when I think of Seamus Mallon. Courage because for 25 … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland
4 Comments
Fear of Irish nationalism is now the main obstacle to a united Ireland
Fear is the main obstacle to the age-old dream of a peaceful united Ireland becoming a reality: unionists’ fear of Irish nationalism. In the first week of what many nationalists hope will be a momentous decade, marking major movement towards … Continue reading
Are the Unionists in the last chance saloon, or will Alliance come to the rescue?
I was delighted to see the centre ground, represented by the SDLP and Alliance, doing so well in last week’s British general election in Northern Ireland: the former giving Sinn Fein and the DUP a drubbing in Foyle and South … Continue reading
Is this the kind of ‘new conversation’ Northern Nationalists want?
Earlier this month 1,000 nationalists – although their spokesman claimed they are not nationalists – signed an open letter to the Taoiseach calling on the Irish government to set up a ‘citizens assembly’ to discuss reunification. In an advertisement listing … Continue reading
Now they’re going to be on the losing side again, is it time to be nice to the Unionists?
Writing this on 24 October, I forecast that Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, despite parliamentary delays and perhaps a general election, will eventually pass through the British parliament (the 30 vote Commons majority for the second reading of the Withdrawal Agreement … Continue reading
A pessimistic speech on the 20th anniversary of the Centre for Cross Border Studies
The Centre for Cross Border Studies celebrated its 20th anniversary in Dundalk last week with a conference reflecting on the Good Friday Agreement and cross-border cooperation. The importance of the Centre’s work was recognised by the keynote speakers, the three … Continue reading
Why don’t we have a competition to compose a new national anthem?
As a sports fan I find myself singing Amhrán na bhFiann quite a lot at this time of year: whether it is watching soccer or rugby internationals at the Aviva or (less frequently) all-Ireland finals at Croke Park. I belt … Continue reading
Posted in General, Irish reunification
4 Comments
Two Irish mistakes as we hurtle towards the Brexit cliff edge
Readers of this blog will know that I have been a voice in the wilderness when it comes to querying the wisdom of the Irish government’s ‘backstop’ strategy to avoid a hard border on the island following the UK’s exit … Continue reading
A walk through Ireland’s bloody history in Wicklow’s peaceful mountains
Last month I went on my annual longish summer walk through the Irish hills and countryside. This year I decided, as a change from my usual cross-border itineraries, to go far away from the North to the deep south-east. I … Continue reading
Posted in General, Republic of Ireland, The island environment
8 Comments