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Category Archives: British-Irish relations
Does Dublin’s anti-immigration riot mark the beginning of the end of Ireland’s image of openness and tolerance?
Last Thursday morning I sat down to write a blog in which I was aiming to argue that Ireland (the Republic) had been hugely successful in integrating a large number of immigrants over the past 20-25 years, and that this … Continue reading
Posted in British-Irish relations, General, Republic of Ireland
3 Comments
What have the British ever done for us? Quite a bit, actually
One of the recurrent themes of these blogs is that if we are going to welcome 900,000 Unionists into a ‘new Ireland’, we are going to have to accept and respect their passionate Britishness. And that is going to be … Continue reading
Will the United Kingdom under Liz Truss be in danger of stepping out on the road to fascism?
From an Irish viewpoint, the prospect of Liz Truss becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is deeply worrying. This is the woman who as Foreign Secretary has outdone Boris Johnson in her aggressive rejection of the Northern Ireland protocol, … Continue reading
Posted in British-Irish relations, General
3 Comments
The tragic breakdown of relations between Dublin and London and a 1998 Agreement that was not the last word
The most tragic element of Brexit and its aftermath – for me as a Northern Irish person who is also a happy citizen of the Republic of Ireland – is the total breakdown in relations between the Irish and British … 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
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
Mutual contempt and ignorance are no way to build relations between peoples (especially in Ireland)
As the crisis deepens in Britain, the old negative stereotypes are back. The right-wing British press is full of fury at the treacherous role of the Irish in the ‘backstop’ to keep the UK hobbled and handcuffed indefinitely to the … Continue reading
On this occasion it was a DUP politician who talked the most sense
Sometimes I despair of the poor understanding of the people of this Republic about what makes the Northern quarter of this island tick. It is not helped by poor reporting of what happens there. We had another example of this … Continue reading
Posted in British-Irish relations, General, Northern Ireland
1 Comment
Could an all-island economy be part of the Brexit deal?
Perhaps the most interesting phrase in the 8 December agreement between the UK and EU was that, in the absence of agreed solutions, not only would the UK maintain full alignment with the rules of the Single Market and the … Continue reading
Brexit: a novel agricultural opportunity as the nightmare approaches?
As October ends all is confusion and uncertainty over Brexit: the first round of UK-EU talks on the exit bill, citizens rights and Ireland are stalled; Brussels is worried that Britain’s weak prime minister and feuding Conservative leadership will mean … Continue reading