Category Archives: Northern Ireland

I wish the Taoiseach would shut up about a united Ireland

Posted on Tuesday, 26 June, 2018 by andypollak

I wish our Taoiseach would shut up about a united Ireland until he has something sensible to say on the subject. According to the Irish Times he was at it again earlier this month, telling Fine Gael parliamentarians after a … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Irish reunification, Northern Ireland | 1 Comment

10 beautiful and interesting places off the Belfast to Dublin road (part one)

Posted on Tuesday, 29 May, 2018 by andypollak

The road and railway between Belfast and Dublin have been an important part of my life. Over the past 50 years I must have travelled between Ireland’s two major cities several thousand times. Given the millions of people who make … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, The island environment | Leave a comment

Sadly, rugby is one of the few things that unites all Irish people

Posted on Friday, 23 March, 2018 by andypollak

I was intending to write about Brexit again this month, but the dreadful conundrum of Brexit and the Irish border is going to be with us for some time, so I am going to turn to a far cheerier and … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 3 Comments

Progressive Belfast shows the quarrelsome North a way forward

Posted on Monday, 26 February, 2018 by andypollak

Depression over the latest failure by the DUP and Sinn Fein to agree a formula for the return of power sharing in the North has been my dominant emotion over the past fortnight. However I was not at all surprised, … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Northern Ireland | Leave a comment

Why demography is no way to solve the Northern Ireland problem

Posted on Thursday, 25 January, 2018 by andypollak

We need to talk about demography. In an Irish Times article last month the economist David McWilliams reminded us of some basic facts.¹ As we all know, the Protestant population of Northern Ireland is falling while the Catholic population is rising. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General, Northern Ireland, Protestantism, unionism and loyalism | Leave a comment

Could an all-island economy be part of the Brexit deal?

Posted on Wednesday, 10 January, 2018 by andypollak

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 →

Posted in British-Irish relations, Cross-border cooperation, General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment

Northern institutions crumbling as Leo rides high in Europe

Posted on Friday, 22 December, 2017 by andypollak

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is understandably cock-a-hoop in the run-up to Christmas. There is widespread recognition that it was his and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney’s steely steering of Irish diplomatic efforts that resulted in the masterful sleight of hand which … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment

Home thoughts on a journey through India

Posted on Friday, 24 November, 2017 by andypollak

India has been a place I have wanted to visit ever since as a teenager I read my father’s account of being interned by the British (for being a communist) in the Himalayan foothills in the 1940s.¹ My wish was … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland, Views from abroad | 1 Comment

Brexit: a novel agricultural opportunity as the nightmare approaches?

Posted on Wednesday, 25 October, 2017 by andypollak

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 →

Posted in British-Irish relations, Cross-border cooperation, General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment

The anti-colonialist bullies versus the reconciliation persuaders

Posted on Monday, 25 September, 2017 by andypollak

Gerry Adams is a majoritarian bully. He showed his true colours in a letter to the Irish Times last month when he wrote that the Good Friday Agreement “allows for Irish reunification in the context of a democratic vote: 50% + 1. … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Irish reunification, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Sinn Fein | 2 Comments