Category Archives: Republic of Ireland

Is Olympic success a sign that Ireland can be made attractive to Northern Protestants?

Posted on Wednesday, 14 August, 2024 by andypollak

In all the wonderful hype about Ireland’s four Olympic gold medallists, there was one aspect that went relatively unreported – at least here in the republic. The fact that two of them – Daniel Wiffen in the 800 metres swimming … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Ireland, Europe and the world, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 2 Comments

Why I am glad to see the Sinn Féin vote cratering in the Republic

Posted on Thursday, 13 June, 2024 by andypollak

Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised when I say that I am glad to see the Sinn Féin vote cratering in the local and (to a lesser extent) European elections in the Republic. 12% in those local … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Irish reunification, Republic of Ireland, Sinn Fein | 3 Comments

Something is happening in Ireland and it’s not pretty: the rise of an anti-immigration movement

Posted on Wednesday, 22 May, 2024 by andypollak

There is something happening in Ireland (the Republic) and it is not pretty. It is the mobilisation by far-right actors of anti-immigration sentiment in response to a sharp increase (from a low base) in the number of asylum seekers arriving … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Republic of Ireland | 2 Comments

One fan’s view of the farcical shenanigans of the Football Association of Ireland

Posted on Tuesday, 30 April, 2024 by andypollak

This blog is about football: not Gaelic football, but football as it is played by many millions of men and women around the world, the ‘beautiful game’ as it is played by Brazil and France and Argentina, at Real Madrid … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment

Ireland in 2024 is a rather good country, despite the begrudgers

Posted on Wednesday, 13 March, 2024 by andypollak

Maybe because St Patrick’s Day is coming up and we’re in the middle of Seachtain na Gaeilge, I’m feeling a bit patriotic – so am going to write about why I think the Republic of Ireland is a rather good … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Republic of Ireland | 4 Comments

Why the Republic of Ireland needs a new John Bruton

Posted on Tuesday, 20 February, 2024 by andypollak

With the death earlier this month of former Taoiseach John Bruton, we have lost an important and courageous voice in the Republic of Ireland. We will need a new John Bruton to appear from somewhere: a nationalist leader who will … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Republic of Ireland | 7 Comments

Does Dublin’s anti-immigration riot mark the beginning of the end of Ireland’s image of openness and tolerance?

Posted on Tuesday, 28 November, 2023 by andypollak

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

Posted on Wednesday, 1 November, 2023 by andypollak

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 →

Posted in British-Irish relations, General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 2 Comments

Straws in the autumn wind around the Irish unity debate

Posted on Tuesday, 19 September, 2023 by andypollak

There have been some interesting straws in the autumn wind in recent weeks as politicians get ready for the new political term and general elections in both Irish jurisdictions in the near future. Leo Varadkar doesn’t very often talk about … Continue reading →

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

The Border Region as a microcosm of opinion across the island

Posted on Monday, 21 August, 2023 by andypollak

I have a particular fondness for the border town of Clones; it was a place I visited frequently during my 14 years running the Centre for Cross Border Studies in Armagh. It was in the news earlier this month for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-border cooperation, General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 1 Comment