In an interview broadcast on TV last night, DUP Leader Arlene Foster spoke of her plans for the future.
She said that if the people of the Six Counties voted for a United Ireland then she would leave.
I hope that the first part of that sentence happens and I’m now fairly confident that it will.
However, as for the second part, there is no reason for anyone in the north east of this country to believe that they don’t belong here.
Today it was reported that anti-Muslim leaflets were being distributed by hand in several parts of south Belfast.
Enmity towards people of the Islamic faith has become entrenched among many in the self-styled PUL community.
Those who would identify as being part of the Protestant Unionist Loyalist (PUL) tradition have an Enoch Powell type response to immigrants.
Of course, the man who gave the “rivers of blood” speech in Birmingham 50 years ago this month was himself a Westminster MP for a Northern Ireland constituency (South Down) from 10 October 1974 – 11 June 1987.
Moreover, this was referenced in the Islamophobic leaflet.
The polity that Arlene Foster considers to be a country was two thirds of a province hewn from Ulster in 1922.
Moreover, that amputation was carried out to a sectarian criteria.
These words are being written in Ulster.
I’m further north than Belfast yet, according to Arlene I’m in “the south” and in another country.
I’m certainly the resident of a different state.
However, I don’t consider my friends and neighbours in Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone to be part of another nation.
Donegal isn’t in Arlene’s “wee country” because the demographics of a nine county Ulster didn’t fit in with the plan of a supremacist Protestant polity.
Now the head count in Northern Ireland is very close to what the entire province was in 1922.
Quite frankly very soon people who identify as Protestant will be a minority in the Six County statelet.
Smart people get ahead of the game.
Folk in business have to be in that mind-set if they are to survive in a competitive marketplace.
Over the last five or so years I have been introduced to several men in the business community on the other side of that arbitrary line.
They’re all from a unionist background with fairly similar CVs.
Brexit has been a game changer for them.
If the idea of a 32 county state made business sense to them in the long run the idea of being wrenched out of the Customs Union and the Single Market is now an alarming prospect.
Although they cannot go public with their views they tell me that if there was a Border Poll tomorrow they would vote for re-unification.
The UK leaving the EU means that they now want to leave the UK.
The reason that the Six Counties isn’t the Nine Counties is that the statelet was created with an inbuilt unionist majority based on faith background.
A century on from that carve up the demographics are calling time on that.
If the United Kingdom is to have any foothold on this island then it will have to appeal to people in Northern Ireland who are from a nationalist background.
Peter Robinson got that, but Arlene clearly doesn’t.
Patrick Kielty stated on the radio yesterday was that if the Union was to be saved then Northern Ireland needed to become more Irish.
That common-sense project cannot be squared with the DUP stance on the Irish language.
They have painted themselves into a corner with their view that they’re in a culture war.
Moreover, they’ve picked a fight that they cannot win on any level.
For the DUPers in their Laager if Narne Arne is not Bradaish then they’re voted off the island.
Consequently, Arlene doesn’t see a place for herself in a 32 County Ireland of the future.
That is genuinely sad.
She cannot get over the trauma of the attempt on the life of her father when she was a child.
Patrick Kielty voted for the agreement that saw his father’s killers freed under the Belfast accord.
The statelet that Arlene Foster believes to be a country was set up with discrimination written into the societal DNA.
That polity is dead.
The old Orange State is not coming back from the grave.
We are now in a transition phase on this island.
The case for an all-island economy within the structures of the European Union is unassailable.
Clearly, the political arrangements on this tiny piece of real estate in the north Atlantic would have to be rebuilt in order to take that into account.
I pity anyone who is afraid of the future on our little island.
We have our best days ahead of us.
I find it doubly tragic that someone from Fear Manach whose ancestors were called Ó Ceallaigh does not consider herself to truly belong here in Ireland.
Thankfully, I do not believe that Arlene is representative of all in the unionist community.
The smart ones, the brave ones and the adaptable ones will see that this Republic can be a warm house for them.
Due to the unintended consequences of ethnic nationalism in England and their desire for a hard Brexit and blue passports has put Partition on notice.
Look, Arlene, it’s going to be fine.
It really is.
Have a word with Michelle and Mary Lou.
They’ll set you right.
Discover more from Phil Mac Giolla Bháin
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
With out doubt one of the best pieces written about, my home town my home country,I have ever read I don’t mean to piss in your pocket, my granny grew up in that little bit between the shankill and the falls, behind the old tec, the reason I bring her up is she truly believed they only have hate that’s their bottom line
They didn’t love god , they had nothing. if Arlene Connot lead her people to there worst nightmare says enough in itself my granny was right all they have is hate,granny was a life long Irish republican, Marxist, connley was on the wall framed,and loved Celtic football club we all got this from granny , the anti Muslim shite is shamfull , just trying to make them selves more British , they tryed it in The 80s with c18 we battered the shite out of them Bolton boys never came back, the loyalist are to dum to realise the language act is in their best interest all best
Great piece Phil.
Look my name NT, is for No Thanks, this in reference to my wish for the now at least, I wish Scotland to remain part of Britain…..part of the UK? No really bothered. The 6 counties i don’t really identify with, i class that as Ireland.
Unlike most people on this earth, I do not identify solely with a set of abstract beliefs in one system.
I voted brexit (I dislike the disgrace that is “Brussels”. Take Catalonia for example, they are complicit in backing up Spain.)
I don’t vote Tory, I dislike farage and UKIP.
I support Celtic.
Ireland is a country I once lived in, (Dublin and surrounding areas,so to some of you it Ireland at all!!.)
The civil rights movement, is and was beautiful a cause, IMO.
Watching Patrick Kielty in the programme was a moving experience, yet too often, but not exclusively, I noticed one key thread.
When people of the unionist persuasion talk, they aren’t inclusive, they are stuck in past., and they don’t sit easy with equality. The Muslims are their new Catholics, they can look down on someone again, this is what they are. A most shitty bunch of people are the extremists, Arlene is their “Granny of the race of dogs” (direct translation from a language I shall not name, native to dogs.
I hope this Island I live on moves forward at pace, and leaves the scummy minded behind. Der Peepel and the like, and likewise Phil I am sure that the North east of the island you live on,does the same. I am sure it will.
Whatever happens in the north, gradually, whether under Dublin rule,(and for me regrettably Brussels). Or London rule (regrettable too and indeed Brussels too)…..all roads lead to this:
THE GAME IS UP ARLENE, CHANGE OR JUST DIE OFF AND GIVE WAY TO THE NEW GENERATIONS.
With the greatest of respect to all. Your friend.
When it comes to Politics the wind of change over the last few years is there for all to see in Ireland even Soros has his fingers in the Pie.
Were I in Ireland ( and I mean the North ) I would vote for D.U.P. before I would put a Cross beside any Friend of Mary Lou . A woman who uses the whip on her Members Vote for Abortion. And to think that 10 Men starved themselves to Desth for Principles it must break their relatives Hearts .
The 10 men that gave there lives changed the course of Irish history the shinners pulled a master stroke with Mary Lou from middle ireland no paramilitary background any catholic votes for the DUP are people who could retire tomorrow across the artificial border they are called west brits Wee don’t need any more ov them in my opinion
Nice explanation and choice of words to echo your graphic Phil.
And looking to the future, the chart covering the backgrounds of children aged four-and-under reveals that Catholics (49.2%) utterly outnumber Protestants (36.4%)
source: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/catholic-population-set-to-dwarf-protestants-in-years-ahead-1-7872318
Now wiki has it’s faults but look at this page and scroll down to the views on the union. Doesn’t show much change in 20 years of polling and will take a lot to get to anything close to a majority. I’m a firm believer that the threshold for such a massive change in constitution, like Scottish independence and Brexit should be 60% or more and need a certain minimum turnout. It really should be an overwhelming majority want it to happen when it has implications for decades to come.
[search Wikipedia “politics of Northern Ireland”]
The GFA states that a 50+1 % result in favour of a UI is all that’s required.
Unfortunately a border poll can only be called on the whim of the British NI Secretary of State.
Why should any referendum be tilted towards one side or the other? Ok a minimum turn out of 60% but surely 50%+ should be the way to go. No side should start with an advantage or it isn’t democracy.
As others have said..
She’ll get a hoose in Ayrshire…and feel right at home.
If it happens this will be a coup for Scotland also , if, all big ifs, a contigent left and set up camp in Scotland what would they be able to fight over in Scotland, the Scots would go back to been Scots happy the Irish have been freed and left in peace to run their own affairs.
So what would they be able to create in Scotland, start calling Scottish Cathlolics Scottish Fe….err, Scotish Catholic plastic pad…..err or just simply disgrace themselves and be isolated in Scotland as Rebels without a clue. The time is well and truly coming to an end on this, there is no justification, King Willie fought at the boyne, and now just a relic of history and not glasgow cross so feck off ya shower of tossers no-one wants you unless you behave and grow up.
Brilliant article Phil,Unionism is all over the place,but this time the Dublin establishment needs to step up to the mark.The dream is still very much alive and getting stronger.
Change your flag to blue white and green and you might get somewhere with this.
It’s new world and concessions have to be made. The tricolour will never fly in Shankhill or Sandy Row
Fleg alert!
So take out the orange that represents the protestant people and tradition and replace it with blue? Seems strange to me . White is already in our flag obviously
Catholic Protestant and dissenter it’s self explanic. Theobald wolftone
It maybe a little simplistic but the UK government has the ball at their feet. Th eEU is a dinosaur that lives for cash. The UK is one of the very few who put cash in, so withholding that cash is a huge game changer. They are living the high life on our cash and seriously can’t do so without it.
A little long for some but well worth watching to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTMxfAkxffQO
Clearly she is taken that £1bn + given by the English Tories and off to the the West Indians then Phil.
Rather ironic, I was born and raised in Ayrshire and now married in a unionist majority town in the north of Ireland where I witness far less sectarianism than I ever did at hame.
Why when it comes to talking politics do I always end up believing and saying things that I hope to be wrong? Maybe I’m ‘Suffering from Scottishness’ as the song goes — https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sSS34o9WjpU
Anyway. I wish I could rule out a hard Brexit but I think ‘no deal’ is inevitable. It’s too hard for me to imagine all those EU member states approving any deal and, as I understand it, all it will take to kill a deal is one objection.
I wish I could imagine a United Ireland with a sustainable peaceful future, but I can’t. It’s almost too depressing to spell out, but I can imagine a return to the troubles along with a hard Brexit that puts emphasis on Britishness, borders, and division.
There’s a lot of talk about economics when it comes to Ireland and Brexit. I’m sorry to remind people that sectarian discrimination also has an economic logic and appeal for some.
I’m not sure if it makes me a cynic or an optimist but all historical examples of racism and sectarian division, as I understand them, have economic underpinnings which benefit one sect or race over others.
Racism in the US, anti-semitism in Germany, Enoch Powell, British imperialism, the white man’s burden, etc., etc., are just a few notable examples of racism that conferred huge economic gains for those on the shameful side of the equation.
In a sense then you might wonder what came first and make a case for saying that the racism was probably deployed to justify the barbaric exploitation that seems to always go hand in hand with it.
Ireland I would guess is no different. Anti-catholic racism in Ireland probably improved the job and business prospects of many people over the years. I’m sure we don’t need to explain that to anyone in Glasgow either and if we do we might ask what school you went to, if any…
I’m not a Marxist but economics matters a lot. And if there is a return to the troubles and divisions of the past in Ireland we shouldn’t forget that a hard border and sectarian division might benefit some, if not others.
I hope I am wrong, of course, but if you are going to argue from an economics standpoint that Irish unification makes a lot of sense, I don’t think you should be complacent about the appeal of a hard border and a return to division that a hard Brexit might entail.
We are talking here about a possible return to the old economic model, then, and it’s all too easy for me to imagine celebratory bonfires and crowds in Northern Ireland rallying around the flag, if and when they hear that the final Brexit deal has been torpedoed.
Tell me I’m wrong.
I think you are wrong – although much of your analysis is spot on.
Brexit is not primarily about Ireland – it is the fantasy of a hard-core English Nationalist/Neoliberal bunch of fanatics who want to de-regulate business primarily in the Financial sector – for their own interests and those of their friends.
Ireland – not for the first time – is an irrelevance to them – and for others was simply – er – an oversight. Who cares?
What makes this toxic is the UK government’s dependence on the DUP who are simply mad and bad.
They fancy Brexit will return them to their overlord status.
I reckon Phil’s analysis is nearer the mark.
With a bit of luck, Brexit will result in the end of the British state.
Oh incidentally – I AM a Marxist
I actually think and have long thought that the Brexit result was as much down to unseen international manipulators as it was to creepy rightists in England. I think they want somewhere to launder and bank their money that’s closer to home than the Bahamas; of course, they also want to pay minimal tax and to operate free of government limitations.
And I think that’s where we are heading. The good thing here is that our predictions will be falsified or confirmed soon enough. I’m predicting ‘no deal’ and I think that’s been the plan all along. It explains why they left farcical May in Downing Street — someone has to go through the motions and pretend we are trying to make a deal — and it might as well be someone expendable and useless like her.
I have nothing against Marx or Marxism in moderation. Economics (the ‘mode of production’, etc.) explains a lot but by no means all; and Marx was wrong to suggest it explained all.
A don’t know if there will be enough houses in Ayrshire to accommodate the DUP Tim pat coogan told us equality was a runner in the early 90s but mrs foster is too busy filling her boots allows grants to go to fascist loyalists in an 80s time warp heating scandal brushed under the carpet like collusion on her watch the world is getting wise to the DUP and its way of thinking if it was up to them the parks and recreation areas would be closed on sundays I would love to know we’re the north’s world cup and euro revenue went Ile take a guess Windsor Park The Fools The Fools the Fools PP
Paul,
You hit the nail bang square on the head my friend , too busy filling her boots
which can only happen while she bangs the drum for the Orcs
She better start packing then ,because its as inevitable as the setting and rising of the sun.
When I was a boy growing up in Glasgow city centre the old Cowcaddens ,come the “big walk” I wasn’t allowed out ,it was a bstd ,because the would start to pass the bottom of our street at about 8am and it would be mid afternoon before the last of them passed.
It was a long time to be dubbed up, if someone had told me then , that the day would come that they would do it in under an hour I wouldn’t have believed them.
Like all their “culture” it is not only on the way out, it is terminally ill.
They cant handle the fact that there actually might not be an enemy, because you cant be superior without somebody being inferior ,they are the “peepul”.
I remember years ago hearing a member of the salvation army (ironically enough) being interviewed in Derry banging on about his right to fight for his religion and no one was going to take his religion away from him ,and that’s why they were a member of the Ulster Clubs.
Did the really think the Republican movement had that in mind for them ,do they still think it.
Like sevco they are a busted flush ,they need to start again from scratch ,they need to press the reset button.
“Scud Missile” is awfully quiet for once…
Phil, back to your best with this. A Well written piece. Arlene and her type are not welcome here.
The fair minded in Scotland, have had enough of their kind. We dont want anymore, union jack types. If Ireland is to be United and they dont want to be part of it. Send them all to Gibraltar, they continue with that misguided obsession with all things British and Loyal. The Gibraltan monkey colony, could also benefit from their elegant ways. Then again…………….
Excellent Phil, agree with every word and was a pleasure to read.
Arlene, like the rest of the fascist DUPes is a PULler.
Their misfortune, and if she and they leave………………. mind the door doesn’t hit your arse on the way out.
Unfortunately, like Janny Adurr and other assorted scumbags criminals and murderers they’ll probably end up in Scotland.
I agree wholeheartedly with you Phil.
My concern however is simple, if Arlene and her ilk decided that they could not in all ‘faith’ remain in a united Ireland, then where would they go?
Unfortunately, we both know the answer to that, and it would be back to the mainland on the northern side of Hadrian’s Wall and one could only imagine the calamity that would then ensue there.
Perish the thought
Mainland?
When iBrokes has finally closed to the bi-weekly hate-fest… It could be converted into a DUP and orange Order enclave. A safe haven for all the ‘True Brit’ refugees.
They could March around all day long, every day of the year and preach to each other while watching on the big screens (hang on those will be gone) get sustenance from the in-house catering outlets ( ahhhhh!) use the Internet for free (no?) and generally continue to all be ‘The Peepul’ in their own wee bit of Great Britain on the banks of Clyde.
So long as she and her lot don’t move over here.
The staunch “ulstermen” needn’t fear, Ruth D and her Scots Tory cohort will surely welcome those political and religious refugees.
I too watched.I live in neighbouring Tyrone. Her views are becoming irrelevant, het ilk are fading away. Dinosaur.
I said it at the time that Brexit would be the catylist for an Irish referendum on Unification.
The simple fact of the matter is Northern Ireland is currently costing the UK over £10bn a year (loss).
Couple that with the border issues and as you say the demographic changing in favour of the Nationalist vote well then I think it’s curtains for the Neanderthals.
The worry for Scotia Minor is that the recalcitrant minority in the northeast corner of Scotia Major could, like Arlene, head for its fair shores should Irish reunification become inevitable, a truly terrifying prospect for any sane Scot.
The only way to avoid such a prospect might be for Scotland to beat Irish reunification to the punch by voting for independence, pulling the plug on the United Kingdom itself.
The UK’s days are numbered one way or the other. Brexit has seen to that.
Excellent piece Phil
I wonder what happened to Liam Kennedy’s idea for a truncated, Protestant state should the people vote for a united Ireland. The UDA was keen on this as well. Has the idea been abandoned or is it being kept under wraps until it’s needed?
You just wonder if Scotland becomes the settling place for the more barbaric Aileens when it all happens.
Sobering thought
I salute you, my man. An excellent, educated and thoughtful piece/peace. As an O’Ceallaigh with Cavan origins, may the road from Ballyconnell to Lisnakea soon be the one road.
I know that road very well.
You’ve missed a key point here phil. As much as she’s annoying I don’t think Foster is stupid. She knows as well as you or I that a combination of brexit and demographics means the writing’s on the wall.
She’s just in the same position as another more regular target of your journalism in that she knows she has to spout anybold pish that will keep the knuckle scraping bigots who are necessary to keep her in her current position inside.
Excellent blog Phil and thanks for it.
Living in England I was unaware of just how close the figures were; I was a little dubious of Michelle’s call for a vote in 5 years but now I can see a majority in favour of a United Ireland within that time scale and suspect any delay will only be constrained by the DUP/Tory ‘coalition’.
I’m a Glasgow born Scot with a Donegall mother/grandparents and Dundee father (grandparents from county Down) so I have a concern over Scotland’s own future independence and consequent desire to realign with Europe this being my reasoning – “Consequently, Arlene doesn’t see a future for herself in a 32 County Ireland of the future”. My fear is that Arlene will not be the only Narn Arlander who would want to see a continuation of her ‘Ulster Culture’, probably in Scotland.
But for now, let’s just wallow 🙂
If the union is to be saved, in the face of the growing “Catholic” demographic as compared to the dwindling loyalist population, then be under no illusion, the political map will continue to be, just like it always has been, gerrymandered.
The British state has never had any qualms about doing what needs to be done when it’s existence comes under any kind of threat, and now Arlene and her compadres effectively run the British government there will be business as usual.
My thoughts exactly…