Northern Ireland

New Brexit book `Bordering on Confusion?' out now

A NEW book on Brexit and Northern Ireland featuring chapters individually written by academics, journalists and politicians is "surprisingly balanced", according to its editor.

John Mair, a veteran journalist turned university lecturer, finally launched the book last week amid the quick-changing political tumult which has become synonymous with the UK's attempts to exit the EU.

"Nobody had pulled together this sort of book so it was for us to do it now," he said.

"When to publish was the decision to make. We though let's go for it. We had pushed it forward a bit, it was supposed to launch on October 24 in Belfast, but at some point you have to say, `let's draw a line' and put it out'."

The book is part of the Bite Sized Brexit Series and deals with the potential return of a hard border, lending itself to the punnish sub-title of `Bordering on Confusion?'

Mr Mair is confident it will stand the firm despite the rhetorical quicksand that is challenging all those attempting to write about or commentate on the issue.

"Well the likes of Katy Hayward (reader in Sociology at Queen’s University Belfast and senior fellow of UK in a Changing Europe) is not going to change what she writes just because Dominic Raab (British foreign secretary) has said something."

He joked that its relevance should "last at least to the end of the year".

Among the contributors are Oxford Irish history professor Ian McBride who discusses `How the border moved from a symbol of antagonism to an irrelevance', Tom Felle, head of journalism and communication at NUI Galway offers `A history lesson for Brexiteers', Dr Hayward's chapter posits `What works for boats and planes may not work for trucks and trains'.

Former Belfast Telegraph editor Michael Gilson's offering is `A part but apart: Northern Ireland, Brexit, the media and a gulf in understanding', while former UTV managing director Michael Wilson will explain `The first-hand reality of an EU border, Swiss style'.

Other contributors include QUB human rights professor Colin Harvey, former BBC NI security editor Brian Rowan and the Republic's former foreign affairs minister Liz O'Donnell.

"These are people who have thought about the border politically, economically quite hard and given thought to the human rights consequences. They're not people saying `This is my opinion'.

"Roy Greenslade (emeritus professor of journalism at City University London) has written a nice first person piece."

Brexit and Northern Ireland - Bordering on Confusion? edited by John Mair and Steve Mccabe with Neil Fowler and Leslie Budd ISBN: 9781694447807