There are significant issues arising in respect of the imposition of Irish language signage at Grand Central Station.
The legal issue is that this decision is plainly controversial, and that being so, there was a legal duty on the minister, Liz Kimmins, to bring the decision to the executive for cross-community approval.
The effect of her failure to do so is that she was – pursuant to section 28A (10) of the NI Act 1998 – deprived of any ministerial authority to take the decision. There can be no serious suggestion the imposition of Irish language is not controversial: it was the cause of a lengthy collapse of the executive; it has generated protests both for and against the imposition of the language; other ministers clearly believe it is controversial; and, polling has consistently showed it is a divisive issue in Northern Ireland.
The controversial nature is elevated further still in Belfast, where the local council operate a rather extraordinary policy (supremacy hiding in the sunshine, so to speak) whereby if ‘only’ 85 per cent of a community oppose the imposition of Irish language, then this is sufficient to ensure the imposition goes ahead on the democratic majority of 15 per cent (yes, really).
Imagine, for just one moment, if unionists/loyalists argued (and, we now should) that if 15 per cent of a community want a band and/or loyal order parade, then it must go ahead. The same nationalists demanding the imposition of the Irish language would be outraged and deride such an argument. They would be aided in doing so by large sections of the media and the latte-drinking liberal elite.
And therein lies the supremacist mindset at the heart of nationalism/republicanism. It is that Irish cultural identity must be promoted, embraced and imposed – because its apparent, asserted, inherent legitimacy makes its imposition not only necessary but mandatory – but that British/unionist/loyalist culture must be regulated, controlled and ultimately gradually eradicated, because it is inherently ‘illegitimate’.
This mindset pervades throughout all aspects of nationalism/republicanism, even the supposedly ‘softer’ manifestations thereof. It is so ingrained, it has become normalised.
There is no real answer to the following point: why should unionists/loyalists tolerate the imposition of Irish cultural identity, when those of that identity cannot even tolerate our cultural identity manifesting itself via a three-minute parade up a main arterial route (in fashionable ‘Alliance-speak’, a ‘shared space’)?
The trope that will come back is ‘oh but Irish is for everyone, some Protestants spoke it’. Yes, the RUC was open to everyone as well, and many Catholics served in it. When will nationalists/republicans be embracing the legacy of the RUC and taking ownership of it?
Nationalism/republicanism’s supremacist mindset is out of control, and unionism/loyalism should have said enough is enough long ago.
Jamie Bryson, Unionist Voice Policy Studies
