“Ireland unfree shall never be at peace” were the climactic closing words of the graveside oration of Patrick Pearse at the funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa on August 1 1915. These seven words, however, have now very different connotations in the contexts of the north of Ireland today.
With the definitive end of the Troubles, of the peace process that came from the St Andrews Agreement in October 2006 and the assembly elections in March 2007, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin formed a government. These parties represent people who have been divided for generations, split by the religious and political lines that fuelled the decades-long conflict since partition. While basic everyday needs are common to both, what they can’t have is one section of the community having cultural supremacy over the other. The peace process is fragile and, like the Good Friday political agreement, must be protected. The Brexit negotiations have shown the United Kingdom political parties have miserably failed the north of Ireland. With the current protocol plans incorporating the Windsor Framework agreement, a solution will be found not on the basis of victory for either, but on the basis of agreement and a partnership between both for the betterment of Ireland.
Sinn Féin’s rise is shaking up Ireland’s politics. There are increasingly loud calls to prepare for a border poll under the terms of the GFA. One outcome of which might be the unification of Ireland, free from partition and free from UK sovereignty over the north of Ireland. Rooted in the military campaign for a united Ireland, Sinn Féin was long an outsider in politics due to its political association with the Irish Republican Army. With the conflict in the north largely over since the 1998 peace deal, the movement has reinvented itself to appeal to a new generation of voters. Now, in a historic shift, it has become the biggest party in the north and also leads opinion polls in the south. That makes its demand for a referendum on unification harder to ignore. Unionists could demand a border poll to show confidence in unionism. The UK and Irish government could actively, on the back of the Good Friday Agreement, encourage the DUP more forcefully, set out a vision for unity and call a border poll to put the issue to bed. A prerequisite to the referendum is for the Irish government to form a citizens’ assembly and then publish a White Paper informed by its recommendations, setting out plans for Irish unity which will form the basis of debate during the unity referendum. The aim would be to develop a range of options about the future structure of Irish unity and how it would operate. It would allow people to have a clear idea of what they are voting for. It would be an important preparatory work to ensure that reunification is a success and begins with certainty. Unionists must be challenged to do likewise. Ireland may not be perfect but it is on the right path, to be free and prosperous to build for an all-Ireland future anchored to the EU.
JAMES G BARRY
Templeogue, Dublin
Decline in Irish Defence Forces needs to be addressed
It feels like our island nation is trapped in a Groundhog Day of endless discussions and inactions on how to address the decline of the Irish Defence Forces (IDF) by the shameful mismanagement of successive Irish governments who care so little about the safety of the Irish people and those who serve us in our military against an increasingly more lethal and unpredictable world.
Their deliberate policy of unpreparedness dressed up as neutrality while underfunding every element of national security will ultimately see the collapse of every unit in our defence force. To save Óglaigh na hÉireann from this fate we need to elect a progressive government who will actually deliver while in office a cohesive all-island defence strategy. Peace-making leaders and peace-keeping soldiers must be Ireland’s brand of neutrality that declare war on those who create poverty, death and destruction by challenging those global war-mongering countries and their armies of peace-takers. To make this vision a reality and address decades of defence neglect we need a substantial and immediate fund of approximately €2bn just for the necessary equipment which will sustain our island security for the next 20 years. This one-off sum must come from the 2023 windfall tax (prioritised with spend for health, housing etc).
This funding would properly equip 11,500 full-time and 7,000 part-time troops within the existing two brigades formation as well as the future Air Force and Navy (includes as examples all-island radar cover, eight jet trainers light strike and eight Saab JAS 39 jet interceptor aircraft with four Airbus C295 as transports and a multi-role vessel etc.).
To generate force numbers it is essential that we discontinue the ‘single force’ concept where the reserve sub-units are permanently attached to army units, as it has failed to attract recruits. We must return to better practice with paired infantry battalions and support units.
These improved operational capabilities within our regular and reserve units must lead to an increase in more diverse overseas missions with a good balance of humanitarian support and UN peace keeping/enforcement activities.
Ultimately a life in the IDF must offer a rewarding career with equal opportunities for travel, adventure and development while delivering excellent pay, pension and work conditions, enabling us to attract and retain the best men and women.
MICHAEL HAGAN
Dunmurry, Co Antrim
North’s future looking bleak
Sometimes a straightforward compare and contrast can prompt reflection on the future. While UK citizens have been warned they will have to accept being poorer, Ireland’s politicians are planning what to do with a €65 billion surplus over the next three years.
For Northern Ireland it means that as the poorest part of a poorer, inward-looking UK the future is rather bleak. For Ireland it means that the government is considering a Sovereign Wealth Fund, perhaps akin to Norway’s model, for longer-term financial planning.
There is no doubt that the ‘South’ has difficult issues to deal with, for example, housing. However the overall outlook is considerably better because it is an attractive place for investment. It manages its own finances within the world’s largest trading bloc as opposed to Northern Ireland basically being told what they are getting.
The old ‘political prostitute’ question, “can you afford us?”, has surely changed to, can Northern Ireland afford not to be part of an inclusive Ireland within the EU?
DR BILLY LEONARD
Kilkee, Co Clare
