Opinion

Deaglán de Bréadún: Sight of Muslim holding tricolour was unexpectedly moving

US President Donald Trump holds a bowl of shamrock presented to him by Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as Melania Trump looks on during the annual presentation ceremony at the White House in Washington. Picture by Niall Carson/PA
US President Donald Trump holds a bowl of shamrock presented to him by Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as Melania Trump looks on during the annual presentation ceremony at the White House in Washington. Picture by Niall Carson/PA US President Donald Trump holds a bowl of shamrock presented to him by Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as Melania Trump looks on during the annual presentation ceremony at the White House in Washington. Picture by Niall Carson/PA

It annoys me when people say journalists are cynical, although I can understand the reason.

Practitioners of our trade have long memories and, when we see someone getting fired-up about some “new” idea or approach to political issues, we can’t help dipping into our memory-banks and pointing out, where appropriate, that something similar was tried before and didn’t work.

Another reason we don’t get emotionally involved is because we are expected to report the news objectively.

But a sighting I had on St Patrick’s Day did generate some emotion: a young Muslim immigrant wearing a hijab head-scarf and holding a small Irish tricolour was unexpectedly moving.

The green-white-and-orange flag originated in Paris and was presented by a group of women supporters of Irish independence to Thomas Francis Meagher, one of the leaders of the 1848 rebellion. Meagher said: “The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between Orange and Green and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.”

Formerly populated almost exclusively by Catholics and Protestants, this increasingly-diverse island now includes a significant Muslim community: 63,000 on the southern side of the border, according to the 2016 census, whereas the figure for the north is variously estimated at 5,000 and 15,000.

In light of various terrorist incidents, there is unfortunately a certain degree of suspicion towards Muslims that is reminiscent of attitudes to the Irish in London during the IRA campaign. But I still found it quite touching that someone of that religious persuasion was holding the symbol of Irish nationhood and implicitly looking to this place to provide her with a home, employment and personal security. Meagher himself said, when he was under sentence of death (later reprieved): “To lift this island up—make her a benefactor to humanity, instead of being as she is now, the meanest beggar in the world—to restore to her, her native powers and her ancient constitution—this has been my ambition and this ambition has been my crime.”

One wonders how Meagher and the other nationalist icons would cope with the challenges the island is facing today. They lived in hard times but at least things were reasonably straightforward. What, for instance, would they make of Brexit and the threat of a “hard border”? They would obviously be suspicious of “Perfidious Albion” but how much confidence would they have in the European Union to hold the line for us?

My own view is that pragmatists in London and Brussels can, and hopefully will, win the day. The United Kingdom has always been a somewhat reluctant partner in the European project, as seen in its refusal to adopt the euro instead of sterling. The objective now should be to cut a deal whereby the UK is formally outside the EU but still very closely associated with it in practical, day-to-day terms. New terminology could be used but the reality would remain very much the same.

That would hopefully mean there would be no need for new structures on the border. But even if a more arm’s-length relationship comes into being, it should be possible to keep border-checks to a minimum. Let’s not get into a panic over this: many of the cross-border traders would be known and trusted by the authorities and ordinary motorists would need only the most cursory inspection, possibly through spot-checks.

This newspaper reported last week that Lars Karlsson, a Swedish expert on this issue, told the House of Commons Brexit committee a “smart border” could be created whereby the level of intrusion on business and the general public would be minimal. I have to say that a border in the Irish Sea seems a most unlikely prospect, because of unionist opposition: if it came about, the whole island would surely suffer economically.

Although a general election in the south appears to be on the horizon for the end of this year or early 2019, at this stage, at least, issues related to Brexit are not exactly dominating the agenda. The various parties have their perspectives but the game is being played at a much higher level than the debating chamber of Dáil Éireann.

Leo Varadkar’s trip to the US for St Patrick’s Day did not go that well, because of some ill-judged and, indeed, inaccurate remarks about his brief contact as minister for tourism with Donald Trump (before he became president), over a planning issue connected with the latter’s County Clare golf resort.

I remember getting a little giddy myself when I first visited the White House in the Clinton era. Sinn Féin has also suffered damage lately over an ill-advised tweet, not from Gerry Adams this time, but one of its senators: maybe it’s time that party called a ceasefire on social media.

Ddebre1@aol.com