An irony-proof letter from abroad

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There’s a touching little letter in today’s Irish Times. It comes from a young woman living in The Netherlands and she’s writing to complain. She is an Irish citizen and she is allowed to vote in  Dutch local elections. On the other hand, she can’t vote in the upcoming referendum in Ireland on same-sex marriage. She very annoyed:

“It disgusted me to learn that unlike virtually every developed country I can think of, Ireland has no system in place whereby expatriate voters can engage with referendums and other major electoral events in their home country.”

I have sympathy with her plight. It’s not nice to think that the place of your birth and up-bringing rejects you, if only in ballot-box terms. And she’s not the first Irish citizen to complain about this state of affairs.

But what makes me hold onto my seat and try to prevent myself going through the ceiling at speed is that none of these outraged emigrants notes the obvious: north of the border there are hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens who don’t have a vote in the same-sex referendum, the Lisbon Treaty referendum or any other referendum. On the rare occasion when this issue of disenfranchisement is raised, it’s pointed out that those of us living north of the border live in a different jurisdiction. Indeed. Just like the young woman in The Netherlands. Except that we live in a country called Ireland. So where lies the more outrageous injustice: denial of voting rights to Irish citizens living abroad,  or denial of voting rights  to Irish citizens living at home? Because there are those of us north of the border who are Irish citizens,who do believe ourselves to be at home,  and who think that home is Ireland.

Why have the Irish government not addressed this contradiction? You know the answer to that one, Virginia, but I’ll tell you anyway: because it might upset the unionists/Britain. And we couldn’t have that.

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23 Responses to An irony-proof letter from abroad

  1. Iolar March 21, 2015 at 11:12 am #

    “Of what use is a philosopher who doesn’t hurt anybody’s feelings?”

    Diogenes the cynic 404BC

  2. paddykool March 21, 2015 at 11:21 am #

    So you’re saying Jude , that even though i can have a British or Irish passport or both if i’m feeling a bit flush or daft…., i’m not really Irish or even British, at all ….or is it that i’m not really Irish , but Norneverlandish ….?We really are the forgotten people…..!!!

    • Jude Collins March 21, 2015 at 11:23 am #

      You’re probably British and maybe NortherIrish, but you can forget that Irish bit right now…

      • Ceannaire March 22, 2015 at 2:22 am #

        And yet, as we all know, there are western Irish, southern irish, eastern Irish and even northern Irish (just ask Donegal) There is also north east, south west etc.
        Us Irish divide ourselves like that.

        Except the English, Scottish and Welsh, they just look at us as Irish. We look at those as British.

  3. paddy March 21, 2015 at 11:34 am #

    your at your work again young man lol.

  4. sherdy March 21, 2015 at 12:25 pm #

    Jude, maybe the reason the Irish government hasn’t addressed the contradiction is because NI would have many more people would be voting in support of Sinn Fein and their policies than for FF, FG or Labour.
    Enda’s not known as a cute Mayo hoor for nothing!

    • Jude Collins March 21, 2015 at 1:55 pm #

      May your hand fall off for thinking such a thought, sherdy…

  5. fiosrach March 21, 2015 at 12:38 pm #

    Maybe we’re Irish living in Britain or maybe British living in Ireland or both or neither as the case may be.

  6. Antonio March 21, 2015 at 12:41 pm #

    It is about time that Sinn Fein and the S.D.L.P started to push this onto the agenda more and specifically votes in the Presidential election for those north of the border. Apart from the obvious benefits of bringing us closer to rest of our country it would have an added benefit of talking the wind out of the sails of the anti-good Friday agreement republicans and dissidents whose entire raison detre currently is to call Sinn Fein sell-outs

  7. bf_bhoy March 21, 2015 at 1:55 pm #

    After leaving university many years ago I moved to England and lived there working continuously for the 8 years I was there. Moved back home to Belfast after 8 years towards the end of 1997 and was entitled to no benefits as I had resigned from my job in London but was still in same ‘jurisdiction’. Roll forward a few months and I was told I was not entitled to vote in the Good Friday referendum as I had not lived in the ‘jurisdiction’ for 9 months. By that stage I was working in Belfast, paying my taxes and hadn’t received a penny in benefits. They make the rules up to suit their argument at the time.

  8. Freddy Mallins March 21, 2015 at 2:02 pm #

    The Southern people are very quick to deny Northerners their birthright. What they will say, no doubt is that we were born under British rule and remain so and therefore we are not fully Irish, if Irish at all. What I would respectfully point out is that, Padraig Pearce for example was born and lived his whole life under British rule. Did that make him any less an Irishman?

  9. Colmán March 21, 2015 at 3:30 pm #

    Dá mbeadh vóta ag lucht an tuaiscirt ó dheas b’ionann sin agus Éire Aontaithe agus níor mhaith le ceann ar bith de na mórpháirtithe deisceartacha sin óir chiallódh sé nach mbeadh post acu a thuilleadh.

  10. Colmán March 21, 2015 at 3:33 pm #

    If people from the north had a vote in the south that would be the same as a United Ireland. None of the major parties in the south would want that because it would mean they would be out of a job.

  11. neill March 21, 2015 at 4:31 pm #

    Yeah I suppose your right I am sure the people in the south would be delighted to give nationalists the vote in any forthcoming elections after all don’t they contribute taxes to the Irish exchequer or make contributions to the Irish states don’t they? ; )

    • Jude Collins March 21, 2015 at 5:08 pm #

      Very good, neill…I like it. Except you’d have to disenfranchise the unemployed then, wouldnt you? Lazy bloody slackers -don’t deserve a vote anyway…

      • neill March 22, 2015 at 12:50 am #

        Now your getting the idea!

  12. Seán McGouran March 21, 2015 at 7:43 pm #

    The problem, for most of the 20th century was the huge numbers of migrants out of Ireland. Their votes would simply have swamped those of the people actually paying taxes to the sovereign Irish government.
    A solution could be seats in the Seanad for the North / Northern Ireland / wee Ulster / 6 Occupied Counties (& whatever you’re having yourself), and for migrants.

  13. Perkin Warbeck March 21, 2015 at 8:09 pm #

    After perusing the tear-jerker of a letter from The Land of Dykes which you have drawn our attention to today, Esteemed Blogmeister, one found one’s self-improving eyes column-inching their way, crab-like to the left.

    In the direction of that Wayside Pulpit in the Chapel of Weasel Words known as the Editorial of The Unionist Times:

    -It is not reasonable to expect unionist parties which in practice differ so little politically not to accommodate themselves to the reality of the voting system. On the nationalist side there is a far greater ideological gulf between Sinn Fein and the SDLP and the latter is right not to do a similar deal.

    (Ah, yes. The Church of the Latter Day Stoops where Salt Lake City is miles away from Provo, Utah and always will be.)

    This being the week of The Quiet Man / An Fear Ciuin what this homely wee homily from TUT actually means, when translated into the leprechaun of Darby O’Gill is: the SDLP is in fact a Ciuinionist Party but likes to keep mum about it, Queen Mum in fact.

    Which is why The Unionist Times which seconds Queen Lizard the Second is so supportive of the SDLP. They share a common wet dream: that West Britain will one day rise up on Birthday Honours Day and take its place among the Crustaceans of the Earth.

    The Quiet Man was, of course, shot in County Mayo and one Ciuinionist from Mayo who has been anything but ciuin since he was Aldershot down, oops, shot down by his fellow Mayoist, E.Kenny, is Squireen ‘Red’ Pat Rabbit.

    The Myxomatosis Kid, which is his nom de guerre, and who just loves to mix it with the Shinners learned all there was to know about throwing his eponymous punch from endlessly watching reruns of Squireen ‘Red’ Will Danagher putting up his dukes to Sean Wayne. And the reason he loves anything with a second in it so much is because from studio to studio in the Free Southern Stateen each neutral presenter of a ref immediately morphs into the second of the rabbit punching one.

    As the Lady with the Basket at the Train Station of Castletown put it:

    -Sir,! Sir ! Here’s a good Stickie to bate the lovely lady wid.

    But, no need to be despondent, Esteemed Blogmeiste: to qualify for the ballot box south of the Black Pig’s Dyke one just needs to be a little foxy to outfox the political pet rabbits and other sotto voce Ciuinionists.

    One needs to be glic like Mickaleen Flynn to, erm, get an in, as it were.

    A simple matter of zoology really. Merely travel south of the border dividing Mayo and Galway from the debt warren of Pat Rabbit and enter unto the broad and pleasant meadows of Pat Lam. This is the folk hero who is just two sheiks away from being crowned Caliph of Connaught.

    For in truth, Galway Bay is now in the process of being transformerd into the Bay of Plenty where there is plenty welcome on the mat for anybody called Pat who can light a penny candle and can speak the language even the clergy do not know.

    So, Esteemed Blogmeister, get cracking on that kiwi fruit diet. Or else, ‘you’ll regret it till the day you die, if you manage to live that long’.

    • John March 22, 2015 at 5:29 pm #

      Perkin – That you are a man of many fine words, tongue-twisters and such-like – Of that there is no doubt. An esteemed master of the grammar ‘Anglais’ and Gaeltacht alike.
      Once again, you have outdone yourself – amongst today’s wonders…

      The immortal…. “In the wayward direction of that wayside pulpit in the Chapel of weasel words known as the Editorial of The Unionist Times” – has made my day – nay, indeed week, if not longer – and will be a line i shall never forget!

      I bow in your general direction. (Though not in a Monty Python ‘Life Of Brian’ kind of way i must add!)

      • Perkin Warbeck March 24, 2015 at 8:36 am #

        GRMA, John.

        Even though your prize-winning words of praise sent Perkie’s inner Modest Mussorsky scurrying upwards to spend a chilly Night on Bald Mountain, one was sent hurrying back downwards this morning with the following blues-banishing news:

        -The Right Hook is to be replaced by The Rabbit Punch !

        I bhfocail eile, with the imminent retirement of George Hook from his plush leather swivel chair in the teatime studio of Newstalk Radio sometime in the next decade his rotund rear will be taken by that of The Myxomatosis Kid.

        This will surprise no discerning listener: Pat Rabbit (for it is he !) having cut his socialist teeth with the Sticks and then had his cloth cap so fitted the better to accommodate his TV aerial ears with the millionaire milliners of the Labour Party, is now deemed fit to join the penny-pinching propaganda fold of the that most seemly Trotskyite on Planet Dosh, Denis O’Brien.

        Brer bua !

        • John March 25, 2015 at 12:01 am #

          GRMA Perkin,

          My gob was gob-smacked – nay, agape – at your news of ‘Pull No Punches’ Hook being hefted from his illustrious (?) prime-time ‘Right Hook’ Show. (Maybe even as much as the motor ve-hickle Insurance Companies, as some sense of calmness may return to the Roads, and claims may reduce).
          This is however, dependent upon Mr.Hook being able to extricate himself from his chair – which may well have to depart his studio, with the unfortunate ‘Presenter’, still attached, and at some interminable cost – a plush new seat being supplied for none other than the ‘The Myxomatosis Kid’ himself.
          With baited breath, the listeners, in their hundreds of…well, hundreds – await this outcome, atremble.
          Special mention must be made for you dear Perkie. One would most definitely not want you to become a cropper, hurtling up and down your “apples and pears” (as those Pearly K’s & Q’s, defame the fine ‘past the Watford Line’ & ‘Lancashire grasp’ of the proper English Language – would say) – due to some nefarious, ahem, ‘tax-exile’, namely D-O-B, and his ‘Public Service’ Pronouncements.

          Careful Now! – luck maith agus dea-shlainte!

  14. Mick March 23, 2015 at 7:58 am #

    Well said Jude, couldn’t have put it better myself!