That SSE rally? Quick, change the subject…

Here’s an interesting tweet by Philip McGarry OBE: 

There are a number of responses could be made to this. One. might be that Ireland’s Future has no intention of getting bogged down in Ireland’s past.

Another might be that unionists should go first and apologise for fifty years of gerrymander, discrimination and Orange triumphalism. 

My own inclination is to ask people, if they’re going to explore the past, to think big and parallel.

Big, in that we should think beyond the setting up of a unionist state that was created by Britain, telling those who might think otherwise that they faced terrible violence if they didn’t concur. 

Parallel,  in that we might look at events today and see if there are any parallels for us. Like, for example, Ukraine. Everyone is agreed – well, the official world anyway – that Russia engaged in a criminal act by invading a neighbouring country and trying to impose its rule on all or part of Ukraine. 

While we’re nodding, we might want to ask what has been the history of Ireland and England. Has Ireland attempted to invade and impose its rule on England? The very notion is laughable. Has England attempted to invade and impose its rule on Ireland? Without a shadow of doubt, yes. Just because it happened a long time ago doesn’t change the facts. So are those who denounce Putin and Russia’s invasion of a neighbour prepared to denounce Britain’s claim to jurisdiction over  all or part of Ireland? Somehow I doubt it.

This attempt to distract from the growing confidence in nationalism,  represented in this case by Ireland’s Future, is sad and a little dim. Should the Irish government apologise for the killing of RIC men as well as Auxiliaries and Black and Tans in the early decades of the last century? Any such question would get short shrift from the people of the south – and the north. Equally, attempts to wrong-foot Ireland’s Future  and Irish nationalism in general should be dismissed for what it is. Selective outrage is never a pretty sight.