As I may have mentioned, last week I attended a panel discussion in my home town of Omagh. It was organized by Sinn Féin and the motion was “That a United Ireland is inevitable”. It was notable for a number of reasons, not least the fact that the panel of six contained three unionists – Linda Ervine, John McAllister MLA (Independent) and Tom Buchanan MLA (DUP). Barry McElduff was the very-lively chairman of the discussion.
It was a snow-swept journey from Belfast to Omagh but well worth the effort. Linda Ervine was as always eloquent on the need to see the Irish language as belonging to all of us, unionist, nationalist or republican. John McAllister was as usual a civilized and cordial representative of unionism – a man, as the song says, you’ll not meet every day. Finally Tom Buchanan seemed a decent man, but his resistance to anything that wasn’t the sturdy DUP political line was depressing. As someone in the audience pointed out, when he used a sentence containing three Nos, it was reminiscent of Ian Paisley’s famous four Nevers. And we know what became of those.
The Omagh debate was heartening. Such debates are becoming more frequent and more inclusive, and I take my hat off to the three unionists – particularly Tom Buchanan – for their willingness to sit down and debate matters of concern to us all.
I don’t think I’d say a united Ireland was inevitable: only by patient and committed effort will such an entity come about. But I do think that the economics of a united Ireland need to be pondered and articulated again and again, in language that numerical numb-skulls like myself can understand and respond to.
Good.stuff.jude.
G.r.m.a, J.i.m.
I would agree thta more open discussion needs to take plce . Up until now , even to conceive of a new notion or a new way of thinking has been frowned at.New thinking is frowned at by most people , who by and large are conservative creatures in both habit and openess to new concepts.
I have a lot of time for John McAllister ,who seems unfraid to think anew. have to say that on both sides of the great divide most are conservative thinkers but it is much more apparent in unionism who feel that to think anew is a losing strategy….better not to think the unthinkable…..It may be tied up with their religious or political conservatism which favour Old Testament tropes , but then again, there is nothing as conservative as a catholic nationalist (or should that be a nationalist catholic?)…you know what I mean …conservatism goes with the territory…that clinging to old tried and well-worn beliefs …. so you could say that most are conservatives of either stripe.As far as a “united Ireland ” is concerned , in the wider aspect even the Republic of Ireland, as is , does not appear to be very “united” as yet. That all said , in purely practical terms and again as someone whose eyes also glaze over at the mention of commerce, I’d love to hear the pros and cons of change openly debated and weighed without the tub-thumping and squeals about loss of “tradition”…or (“the Dear” help us )…”Identity”.
Far be it from me, Jude, to appear to defend any Duppers, but I haven’t heard of any others of that ilk attending such a function previously.
So I would consider his presence to be a sign of progress.
But just think, had he shown any positive attitude to the notion of a united Ireland, I don’t think he would have been a DUP member by the end of the week.
Progress, like peace, comes dropping slow!
“Finally Tom Buchanan seemed a decent man, but his resistance to anything that wasn’t the sturdy DUP political line was depressing.”
Out of interest, did Barry McElduff depart from the SF political line? If so, what did he say? If not, was it also depressing?
Barry was the chair, MT. Not a participant in the discussion…
Surely the perfect Chairman would have been your good self,Jude.After all,you do have some experience in chairing Sinn Fein events!
Lol Argenta!
Yes, it is good to talk, but it is much better to listen. Stephen Rea discussed his role in the play, ‘Cyprus Avenue’ due to be staged in Dublin, during a discussion on RTÉ Radio today. His contribution was profound, moving and thoughtful. Sartre said,
“Good theatre should raise questions, not answer them.”
It is indeed a strange world. In 1980, the thought police decided there was a need for a broadcasting ban aimed at certain individuals and organisations in Ireland. In 2016 this play will address issues associated with identity and disillusionment, in a rapidly changing world. A pleasant interlude indeed from the rafts of politicians with their reams of statistics, and we all know what is said about statistics.
While it was confidently forecast that the dominant topic on the hustings down here, Esteemed Blogmeister, would be STABILITY this has proved not to be the case. In fact, it is SLABILITY.
Your mention of the presence on the platform of the Omagh debate of the estimable Linda Ervine reminds one of an Opportunity which Knocked but which was not availed of by the opportunistic Ennui Greens of the Government. A guilt-edged one that could have put a dent into the electoral armoury of the mortal Shinners, instead of a dissident.
And one means that most sincerely, folks.
A chance to appoint a lady from East Belfast to Seanad Eireann for a positive reason, rather than what was done in the case of a lady from West Belfast, whose name one just cannot re-call just now, at this M. in time, going f.
This appointment would have been the first of two steps: the second would have been to appoint Linda Ervine as Minister for The First Official Language. Thereby, giving a merciful release to the charming but still ill-equipped ownshock currently in situ, Madame Monoglot from Monaghan.
Such a Senatorial stratagem is not without precedent. In 1981 Senator James Dooge was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by his good buddy, Garrett FitzGerald (big G in the surname). Not your run of the water mill political hack was Dooge. An eminent Professor of Hydrology (H2O to the rest of us) he seems to have spent some time in the groves of academe, Stateside. As the yankie twang to his accent won him the affectionate nickname of ‘Doogie the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B’.
That, of course, would be B for Blue Shirt.
Professor Dooge was a global expert on water, cool, clear water. How the Yawnaiste could have done with his, erm, sage advice during the recent travails she faced in the barren waste of the barrio of no-go Jobstown, Tallaght. And how her throat burned dry in the back of her chuck wagon, bawling at the souls who cried out for water, cool, clear water.
This dryness proved particularly detrimental to the clubbable leadertte of the (gulp) Labour Party south of the Black Sow’s Dyke:
-I do so love to talk to people.
So she does: she said so herself, so she did.
A veritable Gold Medalist of Gab, who once spent time in the Kiliminjaro Gaeltacht so she could converse fluently in Swahili with the local Kikuyu tribespersons: she said so herself, so she did.
And has not been content to give her eloquent tongue a rest whenever the subject of the Gabfest is (gasp) Slab. The leprechaun for slab is leac (pronounced lack) and here has hardly any lack of same in General Election 2016; in fact it is nigh impossible to keep tabs on the number of mentions Slab gets.
Nor is the Yawnaiste is one to, erm, go for a Burton, (in a manner of speaking) when it comes to giving the lie to those who would demean the Juryless Court as being of the kangaroo variety;
-There is nothing whatsoever marsupial about this Special Court.
She can be heard to repeat this mantra ad implauseum during G.E. 2016 in that widely acclaimed and distinctive morsupial tone of hers.
(Morsupial: a portmanteau adjective which melds ‘morally’ and ‘superior’ together )
Now, it could be, however unlikely, that the imaginative idea to appoint the linguistically pioneering Linda Ervine to the Cabinet was actually considered in the Slaboratory to which the Yawnaiste’s spin doctors in the Blue Collar wing of the Blue Shirts have access, and even recourse. For the Yawnaiste would appear to tbe the Go-to Gal in these matters of appointment/ disapppointment.
But that , if this had indeed happened , it would have been shot down on at least one of two grounds:
1. It would have required the Swahili-speaking Yawnaiste to make the appointment in the First Official Language – a requirement which might have caused blushes in the lush bushes around The Irish House of Commons. (Ni fios cathain an uair dheireannach ar fheach si isteach ina hErse fein roimhe seo).
2. Even more likely: it would have required the Yawnaister to think for once outside the botox.
Irish Unity isn’t inevitable but there’s a strong chance of it happening for a number of reasons. One being the break up of the UK which some on both sides of the Irish sea regard as inevitable. Another is the change of demographics here in our North Eastern statelet. The days of Unionist dominance is gone and that will have effects on our society here, which Unionists/Loyalists will oppose in vain, Camp Twaddell, the Loyalist fleg protests, etc are examples of opposition to change.
Sinn Fein need to do more to explore and promote the benefits of Irish Unity, especially the economic benefits. The disadvantages of being apart of the UK needs to be explored too, our MP’s have less than 1% influence at Westminster, we have very high levels of child poverty (particularly in Catholic areas) and of course we have severe social issues and problems with sectarianism.
why would the likes of ervine be invited to such a debate what or who does she represent.