‘The Land of Hy Brasil’ by Jessica McGrann

One of my favourite British exports is the Monty Python team.

In The Life of Brian, where a group of revolutionaries are discussing the other groupings also aiming to overthrow the imperial Roman empire who occupied their homelands, the various initials and names such as the people’s front of Judea and how their aims become blurred leading to splits and fall outs.

The names could so easily be replaced with groups in our own land, where the imperial presence is Britain and the same splits and fall outs we all know about.

Another one of their sketches however, has similarities to Ireland more relevant to post GFA.

In the film Erik the Viking they mix elements of Norse and Celtic mythology in a story where a group of Norsemen seeking peace in their lands, travel to the land of Hy Brasil to find and blow the horn resoundingly three times to end the age of Ragnarok and bring peace to their land.

The people of Hy Brasil live under an arrangement set by the gods with the aim to prevent a return of past conflicts and to encourage them to be all terribly nice to one another.  A bit like the GFA.

Should they fail to stick to this agreement and should blood ever be spilled in anger, then the whole island would sink beneath the waves.

Inevitably, despite their best efforts, blood is spilled by Loki triggering an earthquake that causes the island to begin sinking.

Because the people put such blind faith in their agreement which was considered the panacea for all their ills, they refuse to believe the unthinkable could ever happen.  Erik and his crew prepare to escape in their ship, but King Arnulf refuses to join them, denying that the island is sinking up to the very moment he and the other islanders are swallowed by the waves.

In Ireland, all of the evidence points to a coming change in the demographic in the north with the majority of people now living in what is known as the nationalist community.

Unionists refuse to acknowledge this and can’t see a time when they won’t rule the roost in the north-eastern part of Ireland.

And why should they?

The southern state and their media consider only their views, fully supporting them in the vilification of republicans and refusing point blank to even contemplate the removal of British rule in the remaining part of Ireland to the point where they bastardised the very act of rebellion which gave them their freedom in the first place.

Well, the water level is rising and the Irish majority in the north is approaching along with a growing anger and frustration over the refusal to acknowledge their needs and desires and the blatant propaganda attacks from their media.

There is a political earthquake brewing that is going to shake this state to its very core and the gombeens who run the state are shouting, don’t worry, it cannot happen, we have the GFA.