Much talk is made of how to accommodate the Unionist half of the population in a United Ireland. Implicit in this is a suggestion that the constitutional status of the North impacts one’s sense of identity. The very fact we’re even having this discussion bodes well for creating a more progressive and tolerant form of governance. When the six county statelet was artificially created, Unionists didn’t gather round to discuss how they could make this as welcoming a place as possible for the marginalised Catholic community. Instead, ‘Northern Ireland’ was formed with supremacist ideals and sought to suppress those who identified as Irish.
Nonetheless, in the warped politics of the North, identity might just be the most decisive factor for many when the border poll is called. As Mary-Lou McDonald points out, we’re not starting from ground zero either, and the GFA already offers protections for both sides of the community. So, while it’s taken over a hundred years to implement Irish language rights and the statelet has focused on trying to erode our sense of Irishness, in a new Ireland we don’t want to do the same to those who identify as British. Just like being Irish in what is technically a part of the UK doesn’t make one any less Irish, identifying as British in a United Ireland doesn’t necessarily need to make one any less British.
Identity can be a somewhat vague and multifaceted concept. For some, their primary sense of identity might be derived from a more localised source e.g., being a father or a doctor etc… However, when we talk of identity in Ireland we’re primarily focused on national identity. Within this there’s a considerable overlap between religion and national identity, although the correlation between the two is increasingly becoming weaker. When we talk of accommodating other identities in a United Ireland, we’re primarily talking about how we accommodate the Unionist and/or Protestant half of the North’s population.
It’s worth remembering that partition created two minorities in each constituent part, namely Protestants in the South and Catholics in the North. While ROI was initially a state heavily influenced by Catholic conservatism, it has evolved and has become a much more tolerant society. The discrimination that Protestants experienced in the South was of an infinitely smaller scale than what Catholics in the North had to go through. ROI has form for evolving and becoming a more tolerant society, the North does not. All the same, it’s worth focusing on how to integrate what will be a new minority in a reunified Ireland.
So, what exactly is a British, Unionist or Protestant identity. In cosmopolitan London, many British people there would ironically have similar societal values to Irish Republicans in terms of things like gay marriage and language rights. These tolerant British people seem very different to those in the occupied part of Ireland (or at least their political representatives). When it comes to Protestant identity, authors such as Claire Mitchell write affectionately about the spirit, non-sectarianism and liberal values of the United Irishmen. The open-mindedness, tolerance and capability of reasoning seen in these ‘alternative Protestants’ is antithetical to the closed minded intransigent Protestants that are attached to likes of DUP and TUV.
I get the sense when we talk of accommodating this half of the community in a United Ireland, we’re not really talking about Protestants of the United Irishmen ilk, nor are we talking about British people who have some very liberal values. The identity that we’re really thinking about is the ugly face of Unionism that votes DUP, TUV, UUP and supports the supremacist marches of the Orange Order. While most media sanitises and normalises this ugliness, anyone with an ounce of critical thinking can see through it. That’s not to say Unionists are necessarily bad people. In fact, many of them are excellent fathers, doctors and pillars of their community. Which is perhaps the most heart-breaking thing one can say about Unionists. How some otherwise good people can become possessed by a horrible and sectarian set of beliefs. George Orwell would describe such a phenomenon as, ’groupthink’ and anyone with a rudimentary understanding of the 21st century can realise that a proclivity towards an evil, intolerant herd mentality unfortunately appears to be part of the human condition.
It can become easy to trivialise someone’s sense of national identity being more strongly attached to the island across the Irish sea instead of the island they’re living on. However, a sense of group identity seems to be part of our genetics and is present in other animals too. If there’s a positive association with a flag, group or event then it’s easy to become emotionally attached. Objectively speaking, the 12th of July is a show of triumphalism, yet to some Unionists it is a positive family event. Similarly, the many Irish people who passionately support a Scottish or English football team must recognise that it’s somewhat illogical to have such strong emotional investment towards something so foreign.
In a New Ireland these senses of identity must be protected and, in many respects, they already are in the GFA. A United Ireland can respect people’s sense of Britishness; however, it must not over-accommodate and facilitate the many toxic aspects of Ulster Unionism. The sense of entitlement, supremacy and outright sectarianism enshrined into the very fabric of Ulster Unionism deserves zero respect and just like any other regressive ideology it should eventually be consigned to the dustbin of history.
A New Ireland is about creating a more progressive, forward-thinking society with a government that actually functions. It’s about respecting all members of our community. It’s about ending the broken statelet that was set up by a sectarian headcount and the subsequent sectarian tensions that naturally arose from those conditions. Once the constitutional question is finally put to bed, it is hoped that the North’s identity politics will gradually be replaced by a system of governance that primarily focuses on economic and societal issues. Only then can we finally unlock our island’s full potential and create a society that is welcoming for all.
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