The Irish News  in its editorial a couple of days ago. called on the Dublin government to establish a citizens’ assembly to examine how a reunited Ireland might look. That’s the North’s biggest nationalist newspaper urging a specific, important step on the journey to Irish unity.  I am pleased and a little surprised that they’ve done so, but I’ve never believed in checking a horse’s molars when it comes as a gift. Maith thú, Irish News!

Even more surprising was an article in The Irish Times,  where Freya McClements used a Freedom of Information request to get some detail on medical waiting lists North and South.  Just more than 281,000 people per million are on a waiting list for appointments (inpatient and outpatient) in the North, compared to 138,000 per million in the South. The report says this shows  “a stark gap between the size of waiting lists on either side of the Border. And the Irish Times  doesn’t stop there. “It is also highly relevant to the conversation around Irish unity, where the nature of healthcare provision is a key debate and could influence how people vote, particularly in Northern Ireland where there is a long-standing attachment to the NHS.”

Both those pieces seem to me of major importance. Neither newspaper has been noted for its outspokenness on the border issue. Now, The Irish News  has nailed its colours to the mast and declared that we need to plan for a referendum on the border. And The Irish Times has used a Freedom of Information request to secure comparative health detail from North and South   – and has been quick to point out the success, in this aspect of health provision, of the South.

It’s not that either newspaper has told us something that comes as a shock. As Dr Samuel Johnson put it in a different context – your response to  “A dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.”