Flower of Scotland and joined-up education

This is a good day for Scotland and Ireland. Two events occurred quite separately, but both of them if followed up with the drive and determination they merit, could lead to glorious things.    Scotland’s football team last night in Hampden Park defeated Denmark, with superb goals by Scott McTominay and Kieran Nugent. That means they’ve qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. If you heard the crowd singing ‘Flower of Scotland’ after their victory, you’d find it hard to believe that Scotland would not vote for independence if a second referendum were held.   

In Ireland, Dundalk IT announced that it will be given university college status after agreeing to a merger with Queen’s University in Belfast. Queeen’s says it will “catalyse economic and social development within the Dublin-Belfast corridor”. Queen’s president Prof Ian Greer says this merger is “hugely significant and exciting.” Stormont’s Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald daidd “Strengthening academic links across the island will expand opportunities for stuent and researcher mobility, furhter innovation and furher support delivery of regional balance.” 

 The impressive thing about this educational merger is that it ignores the border – and sure why wouldn’t it? It also puts up the question to the Derry campus of Ulster University and  Dundalk’s Atlantic Technological University(ATU). In exactly the same way, both third-level institutions would benefit by removing the border as a dividing factor. 

In fact, beyond that, you might want to wonder why secondary schools in the north have a different syllabus from those in the south. Have there been determined efforts to look at both systems and, drawing on the strengths of both, create a common curriculum? 

By achieving educational unity as Queen’s in Belfast and ATU in Dundalk have done, an educational model would show the educational advantages of Irish unity. Likewise in Heallth, Tourism and Infrastructure. Then when it came to a border referendum – and it is coming – those voting would have real-life models on which to base their voting decision.

And of course, if the Ireland football team, which in recent days has produced outcomes very closely matching Scotland, were to draw on the talents in the north as well as the south (yes of course it happens, Virginia – but what about Liverpool’s Conor Bradley, a son of Aghyaran?)and experience further heady success, you can bet your boots it would spill over into electoral thinking too. 

Footnote: if they were to change the national anthem in a united Ireland to something as stirring and wonderful as ‘Flower of Scotland’, most of us surely would go with that.