There are some within unionism who are prepared to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Irish reunification and there are some who have embraced the native Irish language. These are open-minded people who are not stuck in the past.
The extreme Unionist Royalists in Ireland -as in Britain-support a pre-democratic British state and monarchy. They also instinctively support tyrants all over the globe as we saw with the Paul Givan trip to Jerusalem. They are fully supportive of the Netanyahu regime in Israel which has been found guilty of genocide in the European court of Justice.
The Royalists in Ireland have shown uncritical support for the English Royal family, an un-elected privileged family who live in the lap of luxury, paid for by tax payers i.e. the people. Some of these Royals have shown that they have no moral compass and yet they still receive the full support of Irish Royalists.
Of course, the Royalists in Ireland are not confined to the six north-eastern counties. They are to be found in all parts of the island of Ireland. Many in the Republic of Ireland find their political home in either the Fine Gael or Fianna Fail parties. This minority group has held this country to ransom for more than 100 years. In the New Ireland, it is likely that many of the north-eastern Royalists will align with one or other of these right-wing parties in order to preserve their wealth.
Constitutional change is coming in Ireland. The election of Catherine Connolly as Uachtarán na hÉireann with the support of Sinn Fein and the Left shows that there is a growing momentum for political change. We are heading for a new democratic system of government in Ireland –based on the principles of the Good Friday Agreement. This will replace the undemocratic Partition of the country in 1921. This will be only way to end the institutional sectarianism. Some open-minded unionists have already accepted the inevitable outworking of the Good Friday Agreement.
If Sinn Fein is elected to government, as expected at the next General election, they will find themselves opposed by a FF/FG coalition. If the FF/FG coalition is ever to return to government they will need the support of the pro-Union parties. Interesting times ahead?
Áth-bhliain faoi shona agus faoi mhaise daoibh!
Thank you Father McVeigh for your narrative. Obviously we not going to agree on all aspects of it. Coming from the Protestant community and living across the island of Ireland I see a breadth and depth of identity within Irish Protestantism which is absent from this caricature.
Given your involvement with republican prisoners in the past, I was wondering how you feel about one or two of the areas of Irish history that have caught my interest in recent times.
– Where do you stand on Cardinal Paul Cullen, one of the most influential Irishmen of the 19th century and known outside of Ireland for dispatching conservative Irish priests across the British Empire, his reactionary politics and his heavy involvement in the dogma of Papal Infallibility?
– Where do you stand on the Decree Ne Temere. I am intrigued by the fact that before this was passed a very significant number of Ulster Presbyterian ministers supported Irish Home Rule, but after it this wave of Irish Presbyterian nationalism melted away.
Thank you for your contributions and Happy New Year.
K. Williamson,
I appreciate your willingness to engage in a respectful way about our future.This is the only way forward-an open and honest discussion. You raise interesting points about Cardinal Cullen and the Ne Temere Decreee. Cardinal Cullen did try to impose his right wing ideas on a people recovering from the nightmare of the Great Hunger. The Ne Temere Decree was another effort by the Irish hierarchy to control the people. It was not a progressive intervention-and has been a cause of hurt and disagreement. Thankfully, it is no longer relevant. You raise an interesting point about the impact it had on the Presbyterian ministers who previously held republican/Home Rule sympathies. There is clearly need for further discussion around these issues. Than k you for sharing and Happy New Year.
The only reason unionists give such total support to the royal family is because they are Protestant, or rather non Catholic. If, God willing, King Charles takes England back to it’s original faith you will see multitudes in the north east of Ireland (and parts of Scotland) embrace the benefits of republicanism in a manner the French revolutionaries would be proud to adopt. Free P preachers would cry Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!
I am not sure that Charles III intends to make paganism the established faith, the older religion of these islands before Roman-Briton traders brought the imperial credo.
England would have remained Latin Catholic if the Medici had allowed Henry VIII his annulment rather than fawning over the more powerful Spanish King. Henry, just like Mary I who tried to plant Laois / Offaly, hated Protestants.
But you do concede, the only reason loyalists support the House of Windsor is because they are not Catholic?