The colonisation of Ireland by the British/English has left a huge negative legacy in terms of reactionary ways of thinking and behaving. It caused deep divisions between people with different religious outlooks and social status using the old tactic ‘divide and conquer’. It created a wealthy class and a poor class. Even though part of Ireland was granted a degree of independence by the British/English government in the 1920s, the colonial mind-set remained and often became vicious. (See the graffiti] and the bonfires)It became evident in the imitation of the British and in the acceptance and strengthening of Partition.
Even when Irish people were forced to go to Britain to find employment and money to send back home, they were treated as ‘Paddies’ -less than human. In so far as was possible, they maintained their Irish culture and way of life and a desire to return home someday.
In the north-eastern 6 counties still ruled by Westminster and their Unionist allies, the colonial mind-set was maintained by the Unionist/Orange section who once ruled this artificial statelet exclusively. They went out of their way to show that they were loyal British subjects and went out of their way to oppose any thing to do with Irish culture. Union flags were flown everywhere, Orange parades to express their loyalty to the Crown were organised by institutions like the Orange order and indeed some reformed churches promoted the British way of life.
The new Stormont regime along with the token representation at Westminster encouraged this pro-union section of the community to show their loyalty and allegiance to the king or queen of England. They had their own police -the RUC and the B specials. They had close links with British army regiments and with the secret service.
The other section of the north community mostly aspired to be Irish but all outward expressions of their Irish identity were forbidden by the Unionist ruling class. Any display of Irish identity by nationalists was seen as treachery and not to be tolerated. It really was a fascist state.
Catholics/nationalists suffered severe discrimination and were treated as second class citizens until the 1960s when they formed a mass movement to seek basic civil rights. There was around that time, a movement throughout the world for equality and decolonisation sparked by the civil rights movement in the United States and protests against injustice and racism all over the world.
Justice became a catch cry and even the Catholic Church in Vatican II (1961-65) adopted the seeking of justice as part of the Gospel of Jesus and the official teaching of the Church. The leaders urged that justice be sought by peaceful means.
All of this challenged the colonial mind-set here in Ireland. There were always a handful of women and men who kept the flame of freedom alive -some resorting to armed resistance on occasions when all else failed. But it became clear that, while understandable, armed resistance against a British imperial power with much superior military strength was not going to achieve Ireland’s freedom from Britain. It became clear as time went on and the British remained determined to hold on to power that freedom could only be achieved by a united front and by peaceful political means. This political realisation with the support of America led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
Almost 30 years later we are still working through the terms of that Agreement-part of which established a local Assembly made up of a power-sharing coalition of Republicans and Unionists. Another of the terms agreed in the Good Friday Agreement was the holding of a Border referendum to decide the constitutional future-known of this island. The timing of this will be decided by the British government-but clearly the Irish government will have a say in this. The latest British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said on a recent visit to Belfast that the Border poll is “of the table.” It can never be “off the table” because it is an integral part of an international Agreement made in 1998. A border poll must be granted whenever it has a chance of being passed by a majority vote in both parts of Ireland.
What is holding it back is the colonial mind-set that still exists within Britain and indeed within some strands of Irish nationalism -in particular within Fianna Fail for their own selfish reasons? There is also the deep hostility towards all things Irish in some sections of Unionism. However, not all from a unionist background share this mentality and are more open to the possibility of a new political and social future together on the island of Ireland.
The growth of Sinn Fein in the two jurisdictions makes it clear that the Border poll cannot be postponed forever. It is imperative that the Irish people are prepared for such a poll and know what they are voting for when it takes place. The Dublin government has a huge responsibility in this regard.
The journey that we are on is a journey towards Irish reunification. That will involve new structures of government on an all-Ireland basis. It will involve a new consciousness of what it means to be Irish and a big effort to decolonise Irish mind-sets. Part of that is the promotion of the Irish language as the everyday spoken language of the majority of Irish citizens.
It is an exciting and challenging work. All sections of society and all who want to build a just and lasting peace on this island have a part to play in creating the New Ireland. The adults today have a responsibility to do this for the children of today and tomorrow and for the future. It is an exciting time to be alive in Ireland –even if a little frustrating at times when those opposed to change want to turn back the clock and maintain this sectarian state.
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