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An
Argument for Irish Reunification
Introduction.
Ireland
is once again at another uncertain juncture since its partition by a
British act of parliament in 1920. To say the least its history
since then has been unsettled -- lumbering as it were from one
crisis to another. The latest is the result of the United Kingdom's
withdrawal from the European Union and the impact it is having on
existing agreements put in place to maintain a tenuous peace in the
sectarian ridden Northern Ireland state. It is now time for the
powers that be to face facts and end the reoccurring trauma that has
plagued Ireland for a hundred years. It is time to put away the
band-aids and work on the only agreement that matters, the
reunification of Ireland.
The British enacted Government of Ireland Act 1920 was the basis for
the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 that ended the Irish War of
Independence. The Treaty was approved by the second Dail Eireann
(Irish Parliament) and ratified by the Southern Ireland Parliament
on January 12, 1922. The Southern Ireland Parliament together with
the Northern Ireland Parliament was established by the
above-mentioned Government of Ireland Act.
Terms of the ratified Treaty resulted in a bitter Civil War being
fought between the pro-Treaty Free State forces and anti-Treaty
Irish Republican Volunteers. The atrocities committed during that
war have colored Irish politics ever since.
In the
end, the outcome from what was a well-planned British ploy, which
included the Government of Ireland Act,
the Truce, the Treaty and Civil War, was the partitioning of Ireland
into two dominion states of the British Empire, the 26-county Irish
Free State and the Northern Ireland State. Not only did that outcome
divide Ireland, but also institutionalized the Catholic-Protestant
divide within the Northern Ireland state, and in so doing set the
stage for a century of sectarian strife.
One
Nation, Two States
The Northern Ireland State includes the six northeastern counties of
Ireland, Antrim, Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Derry. It
covers an area of 14,130 sq. km, 20% of the whole island’s land
area. It has a population of 1,896,000, amounting to 38.4% of the
total island population.
The inclusion of six counties in the make-up of the new state
instead of the nine historic counties of Ulster was the option
favored by the Unionists for it gave them the greatest possible
majority 78% to 22% in a six-county state versus 52% to 48% in a
nine-county state. Prior to 1972 when the British reestablished
direct control, politicians who openly discriminated against the
nationalist population had governed the Northern Ireland State since
its founding in 1922.
Ireland aka the Republic of Ireland includes the remaining 26
counties. It covers an area of 70,273 sq. km and has a population of
4,937,795.
In 1937, under the authority granted to it and other dominion states
by the 1931 British enacted Statute
of Westminster, the Free State government adopted a new
constitution that changed the name of the Free State to Eire
(Ireland). Subsequent to that name
change, Ireland’s government passed the Republic of Ireland Act in
1948 that referred to Ireland as a Republic thus in accordance with
British law ending the remaining statutory role of the British
monarch
in the state. However, the official name of the state did not
change, as the name Eire (Ireland) was codified in the 1937
constitution.
European Union Membership
The
European Economic Community (EEC) was created by the Treaty of Rome
in 1957. When the European Union (EU) was created by the Maastricht
Treaty in 1993, the EEC was incorporated into the EU and renamed the
European Community (EC). In 2009, when the EC formally ceased to
exist its institutions were directly absorbed into the EU.
In 1961, Denmark, the UK, and Ireland applied for membership of the
ECC. In 1963 France vetoed all three applications.
In 1967,
together with Denmark, the UK, and Norway, Ireland submitted its
second application to join the ECC. In 1972 after numerous delays,
prolonged negotiations and the death of President de Gaulle of
France, Ireland, Denmark, and the UK signed the Treaties of
Accession and formally joined the EEC in 1973.
Brexit – United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
In 2016 the United Kingdom electorate voted in referendum 52% to 48
% to withdraw from the European Union (EU). The regional breakdown
was as follows.
The English voted 53.4% to 46,6% to withdraw.
The Welsh voted 52.5% to 47.5% to withdraw.
Northern Ireland’s voted 56% to 44% to remain.
The Scottish voted 62% to 38% to remain.
These regional results are stressing the United Kingdom along its
fault lines with Scotland vying for another referendum to decide
whether to remain in the UK. The Unionists in Northern Ireland are
acting as if the majority voted to withdraw. They are behaving as
if they were the final arbiter of the Brexit fiasco. Their
intransigence and unwillingness to compromise or accept reality
could leave Northern Ireland adrift in the shifting Brexit tides
that will determine its future.
The
Northern Ireland Protocol
Brexit
is but the latest chapter in Irelands tortured journey. The Northern
Ireland Protocol, an agreement between the UE and the UK to prevent
reintroducing the hard border between both parts of Ireland is the
latest crisis with roots in the partition of Ireland. After 1973,
when the UK and Ireland joined the EU, the border no longer
functioned as a customs border. After that it became a security
border manned by the British military. In 1998, the border was
demilitarized after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The
agreement entered into by the UK and Irish governments required the
Provisional Irish Republican Army to give up its arms, whereupon the
British Army disengaged and returned to barracks in Northern
Ireland. After that, the border that existed for a hundred years
disappeared as if it were magic. From the onset the border was a
hideous farce, a magnet for confrontation, chaos and killings.
For the
first time ever, the British imposed border across the Irish
Landscape has become an international affair because of the
Unionists objection to the Protocol. This time around, the solution
to the Protocol issue will not be dictated solely by the UK with
Irish acquiescence as has been the case with past conflicts. Any
major concession by the EU to the UK's demands that would weaken the
cohesion of the European Union, is a no go, therefore is anyone
guess as to how this standoff will end.
The
Protocol is a component of the Treaty aka, the withdrawal agreement
ratified by both the EU and the UK
that established the
terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in accordance with Article
50 of the Treaty of the EU. The Protocol is comprised of 19 articles
and various annexes associated with the overall agreement.
In referencing the border, article 5 of the Protocol states that
there is " a de
jure customs
border on the island
of Ireland between
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but a de
facto customs
border down
the Irish
Sea".
Northern
Ireland and Brexit
The
present-day Brexit fiasco places Northern Ireland in the eye of the
ensuing storm. It’s difficult to predict what will happen either in
the short or long term to the political and economic entities in
Northern Ireland. However, what can be predicted is that both will
be severely tested as they are subject to the
stratagems of
outside forces who advocate for their own narrow interests,
regardless of perceived colonial ties or cultural identities.
Those
who nurture and perpetuate the sectarian-driven political system in
Northern Ireland must be aware that Brexit poses an existential
threat to its viability as a political entity in an age past its
time. They must also accept that religious and cultural differences
can no longer be exploited or that a 100-year-old line drawn across
a landscape can no longer effectively separate people who share an
historic island nation.
Institutionalized sectarianism that underpinned ploys such as the
“Orange card” can no longer be depended on to maintain the status
quo in the face of a rapidly changing demographic more inclined to
openness and equality. The partisan divide that served demagoguery
so well for one hundred years is being gradually eclipsed by an
ever-increasing minority of non-partisan voters who rate
inclusiveness and shared values above partisan causes rooted in
centuries past.
What can
Northern Ireland do to ensure its viability as a political entity?
What
then should the people of Northern Ireland do who voted 56% to
remain in the EU knowing that England will do what is expedient for
England even if it means setting Northern Ireland adrift. The best
choice for Northern Ireland is to be proactive, embrace change and
take a leadership role in its shaping, otherwise it will be a
spectator to its own demise as a political entity. Time is not on
the side of Northern Ireland’s unionists’ leaders, as encroaching
demographic trends are gradually eroding their majorities and
influence.
In their
waning state, what Northern Ireland’s unionists should fear most is
being absorbed into the Dublin political juggernaut where the
‘orange card’ and other political ploys would be meaningless,
unplayable. If the unionists can see beyond the blazing pyres and
bygone glory days, they should take a close look at what the Eire
Athaontaithe (Reunited Ireland) proposal offers and realize that it
may be the best for which they can hope.
The
essence of Eire Athaontaithe is an all-Ireland Federal Parliamentary Republic
comprised of three distinct regions namely, 1) the
Ulster Region
encompassing the nine counties of Ulster, 2) the Munster/Connacht
Region encompassing the eleven counties of Munster and Connacht, and
3) the Leinster Region encompassing the twelve counties of
Leinster. The union of Munster and Connacht into a federal region would lend
economic equity and political balance to what would be lacking in a
standalone Connacht and to a lesser extent, in a standalone Munster.
The new
arrangement would be underpinned by a new constitution that would
provide for the distribution of governmental powers between the
national and regional governments.
Going
forward its essential that the people of Northern Ireland are
assured that their non-sectarian customs and traditions would
survive reunification. We believe that the regional federation
herein proposed would assuage their concerns, as it provides for the
maximum autonomy in shaping their future and for a strong voice in
shaping national policy. Furthermore, a regional federation would
better position a reunited Ulster to fully participate in the
broader economic landscape that the European Union offers and
provide its workforce unhindered access to the European labor
marketplace. It would also be a more attractive place for
international investment and more importantly still, a place where
sectarianism could give way to
utilitarianism.
What can
Republic of Ireland do to reciprocate?
The
Republic of Ireland is also in the eye of the same storm. The
economic ties between both entities are substantial, intertwined and
enormously beneficial to the citizens on both sides of the political
divide. It’s incumbent on the powers that be in the Republic to be
open to a proposed deal by their Northern neighbors that would
obviate the worst aspects of Brexit and proffer a viable solution to
the partition of Ireland.
It’s
also highly probable that the citizens of the Republic would support
a federal solution because those who reside outside of Dublin
believe that too much power and privilege is centered in Dublin and
its environs to the detriment of the rest of the country. They
bemoan the fact that in addition to the entrenched political
endowments and entitlements, everything of substance, including
state-of-the-art medical centers, research facilities, financial
institutions, sports, and entertainment facilities continue to be
sited in Dublin.
Myriad
other quality of life issues that impact both urbanites and rural
populations alike including housing shortages, traffic congestion,
public transport, healthcare, the environment etc., are now within
the purview of the Dublin based central government. Therefore, by
default, the solutions to these problems emanate from a
Dunlin-centric mindset that oftentimes exacerbates rather than
mitigate the problems. Many of these problems are regional in
nature, more suitable to regional based solutions.
In the
Final Analysis
British
ploys such as the partition of Ireland and subsequent band-aids
including the Sunningdale, Hillsborough, Good Friday and St. Andrews
agreements no longer offer a meaningful solution to a problem rooted
in British imperialism. The only viable long-term solution is Irish
reunification within the confines of an inclusive and sovereign
Federal Irish Republic.
From the
onset, the role of the EU has been one of accommodation. For many of
the EU member countries, the withdrawal of the UK from the EU was a
welcome development, albeit a sentiment muted in their public
responses.
There
are four outcomes acceptable to the EU regarding Brexit. The
implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the reunification
of Ireland or the withdrawal of the Republic of Ireland from the EU.
The fourth option, a hard border across the Irish landscape would
be acceptable to the EU but problematic for the Irish people in that
it would reset the clock to 1920 with the same old set of cards and
looming players in the shadows.
TMMTP
Date posted 8/6/2022
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