LSE ✒ In this post, Etain Tannam (Trinity College Dublin) explores the prospects for the Shared Island project, in light of the Brexit process and evolving Irish attitudes to Britishness.

 
The taoiseach Micheál Martin formally launched the Shared Island initiative on October 22nd, backed by a new unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. It has received various negative critiques: for some unionists, the Shared Island initiative contains no new ideas and/or it is a means to a united Ireland by stealth. For some nationalists and unionists, it is solely motivated by the Fianna Fáil’s electoral aim of undermining support for Sinn Féin, following that party’s success in the 2020 Irish General Election. For some nationalists by emphasising reconciliation not unification, it is a sell-out. However contrary to all these claims, the taoiseach’s speech highlighted just how fundamental is the new initiative.

The key significance is not just about practical policy, but identity – a self-critical reappraisal of who we are on the island and what futures we seek post-Brexit. A core point in the Taoiseach’s speech was the need to examine ‘what does it mean to have British or Irish identity on the island today?  

Continue reading @ LSE.

Shared Island Initiative Is Not Just About Practical Policy, But About National Identity Post-Brexit

LSE ✒ In this post, Etain Tannam (Trinity College Dublin) explores the prospects for the Shared Island project, in light of the Brexit process and evolving Irish attitudes to Britishness.

 
The taoiseach Micheál Martin formally launched the Shared Island initiative on October 22nd, backed by a new unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. It has received various negative critiques: for some unionists, the Shared Island initiative contains no new ideas and/or it is a means to a united Ireland by stealth. For some nationalists and unionists, it is solely motivated by the Fianna Fáil’s electoral aim of undermining support for Sinn Féin, following that party’s success in the 2020 Irish General Election. For some nationalists by emphasising reconciliation not unification, it is a sell-out. However contrary to all these claims, the taoiseach’s speech highlighted just how fundamental is the new initiative.

The key significance is not just about practical policy, but identity – a self-critical reappraisal of who we are on the island and what futures we seek post-Brexit. A core point in the Taoiseach’s speech was the need to examine ‘what does it mean to have British or Irish identity on the island today?  

Continue reading @ LSE.

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