Arguably our EU membership has helped to improve Irish roads and infrastructure, yet it has been a disaster culturally and environmentally, while also facilitating foreign corporate interests and in the process harming ordinary Irish workers and Irish business.
In this piece I hope to persuade the reader that it can only be in our best interests if Ireland implements a hard-exit from the EU.
In the Summer of 2019 I attended a protest along with the local people of Falcarragh. Ordinary residents and workers had mobilised to protest against the creation of a German Oyster farm in Falcarragh bay. The EU-led proposal would serve to damage the natural beauty spot of Falcarragh bay while also plundering the area of it’s natural resources. While it is true that such a venture could have created additional opportunities for local jobs, the control of such labour would not have been Irish led and people would have to work for foreign interests in Ireland. In this way, the muscle memory of foreign imperialism in Ireland at the hands of English landlords was still raw in the minds of the collective community and the individual protester.
EU-led legislation backed up by regulatory bodies in the Irish Free state has no interest in Irish workers at home, rather they work for the interest for EU imperialism. I will demonstrate this with an example, EU-led regulation demands that fish now be weighed on the pier as opposed to at the Irish factory. The ramifications for this are vast. For it is surely an onerous task to separate tonnes of fish from ice and water on the pier-side for weighing and without the freshness of the fish being compromised in some way. Indeed, just last week in the fishing port of Killybegs, 1,200 tonnes of fish from a trawler was refused transfer from the pier to local fish factories for sorting and packaging, and instead the haul was forced to be turned away to be used elsewhere for generating feed in foreign fish farms.
The ramifications of such circumstances (not uncommon) on local Irish business and local working class people cannot be underestimated. The latter of which depends on the availability of work in the fish factories to keep themselves above the poverty line and to put food on the table. Indeed, following the refusal by the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) to allow the haul to be transferred for local processing some 60+ workers were out of work and 5 fish processing lines empty. Other trawlers are now hesitant to dock at the port of Killybegs, and the projections estimate a loss of 450 jobs should things be allowed to continue on the current trajectory. Workers rights in Ireland continues to remain somewhat limited, and if fish is denied entry into fishing ports then there is simply no work available for ordinary people.
The reality of the situation is that in fishing towns across the country, the very livelihoods of the local working class inhabitants depend solely upon their freedom (or lack thereof) to fish Irish waters as they see fit. The people of Ireland should control their own natural resources and decide their own quotas as opposed to the interests of EU-led imperialists. The regulatory bodies of the Free State government such as the SFPA, who employ Irish people, are forcing such EU regulation and compliance onto their own people and communities. It is telling however that the mainstream media and capitalist stake-holders blame current events not solely on the EU but instead on an 'over-interpretation by the SFPA on EU regulation.' Such is the over-reliance on EU financial donations some corporate entities seem to fear EU reprisals should they speak out against EU membership. Yet the reality is the cancer is EU membership itself and the head must be cut-off the snake if the ordinary Irish worker is to have any recourse and protection. In this way, the Irish Free State, and regulatory bodies within like the SFPA, is working solely for an EU-imperialist agenda as opposed to working for and on behalf of the interests, integrity and betterment of the Irish worker and local Irish business.
Perhaps the worst aspect of EU influence in Ireland was the forsaking of the Irish currency. It is the right of every sovereign nation to exercise control over it’s own financial system, institutions and expenditure. Irish currency also incorporated aspects of Irish history, culture and language through its printing in Gaelic and of the images of the nations saints, revolutionary political figureheads and scholars. EU-led fiscal policy strives to slowly airbrush such aspects of Irish history and culture into oblivion. The Irish Free State under EU-supervision has willingly allowed aspects and landmarks of the 1916 Rising in Dublin to fade into imperceptibly, notably Moore-Street (amongst other famous landmarks).
The EU (intentionally or not) seeks to homogenise it’s member states and erode their individual culture, history and heritage. This is done primarily through the erosion of national identity and by promoting multiculturalism. When people travel on holiday to different countries they do so to experience and soak-in the culture, language, cuisine and history of that country. Indeed, it is only right that people be free to live and work in any country they wish, but by doing so they must respect the culture and social etiquettes of that country. The Irish diaspora are all over the world and open immigration policies in Ireland are important and should be welcomed. However, that does not mean Ireland should sacrifice its cultural heritage and act in a way that is harmful to Irish workers and business solely to appease watery EU agendas.
Perhaps the worst aspect of EU influence in Ireland was the forsaking of the Irish currency. It is the right of every sovereign nation to exercise control over it’s own financial system, institutions and expenditure. Irish currency also incorporated aspects of Irish history, culture and language through its printing in Gaelic and of the images of the nations saints, revolutionary political figureheads and scholars. EU-led fiscal policy strives to slowly airbrush such aspects of Irish history and culture into oblivion. The Irish Free State under EU-supervision has willingly allowed aspects and landmarks of the 1916 Rising in Dublin to fade into imperceptibly, notably Moore-Street (amongst other famous landmarks).
The EU (intentionally or not) seeks to homogenise it’s member states and erode their individual culture, history and heritage. This is done primarily through the erosion of national identity and by promoting multiculturalism. When people travel on holiday to different countries they do so to experience and soak-in the culture, language, cuisine and history of that country. Indeed, it is only right that people be free to live and work in any country they wish, but by doing so they must respect the culture and social etiquettes of that country. The Irish diaspora are all over the world and open immigration policies in Ireland are important and should be welcomed. However, that does not mean Ireland should sacrifice its cultural heritage and act in a way that is harmful to Irish workers and business solely to appease watery EU agendas.
People often comment that EU involvement in Ireland has contributed to the development of vastly improved roads and infrastructure. Ireland had the infamous ‘black spot’ signage to warn motorists of dangerous stretches of road that were prone to serious car crashes. Although a primitive safety mechanism, it was nonetheless efficacious. If we continue on the current road of EU membership our country, culture and local business interests are heading for a car crash. People fail to realise that under EU membership our natural resources and seas are slowly being plundered for foreign interest and gain. Furthermore, low-tax rates for multinational corporations has made our country a haven for liberal capitalists and globalists who exploit and wreak havoc in emerging market countries in the third world.
I will conclude with the following apt quote from Irish revolutionary and martyr Liam Mellows.
If the Irish people do not control Irish industries, transport, money, and the soil of the country, then foreign or domestic capitalists will. And whoever controls the wealth of a country and the processes by which wealth is attained, controls also its government. Ireland, if her industries and banks were controlled by foreign capitalists, would be at the mercy of every breeze that ruffled the surface of the world’s money markets.~ Liam Mellows
⏩ Gowain McKenna is a writer, structural engineer (marine), musician, political theorist (and sometimes poet). His political compass is far-left moderate libertarian and identifies himself as an Irish Republican first and foremost and Connolly socialist second. He runs a blog The Road To No Town and he has three degrees in the field of aerospace engineering: - M.Phil M.Sc B.Eng (Hons)
Ask English fishermen how their exit from the EU is working out for them.
ReplyDeleteThat's another kettle of fish! UK has regained control of mackerel, herring and shellfish stock along the Scottish coastline, and exports are strong. So Scottish fishermen are doing well. Fish processing in England/UK is thriving also. Some teething issues with UK fisheries is to be expected, and granted English fishermen have suffered. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteBrexit has been a total shit show. Please let there be no Irexshit.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is people have mistaken comforts for freedom! People fear if they leave the bosom of the EU they might lose a few pound or things might be ‘hard’ for a while - yet there are far worse things than that. People only think in the short term. EU has nothing to offer this country or its people - unless they want to destroy it.
DeleteThanks for the comment.
If there is to be an Irexit (which I very much doubt) it is going to be driven by the Right rather than the Left, the type of people who are the polar opposite of the Connolly socialist Gowain feels he is. Unlike England, there is no detectable appetite for it.
DeleteThanks AM. There are plenty on the left who are eurosceptic - there seems to be a mainstream agenda (somewhat reactionary) that assumes anyone who is eurosceptic is on the right - this is not so. ‘The Irish people will only be free when they own everything from the plough to the stars.’ JC.
DeleteThere is never plenty on the Left to begin with. Amongst those who are there are some who have always been Eurosceptic. However, they failed to make the running or capture the public imagination in either Ireland or the UK. When I think of Irexit the image of Nigel Farage coming over to campaign for it is the first thing to my mind. Whatever the merits of an exit, in the public mind it seems to be associated with the narrow nationalism of the Right and not the universalism of the Left.
DeleteThanks and yes unfortunately true, when elements such as those are involved it is most difficult to make a persuasive argument for it. Connolly’s 1897 essay ‘Socialism and Nationalism’ helped shaped my opinion on the matter. Yet today such rhetoric can be a minefield and it is easy to give people the wrong idea. I think people need to unshackle themselves from reactionary labels because then all thinking is out the window and people are afraid to make an argument.
Delete‘It must demonstrate to the people of Ireland that our nationalism is not merely a morbid idealising of the past, but is also capable of formulating a distinct and definite answer to the problems of the present and a political and economic creed capable of adjustment to the wants of the future.’ JC
My opinion on today's society is shaped by the people who live in it rather than by those who used to live in it. I tend to view early 20th Century thinking much as I regard medicine from the same era: limited in its application.
DeleteThis is a really good piece which puts forward logical arguments instead of shrill chest beating.
ReplyDeleteI do feel that there is fertile ground in the south for an Irexit movement (look at how the EU basically told the electorate to vote again after the rejected the Lisbon treaty in 2008). As well as that, there are still a lot of disenfranchised people, those who feel excluded from “official” progressive Ireland, those who feel rural concerns are sidelined by Dublin elites, those who feel a vague disquiet at the consolidation of materialistic and individualistic attitudes in many sectors of Irish society, and those who are feeling the economic pinch and have lost their faith in the capacity of conventional governments to put the economy back on track. If the divide continues to grow, then it's something that could be disastrous for the country.
Bear in mind, divorce was only legalised in Ireland in 1993, plus the recent referendums on equal marriage and abortion. As one commentator has claimed, Ireland went from being a 19th century country to a 21st century one with no real transition period. That is something I find fascinating and wonder how it will impact the psyche of the people within the next few decades. Certainly, the younger ones are (generally speaking) left leaning in terms of social policies, but what happens when there's another recession and they emigrate, leaving the ones who were left behind by the Celtic Tiger and see such people as having no interest in them?
Irexit won't happen overnight, but there's a detachment outside of Dublin. Lessons need to be learned.
I think the view of Brexit down here is that is has been such a mess that there is no real appetite for leaving the EU. Many of those prominent in opposing the Lisbon Treaty now enthusiastically embrace the EU. I doubt the alienation you point to is going to manifest itself in Irexit - it might in a lot of other unsavoury things. This is a very pro European society and if that is to be usurped it is most unlikely to come from the Left.
DeleteThe supposed detachment from Dublin was, in the view of those identifying it, meant to lead to a very tight referendum on Repeal. Instead we got a landslide.
Is it true it was only called the Punt because it rhymed with Bank Manager?
ReplyDeleteAM,
ReplyDeleteIt certainly has been a mess. However, those who will argue the case will simply bide their time. That observation re. Lisbon, to me, highlights the lack of ideology and embrace of unadulterated opportunism in southern politics. I think said alienation will play a factor in a cultural breaking point (whether that be Irexit or something else) and it should be discussed. I have no doubt that it will not come from the left, which is disheartening as I don't want a Gemma O'Doherty type to lead such a campaign. Re. Repeal, it certainly was a landslide. However, the 'Yes' vote in the regions outside Dublin ranged from 58% to 63%. Dublin was 75%
Christopher - I am not sure there is a lack of ideology. There are less rigid and deterministic ideologies and more of an ideology that is grounded in pluralism and secularism - all of it underpinned by the logic of capital.
DeleteI think the Gemma boat has long sailed and the Right hunger for any form of Irexit will not be satiated from that source.
Of more significance than the vote range outside of Dublin is that Repeal won out in every county bar one if I recall correctly. That vote was not driven by opportunist politicians - if anything they tailed the popular mood.
If an Irexit type movement were to grow down here it is hard to see it build around anything other than the anti-immigration lobby which will probably have more resonance than the beat of the faith and fatherland drum.