Noel Doran’s column recounting how the British used little known appointee, Richard Feetham to nullify the Boundary Commission and bequeath us a century of partition, should be a wake-up call for those wanting to make the Good Friday Agreement a bridge to Irish reunification. (The little known figure who arguably did more than any other to preserve the union-April 28th)
A century ago, the Irish relied on British good faith, promises during negotiations, and Treaty provisions that Ireland’s boundary would be redrawn to reflect popular will. The British relied on appointing Boundary Commission Chair Richard Feetham, who ignored nationalist majorities in Tyrone and Fermanagh to hand Britain the largest area it could hold.
Some take for granted that Ireland will be allowed a vote on national reunification, if not in 2030 then soon thereafter when nationalist support reaches a majority in the six counties. They rely on British good faith, verbal promises during negotiations and the written provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. Meanwhile the British seem poised to use the same colonial playbook that worked for them a century ago.
The Good Friday Agreement gives a British secretary exclusive power to call a vote on Irish reunification, based on a subjective calculation that nationalists might win. Those terms unfortunately would allow British appointees, like Richard Feetham, to deny the Irish people a referendum simply by ignoring evidence a six county majority might favor a united Ireland.
Today Keir Starmer says a vote on Irish reunification “is not even on the horizon.” His officials answer inquiries about a referendum in ways that imply a vote will never be on Britain’s horizon. They even demand reconciliation before a vote, then discourage Unionists from serious talks about reconciliation, by saying there is no prospect of a referendum.
To win a border poll Irish leaders must first get Britain to hold a border poll. Getting a poll will require unity, because the British will not be moved, if they see Ireland’s national demand reduced to a party political issue. The emergence of former Taoiseach and Fine Gael party leader Leo Varadkar as a leading advocate for reunification, through Ireland’s Future, can be a major advance, if built upon.
I look forward to reading Cormac Moore’s upcoming book on the failures of the Boundary Commission. Hopefully, a century from now, historians will not be writing about a legacy of today’s failures.
Some take for granted that Ireland will be allowed a vote on national reunification, if not in 2030 then soon thereafter when nationalist support reaches a majority in the six counties. They rely on British good faith, verbal promises during negotiations and the written provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. Meanwhile the British seem poised to use the same colonial playbook that worked for them a century ago.
The Good Friday Agreement gives a British secretary exclusive power to call a vote on Irish reunification, based on a subjective calculation that nationalists might win. Those terms unfortunately would allow British appointees, like Richard Feetham, to deny the Irish people a referendum simply by ignoring evidence a six county majority might favor a united Ireland.
Today Keir Starmer says a vote on Irish reunification “is not even on the horizon.” His officials answer inquiries about a referendum in ways that imply a vote will never be on Britain’s horizon. They even demand reconciliation before a vote, then discourage Unionists from serious talks about reconciliation, by saying there is no prospect of a referendum.
To win a border poll Irish leaders must first get Britain to hold a border poll. Getting a poll will require unity, because the British will not be moved, if they see Ireland’s national demand reduced to a party political issue. The emergence of former Taoiseach and Fine Gael party leader Leo Varadkar as a leading advocate for reunification, through Ireland’s Future, can be a major advance, if built upon.
I look forward to reading Cormac Moore’s upcoming book on the failures of the Boundary Commission. Hopefully, a century from now, historians will not be writing about a legacy of today’s failures.
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| Martin Galvin is long time Irish American activist. |
If there is a hypotetical majority say tomorrow and if the British block it which is entirely plausible are we not able to do an abstentionist Dáil an tuaiscirt
ReplyDeleteGot a bit of mileage before