THE late John Hume was a good and even a saintly man. But he had some political views that were patently... how shall I put it?... smelling of garden fertiliser.
For example, he repeatedly argued that what divided Irish people was not a border line on a map, but the borders inside people’s heads.
Ukraine: the people there care so much about national border lines they’re dying in thousands to defend it.
Palestine: the people there are dying in their tens of thousands, because Israel wants to expunge them and redraw the border lines of a Greater Israel.
Here in Ireland there is a border in our country, has been for over 100 years now. When people are born, live and die in two different jurisdictions, with different education systems, different health systems, different media, different everything, we shouldn’t act surprised that different rules and systems distort those people, differentiate them.
We are a lucky generation. In our lifetime there will be a border poll. That’s for sure. I say that because even should a first border poll fail, it will be repeated seven years later, and if that fails, repeated again. At my age I’d very much wish for success first time out, but sooner or later, Irish reunification will come.
Some unionists are making noises for the need to have a substantial majority in a border poll, even for a substantial unionist majority in that poll. I say once again, horse manure. In 1995, the Canadian province of Quebec voted on independence from the rest of Canada. They were defeated – their opponents got 50.58 per cent of the vote. All of Canada, including the Quebecois, accepted the decision.
Then there’s the threat of a loyalist backlash. Should we not because of it seek reconciliation before unification? Horse manure 3.0. A majority is a majority is a majority – however slim or fat. That’s how democracy works.
What should we do meantime? We should take steps to avoid the curse of Brexit. That disastrous decision was taken by a people who didn’t know what Brexit would look like – they literally didn’t know what they were voting for. We must make sure that when people enter the polling booth, in five years or ten years or whenever, they know what sort of Ireland they’re voting for.
Will it be for a united Ireland in which unionists have a guaranteed number of seats in the Dail? Will it be a devolved state, with Dublin the central parliament and regional parliaments in Stormont and maybe Cork and Galway? If the ‘British identity’ of northern unionists is to be protected, how will that be done – allow for Orange marches, visits and awards by the English sovereign, Ulster Scots as a school subject? And what about the Irish flag and national anthem – should they be on the table, matters for discussion as well?
Most definitely – the lot. Everything should be open to negotiation and decision-making. Then an informed people can enter the polling booth.
A major snag – maybe THE major snag: FF and FG. These two political parties have ruled the South for over 100 years, and as Idi Amin once said: "All power is delightful, absolute power is absolutely delightful." The arrival of the representatives of nearly two million northern people will permanently upset the comfortable apple-cart of the last 100-plus years.
A final point: people hate change. They’d rather have the devil they know than the devil they don’t. Which is another reason for Irish people to act NOW. Not next year or in a dim future – NOW. We need to establish a discussion framework to which everyone is invited, and where we can formulate plans for a future state. Our goal should be the creation not of a new Ireland, but a better Ireland.
There’s not a moment to lose. The practical steps need to start now.
