In March 2019, I was chatting with my Dublin-born friend when, as often happens, our conversation turned to politics. This time the subject was BREXIT. I especially wanted his take on the Irish Backstop. He then added insight to my understanding of Irish history.
Ireland was part of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1922. Then 26 counties in the south were granted independence and became the Republic of Ireland. Six northern counties chose to remain in the UK (primarily because they had been settled by English and Scottish immigrants who had arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries and received land in exchange for British Army service); they became Northern Ireland. Always rife with religious tension, The Troubles broke-out in 1969, when Catholics started demanding the same rights as Protestants in Northern Ireland. The conflict ended in 1998 with truce that required, among other things, removing the physical border between the two Irelands so people could get to know each other again.
Now BREXIT puts a wrench in things. Despite that Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU (56%), it is being forced to leave once BREXIT goes into effect. This means a physical border must be re-established between Northern Ireland and the EU-member Republic of Ireland. Such a border threatens to re-inflame old wounds and would be a disaster for the people of Ireland.
While the EU may make some accommodation, it is clear that the island cannot go back to its former environment. Perhaps now is the time for Northern Ireland to begin rethinking its relationship in the UK, much like Scotland is doing. In the long-term, geography trumps even ethnic lines as people within an area intermingle and intermarry. Perhaps, this is a good time to reassess what’s in the long-term best interest of the whole of Ireland.
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