In a Border Poll Will people vote with the head or heart?
Thursday August 1st, 1 pm. St. Mary’s College. Falls Road.
Speakers Andree Murphy, Alex Kane, Kevin Meagher, Ben Collins.
While I was brought up in a strongly pro-British and pro-Unionist household, I have wanted to see a United Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement. The ending of the paramilitary campaigns enabled me to look at Ireland differently. But what had been a long term aspiration became an urgent necessity when Britain unexpectedly voted for Brexit. The beauty of the Good Friday Agreement was that you could be Irish, British or both. Borders didn’t matter as much because we were all part of the European Union. Brexit ended all of that and shows in very real terms, that if we want to control our destiny across Ireland, then we need to be reunited.
For me it was no longer a case of simply wishing to reclaim the fourth green field, it is about how do we ensure the best quality of life for everyone who lives across Ireland. This new British Labour Government is undoubtedly better than the previous Conservative one which caused chaos on a daily basis. But Keir Starmer and his team have indicated that they will not reverse Brexit. In fact he has said that he doesn’t think Britain will rejoin the European Union in his lifetime. The new British government, like the last one, has also staked its reputation on reducing inward migration.
Being part of the EU has been a good thing for Ireland, it has helped to create peace and prosperity on the island. As an island with a fast growing economy we need migrants to continue to work in our health system, to bring new ideas and new culture to help make our island more diverse. But like any country with inward migration and a vibrant economy, there are challenges. There is a need to acknowledge people’s concerns and to address them. Whether people live in East Belfast, Galway or North Dublin, they want to have hope for the future, that there will be opportunity for their families and that the vulnerable will be cared for. We need to see more good quality and affordable housing being built. We know that people want to know that their government can manage immigration in a sustainable way and the first part of being able to do that is by having control of your borders. Ireland is fortunate that as an island we can do this effectively when we control entry to the island via all sea and airports. New Zealand as an island nation was able to adopt a zero covid policy during the pandemic by closing down its borders, until a vaccine could be found and administered to its people. Ireland could not take the same approach because due to partition, we have two administrations on the island, which were at times operating contradictory approaches to dealing with the pandemic.
The Earth is heating rapidly and this causes many problems. One of the challenges we will face is increasingly frequency of pandemics and zoonotic diseases which transfer from other species to humans. Irish unity will enable us to take full control of our borders without outside interference from the British Government and better enable us to keep all our citizens safe when pandemics take place.
To address the climate crisis we need to transition away from fossil fuels in the near future and embrace the opportunities provided by renewables and by connecting into continental Europe’s energy market. This will also help to reduce our carbon footprint. We need better transport and access to broadband so that people can live and thrive in every part of Ireland, not just the Belfast to Dublin economic corridor. There are lots of great places to live, work and enjoy life all across Ireland. A United Ireland which is part of the European Union will help to achieve all of this. One part of Ireland being outside of the EU makes achieving all of this much more difficult.
Partition has been a disaster for both parts of Ireland. It has caused huge damage to the island, been a source of unrest and divided communities. The border counties of Ireland will not fully recover until we finally rid Ireland from the scar of division. Irish unity will make it easier to grow the economy without internal barriers. All the people of Ireland will be able to access the healthcare benefits from being part of the EU, in areas such as digital health.
The world is becoming increasingly unstable as recent events in the USA have shown. The best way in which we can provide for the security of all who live across Ireland and minimise outside interference, is through Irish unity. All of the challenges we face will be more easily addressed by a reunited Ireland. To safeguard the Good Friday Agreement, membership of the European Convention on Human Rights and all the protection which these provide for citizens across Ireland, we must prepare for and then secure the reunification of Ireland through a border poll. So yes my head tells me that winning a border poll will create a better Ireland for everyone but my heart also wants us to grasp our destiny to build a new nation for all.
In a Border Poll Will people vote with the head or heart?
Thursday August 1st, 1 pm. St. Mary’s College. Falls Road.
Speakers Andree Murphy, Alex Kane, Kevin Meagher, Ben Collins.
While I was brought up in a strongly pro-British and pro-Unionist household, I have wanted to see a United Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement. The ending of the paramilitary campaigns enabled me to look at Ireland differently. But what had been a long term aspiration became an urgent necessity when Britain unexpectedly voted for Brexit. The beauty of the Good Friday Agreement was that you could be Irish, British or both. Borders didn’t matter as much because we were all part of the European Union. Brexit ended all of that and shows in very real terms, that if we want to control our destiny across Ireland, then we need to be reunited.
For me it was no longer a case of simply wishing to reclaim the fourth green field, it is about how do we ensure the best quality of life for everyone who lives across Ireland. This new British Labour Government is undoubtedly better than the previous Conservative one which caused chaos on a daily basis. But Keir Starmer and his team have indicated that they will not reverse Brexit. In fact he has said that he doesn’t think Britain will rejoin the European Union in his lifetime. The new British government, like the last one, has also staked its reputation on reducing inward migration.
Being part of the EU has been a good thing for Ireland, it has helped to create peace and prosperity on the island. As an island with a fast growing economy we need migrants to continue to work in our health system, to bring new ideas and new culture to help make our island more diverse. But like any country with inward migration and a vibrant economy, there are challenges. There is a need to acknowledge people’s concerns and to address them. Whether people live in East Belfast, Galway or North Dublin, they want to have hope for the future, that there will be opportunity for their families and that the vulnerable will be cared for. We need to see more good quality and affordable housing being built. We know that people want to know that their government can manage immigration in a sustainable way and the first part of being able to do that is by having control of your borders. Ireland is fortunate that as an island we can do this effectively when we control entry to the island via all sea and airports. New Zealand as an island nation was able to adopt a zero covid policy during the pandemic by closing down its borders, until a vaccine could be found and administered to its people. Ireland could not take the same approach because due to partition, we have two administrations on the island, which were at times operating contradictory approaches to dealing with the pandemic.
The Earth is heating rapidly and this causes many problems. One of the challenges we will face is increasingly frequency of pandemics and zoonotic diseases which transfer from other species to humans. Irish unity will enable us to take full control of our borders without outside interference from the British Government and better enable us to keep all our citizens safe when pandemics take place.
To address the climate crisis we need to transition away from fossil fuels in the near future and embrace the opportunities provided by renewables and by connecting into continental Europe’s energy market. This will also help to reduce our carbon footprint. We need better transport and access to broadband so that people can live and thrive in every part of Ireland, not just the Belfast to Dublin economic corridor. There are lots of great places to live, work and enjoy life all across Ireland. A United Ireland which is part of the European Union will help to achieve all of this. One part of Ireland being outside of the EU makes achieving all of this much more difficult.
Partition has been a disaster for both parts of Ireland. It has caused huge damage to the island, been a source of unrest and divided communities. The border counties of Ireland will not fully recover until we finally rid Ireland from the scar of division. Irish unity will make it easier to grow the economy without internal barriers. All the people of Ireland will be able to access the healthcare benefits from being part of the EU, in areas such as digital health.
The world is becoming increasingly unstable as recent events in the USA have shown. The best way in which we can provide for the security of all who live across Ireland and minimise outside interference, is through Irish unity. All of the challenges we face will be more easily addressed by a reunited Ireland. To safeguard the Good Friday Agreement, membership of the European Convention on Human Rights and all the protection which these provide for citizens across Ireland, we must prepare for and then secure the reunification of Ireland through a border poll. So yes my head tells me that winning a border poll will create a better Ireland for everyone but my heart also wants us to grasp our destiny to build a new nation for all.