The new Dublin government can move a United Ireland closer. But does it want to?
Micheál Martin is in some ways a renaissance man, now that he has been voted again into the office of Taoiseach and will serve until the end of November 2027. He took over as leader of Fianna Fáil in 2011 when the party was at its lowest ebb, deeply unpopular in government after the Global Financial Crisis. At the subsequent election his party was reduced to twenty TDs, the lowest number ever returned for Fianna Fáil. At the next election in 2016 his party made a modest recovery but was still in opposition. He took his party back into government in 2020 and served as Taoiseach and then Tanaisté. This was despite his party underperforming expectations and an unexpected Sinn Féin surge.
Grumblings about Martin’s leadership did not result in any change and he now will take up the position of Taoiseach again later this month. His position as leader of Fianna Fáil is currently unassailable and he now can decide on how to cement his legacy. In his party’s manifesto he committed to doubling the money allocated to the Shared Island Fund. This has been reflected in the new Programme for Government. For those of us who passionately believe in Irish unity, this approach is more technocratic rather than inspirational. But we have to acknowledge that it is an initiative which has done good work on building links between North and South. As a journalist stated to me, it’s ‘unity by osmosis’.
Fianna Fáil are the Republican party and many times we have heard Martin talk about the need to ‘work the agreement’. The Good Friday Agreement includes a provision for a border poll. We know that the British state is continuing to fragment with financial and political pressures pulling it in different directions simultaneously. It is not obvious whether the rise of the far right in the shape of the Reform party, a Conservative party morphing into a far right populist one, the resilience and re-emergence of a broad-based Scottish independence movement or increasing support for the concept of Welsh independence will cause the state to unravel. The failure of public services despite further tax rises may result in constitutional change also. But we know that Northern Ireland has a gateway to a different future which is already in place. We can choose a better path through voting for the reunification of Ireland. The question is at what point is Micheál Martin going to acknowledge this? He may have a difference of opinion with Sinn Féin but that should not stop him from pursuing Irish unity. It is rare that a political leader gets the chance to lead the renewal of their nation, to repair the deep divisions caused by the partition of their country. He completed a Master of Arts thesis in political history. Surely he can see the opportunity to write political history and create a positive legacy for future generations of Irish people living across all parts of Ireland. His open hostility (at times) towards Sinn Féin and challenging of the narrative that the Provisional IRA campaign was unavoidable, gives him credibility and trust with Unionists in Northern Ireland, in a unique way. This can be used to help bring them into the unity project.
There is no doubting the Irish Government’s commitment to investing in Northern Ireland[i] and building an all-island approach for the economy, transport and healthcare. The new Programme for Government put in place by the Irish Government as part of the post-election government formation, will help to deepen links across Ireland and all citizens from across the island will benefit from this. It has been said that destiny waits for no man. Perhaps we will have to wait for a woman to embrace it after the next Dáil election but Micheál Martin is in a unique position, the height of his powers right now. It is up to him whether he wants to put in place the foundations for a New Ireland through the Shared Island fund and let this gradually build momentum. Or does he intend to go beyond this and share his vision for how we can unify our island in a meaningful way to bring Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter together? This could be his last term in government, in which case he will have to decide if he is content to merely take small steps towards unity or does he want to lead the way in creating a New Ireland.
At a speech[ii] commemorating Wolf Tone in Cork in October 2023, Micheál Martin stated: “Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Tone’s legacy is that his core message of an Irish republicanism which seeks progress and seeks to unite different traditions is as relevant as ever.” Let’s hope that in the time ahead Micheál Martin fully embraces the ideals of Wolfe Tone and proactively plans for the reunification of our island.
[i] 15 key points for NI in new Irish draft programme for government
[ii] Micheál Martin takes aim at political opponents in speech commemorating Wolfe Tone
The new Dublin government can move a United Ireland closer. But does it want to?
Micheál Martin is in some ways a renaissance man, now that he has been voted again into the office of Taoiseach and will serve until the end of November 2027. He took over as leader of Fianna Fáil in 2011 when the party was at its lowest ebb, deeply unpopular in government after the Global Financial Crisis. At the subsequent election his party was reduced to twenty TDs, the lowest number ever returned for Fianna Fáil. At the next election in 2016 his party made a modest recovery but was still in opposition. He took his party back into government in 2020 and served as Taoiseach and then Tanaisté. This was despite his party underperforming expectations and an unexpected Sinn Féin surge.
Grumblings about Martin’s leadership did not result in any change and he now will take up the position of Taoiseach again later this month. His position as leader of Fianna Fáil is currently unassailable and he now can decide on how to cement his legacy. In his party’s manifesto he committed to doubling the money allocated to the Shared Island Fund. This has been reflected in the new Programme for Government. For those of us who passionately believe in Irish unity, this approach is more technocratic rather than inspirational. But we have to acknowledge that it is an initiative which has done good work on building links between North and South. As a journalist stated to me, it’s ‘unity by osmosis’.
Fianna Fáil are the Republican party and many times we have heard Martin talk about the need to ‘work the agreement’. The Good Friday Agreement includes a provision for a border poll. We know that the British state is continuing to fragment with financial and political pressures pulling it in different directions simultaneously. It is not obvious whether the rise of the far right in the shape of the Reform party, a Conservative party morphing into a far right populist one, the resilience and re-emergence of a broad-based Scottish independence movement or increasing support for the concept of Welsh independence will cause the state to unravel. The failure of public services despite further tax rises may result in constitutional change also. But we know that Northern Ireland has a gateway to a different future which is already in place. We can choose a better path through voting for the reunification of Ireland. The question is at what point is Micheál Martin going to acknowledge this? He may have a difference of opinion with Sinn Féin but that should not stop him from pursuing Irish unity. It is rare that a political leader gets the chance to lead the renewal of their nation, to repair the deep divisions caused by the partition of their country. He completed a Master of Arts thesis in political history. Surely he can see the opportunity to write political history and create a positive legacy for future generations of Irish people living across all parts of Ireland. His open hostility (at times) towards Sinn Féin and challenging of the narrative that the Provisional IRA campaign was unavoidable, gives him credibility and trust with Unionists in Northern Ireland, in a unique way. This can be used to help bring them into the unity project.
There is no doubting the Irish Government’s commitment to investing in Northern Ireland[i] and building an all-island approach for the economy, transport and healthcare. The new Programme for Government put in place by the Irish Government as part of the post-election government formation, will help to deepen links across Ireland and all citizens from across the island will benefit from this. It has been said that destiny waits for no man. Perhaps we will have to wait for a woman to embrace it after the next Dáil election but Micheál Martin is in a unique position, the height of his powers right now. It is up to him whether he wants to put in place the foundations for a New Ireland through the Shared Island fund and let this gradually build momentum. Or does he intend to go beyond this and share his vision for how we can unify our island in a meaningful way to bring Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter together? This could be his last term in government, in which case he will have to decide if he is content to merely take small steps towards unity or does he want to lead the way in creating a New Ireland.
At a speech[ii] commemorating Wolf Tone in Cork in October 2023, Micheál Martin stated: “Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Tone’s legacy is that his core message of an Irish republicanism which seeks progress and seeks to unite different traditions is as relevant as ever.” Let’s hope that in the time ahead Micheál Martin fully embraces the ideals of Wolfe Tone and proactively plans for the reunification of our island.
[i] 15 key points for NI in new Irish draft programme for government
[ii] Micheál Martin takes aim at political opponents in speech commemorating Wolfe Tone