Gloating from obvious quarters about the Irish election result and the relatively poor performance from Sinn Féin. Seems little point dressing it up.
Author: Kevin Meagher
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The Election: 5 takeaways
Kevin Meagher reflects on that election and is already thinking about the next one!
Should Hilary Benn set out clear criteria for the circumstances in which to call a border poll? I’ve always been among those suggesting that the secretary of state should. It would hold British feet to the fire over actually calling a poll and give United Irelanders something concrete to focus their energies on. And at […]
Fresh back from a recent trip to Belfast, it occurred to me that two versions of the city have been on display this summer. In the first, Belfast was the epitome of joy and togetherness. In the second, it was a depiction of fury and division. Feile an Phobail, the annual West Belfast festival, is […]
This is the speech given by Kevin Meagher in the ‘Will we vote with the heart or head in a border poll?’ debate at the Féile an Phobail festival which took place on 1st August 2024 at St Mary’s College, Belfast. Head or heart? Let me start by offering the politician’s answer: It can and […]
This edition of the IrishBorderPoll.com podcast is a belter. I’ve been fascinated by Peadar Tóibín for some time. He famously quit Sinn Fein back in 2018 after coming to a ‘strong difference of opinion’ with the party leadership over abortion before founding Aontú, with an offer focused on ‘life, unity and economic justice.’ The emergence […]
Nothing has endeared Leo Varadkar to United Irelanders like his leaving office. In a positive way, I hasten to add. In a valedictory interview with RTE, the outgoing Taoiseach was emphatic when asked about the potential costs of a united Ireland, replying that it ‘should never be about money.’ He added: ‘If you believe in the unification of your country, three or 4% of GDP is […]
Let me cut to the chase: the report into the financial consequences of Irish unity from Professors John Fitzgerald and Edgar Morgenroth for the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, published yesterday, is a farrago of nonsense. Nevertheless, it has dominated a slow news week, with the good professors offering a series of contentious assumptions about the costs of Irish unification, speculatingthat it […]
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How daft is the DUP?
It’s a rhetorical question, of course. The answer is ‘pretty daft.’ After being buttered-up by British ministers on innumerable occasions since Brexit – only to find themselves let down more times than a well-bucket – they have now relented from their two-year boycott of the Good Friday Agreement institutions and returned to Stormont. Tail between […]
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So, what does 2024 look like?
Political prediction-peddling is a mug’s game. But let me nevertheless lurch forwards into the realm of pointless speculation, poring over the coffee grinds in my flat white in the process, and offer you the following. And so, 2024 begin much as 2023 ended. With Jeffrey Donaldson stood there, like a man wearing expensive new shoes […]