This afternoon I am marching in London to offer solidarity to Palestinians being murdered in their thousands by Israeli bombs supplied by their western allies. I hope it’s a small comfort to the besieged people of Gaza knowing that tens of thousands in London, huge numbers in Ireland and millions across the world stand with […]

One of the curious aspects of the Border Poll debate is how often apparently democratic commentators think it uncontroversial to propose a unionist veto in a border referendum dressed up as conflict resolution. British junior minister for NI Steve Baker is the latest character to argue this anti-democratic position. He was speaking at the British […]

Last month the Irish community in London gathered in Islington to unveil a plaque to Michael Collins at the spot he was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood –  the revolutionary organisation dedicated to achieving Irish independence. But how  successful were Irish nationalists in Britain in shaping the struggle for Irish freedom? Conflict, Diaspora, and […]

It’s Groundhog Day again. Last August Unionist politicians and media including sections of the Dublin media went out of their way to be offended by the WolfeTones concert at Féile, in particular their song Celtic Symphony. This year howls of outrage from the usual moral entrepreneurs are in full swing before the group has even […]

Imagine people in Britain were told Brexit would not happen because only a narrow majority had voted for it? That the issue was so divisive it required a supermajority of 60 percent before it passed? Or how about divorce in the south of Ireland which won by less than 1 percent of the vote, 50.28% […]

So, there we have it: the Windsor Framework. The oldest trick in the book is to rebrand a problem.  It might still be the Northern Ireland Protocol (Reformed Version), but it now bears the Monarch’s secular name. It’s hardly subtle. Rishi Sunak has set a purity test for die-hard unionists: Get with the programme or […]

In 1968 Sergio Leone directed one of my all time favourite films, the classic spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly starring Clint Eastwood. As we look back on the year that was 2022 I give you my good, the bad and the ugly of the Constitutional debate. The Good: The May Assembly […]

irishborderpoll.com hosted this online discussion on 5th December Is it time to ditch the misnomer ‘PUL Community’ when, since Brexit, increasing numbers of Protestants publicly reject the Union in favour of a United Ireland? Northern Protestant Claire Mitchell argues in her new book The Ghost Limb that there is a growing community of Protestants who […]

Not long ago I was lucky enough to be among ten political party leaders and thousands of people gathered in Dublin’s 3 Arena to discuss preparation for Irish unity and a border poll. It was a huge, exciting and seminal event, probably the largest gathering of United Irelanders since Ireland was partitioned. But for all […]