Ray Bassett is a former Irish diplomat. He was intimately involved in preparing the groundwork for negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. Never be afraid to engage, peace is made with your enemies, not your friends. In early 1993, and against the continued conflict in Northern Ireland, a series of clandestine meetings took […]
Author: Ray Bassett
Reflections on Good Friday 1998
Ray Bassett is a former Irish diplomat and was intimately involved in preparing the groundwork for the negotiations and the GFA itself. He reflects on those momentous events of 25 years ago. In a sometimes poignant piece he recalls those who made history but our no longer with us and dismisses claims that the GFA […]
The recent opinion poll by the BBC indicated that a majority of people, north and south of the Irish border, believe that a reunited Ireland is the probable outcome of future political developments. If that is accurate, then there is an onus on all to ensure that this takes place as smoothly as possible. There […]
Ray Bassett is an advocate of Reunification. However he contends that the EU suffocates freedom and that in a new Ireland sovereignty would continue to be undermined in an increasingly Federal E.U. lacking meaningful mechanisms of accountability. Is there a danger that in exiting British rule we swap British empire for EU empire? Bassett’s scepticism […]