The media in the Irish Republic have been strangely convulsed lately by the events around the resignation of a Sinn Féin backbench T.D., Brian Stanley. The national broadcaster, RTE,has majored heavily on the story and the “paper of record”, the Irish Times, (always anxious to put the boot into Sinn Féin), has devoted its leading headlines to it. On the face of it, it is hard to fathom why Stanley’s resignation should elicit such […]

Four years ago the Irish establishment was rocked when Sinn Fein topped the poll in the General Election. Working class and young people unable to afford rents or homes voted for the party in huge numbers. Dubbed left wing populists by the media, pundits warned that if the party got into government the Republic it […]

This article first appeared in The Northern Star here: https://thenorthernstar.online/2024/09/25/reconstituting-the-nations-britain-and-ireland-after-brexit/ This is the text of a talk given by Peter Ramsay to the Desmond Greaves Summer School 2024 in Dublin. He argues that the reconstitution of a sovereign nation-state in Britain depends on the achievement of Irish national sovereignty, and that the relation of the two nations […]

Reviewing the most recent opinion polls it is apparent that Simon Harris does not need outside advice on how to do his job as Taoiseach. In a few short months he has turned around Fine Gael’s approval rating and his own personal rating has soared in recent weeks. He is currently representing Ireland on the […]

It is increasingly clear that for Britain to achieve a real Brexit in any meaningful way, the unresolved dilemma of how to manage arrangements on the island of Ireland, must be tackled. While the partition of Ireland into two small States greatly inhibited the development of true independence of the new Irish Free State, the […]

In the final week of the US Presidential campaign in 1980 the Republican nominee Ronald Reagan asked voters “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” On election day the voters gave their answer and voted to end Jimmy Carter’s presidency and to elect Ronald Reagan as President. From an Irish perspective […]

Author of Time For Irish Unity Ben Collins lays out practical initiatives the next Irish government should make in preparing the ground for a United Ireland. Read the second part of Ben’s article here. By early 2025 we will have a new Irish Government. Although as various commentators have pointed out, there could be an […]

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 […]

The Westminster elections have delivered an extraordinary result for British politics. But their impact for Northern Ireland is also going to be significant. The DUP knew that this was going to be a difficult election for several reasons but the loss of three of the eight seats they held before the election will still be […]