Confederacy is only model of Irish unity likely to garner wide support
Easier to sell the illusion that Irish unity can mean anything at all
If you wrote until recently that a unity referendum in Northern Ireland would most likely be rejected, the almost instant response from Sinn Féin commentators was that you were partitionist and negative about Irish unity. It was very easy to dismiss any expression of doubt as to the likelihood of their project for Irish unity […]
Responsibility for arming gardaí lies with elected politicians
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will become Taoiseach again on 17th December. In the course of what was publicised as an exclusive media interview outlining his priorities when he resumes the office of Taoiseach, when was asked in the wake of the brutal assault on Gardai in west Dublin whether he favoured arming the Gardai, he said […]
Time to offer Britain a way back into Europe?
The wall-to-wall coverage in UK media of the World Cup in Qatar is understandable – up to a point. After all, England and Wales have teams in the finals and each has a chance of making football history after decades of semi-famine. But there is an element of “bread and circuses” in play. The so-called […]
Fine Gael should bow its head in shame over EU-Canada trade deal
The Supreme Court decision in the CETA case was very important for several reasons. The majority laid down a clear marker for the supremacy of popular sovereignty and the Constitution in our international affairs. One of the most alarming things about the efforts of Fine Gael to have the Oireachtas ratify CETA was the attempt […]
Planned change to appointing judges is deeply flawed
A strange thing is proposed for the constitutional arrangements for appointment of judges. Those arrangements are to be changed radically without referendum and without the great majority knowing what is afoot – if a Bill currently before the Seanad is passed unamended and unless the Bill is referred to the Supreme Court under Article 26 […]