Brexit and legal challenges in Northern Ireland – a note on identity

The case taken by Ray McCord, whose son was killed by Loyalist paramilitaries, seeking to block Brexit under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, has failed. His point was that a majority in Northern Ireland had voted Remain, and that NI could not be taken out of the EU without the consent of its people. The ruling stated that the consent of NI only applied to its constitutional position as either a part of the UK or as part of a united Ireland. (Full story here > Legal challenge to EU exit fails, but campaign is set to continue).

What was interesting about this story was this photograph of McCord holding up his two passports – one issued by the Republic, one issued by the UK. The point is, the people of Northern Ireland will (as many of them as so wish, in any case) remain EU citizens by virtue of their entitlement to Irish citizenship. It is also interesting to note that McCord is from a Loyalist background, but then, as even Ian Paisley junior has advised people to apply for an Irish passport, this is not really that big of a surprise. As in Scotland, Brexit has had very little effect of people’s position on the constitutional question (the majority in favour of remaining in the UK has barely changed post-Brexit in either Scotland or NI). At the same time, Unionists now seem increasingly willing to carry Irish passports.

 Photo credit: The Belfast Telegraph

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