Sinn Fein and the prospect of a hard Brexit: time to drop Abstentionism

The achievement of peace in Northern Ireland cannot be understood simply in terms of the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Peace was not an event: it was a process. That process was long and complex, but certain events were central to it. One such event was a speech given in November 1990 by …

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Sinn Fein won’t drop its abstentionist policy over Brexit – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing

Polly Toynbee recently urged Sinn Fein to drop its abstentionist policy and attend Westminster in order to help defeat Brexit. She wrote of how ‘all red lines may be up for reconsideration – even one fixed since 1917, the question of Sinn Féin’s seats in parliament.’ Her reference was to Sinn Fein adopting a republican …

Northern Ireland for English Cabinet Ministers and other beginners

Given the importance of the Irish border in the Brexit negotiations, the lack of knowledge about Northern Ireland displayed by senior English politicians is depressing. Perhaps the ultimate example of this was when Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, admitted that she: didn’t understand things like when elections are fought, for example, in Northern Ireland – …

Civil Rights: A Retrospective!

(The Irish Political Review is published by 'Athol Books', which is a survival of the B&ICO. The driving intellectual force behind both was/is Brendan Clifford) From: Irish Political Review: Editorials Date: November, 2018 By: Editorial Civil Rights: A Retrospective! The 50th anniversary of the start of the Northern 'Troubles' is upon us. Radio Ulster celebrated …