Unionism’s Year-End Review…

During a year in which a global pandemic has eclipsed all other matters in Northern Ireland , Unionism still managed to have an extremely troubled 365 days which has left it in a damaged and weakened position .
As it is the time of year for year-end reviews , I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how Unionism has performed in 2020 .
The major talking point is the Northern Ireland Protocol which has come about as a result of Brexit .
This protocol certainly changes the relationship Northern Ireland has with Great Britain , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a border in the Irish sea .
Whilst from a Unionist perspective this is incredibly damaging , the actuality is that this impacts everyone across Northern Ireland .
Unionism has failed to address this problem in a meaningful manner , the need to form alliances with different bodies is what politics is all about , however , Unionism and specifically , the DUP has inextricably welded themselves to the Conservatives and more worryingly to the European Research Group ( ERG ) which has resulted in DUP being cast aside by both .
Unfortunately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not been learned , and since December of 2019 , the DUP have sought to blame everyone else for their negotiating failures .
This leads me to begin the 2020 review of Unionism with the DUP themselves .
The DUP took a pounding in the December 2019 General Elections , losing three seats , one being that of their deputy leader and the person whom many feel was the power behind the throne , Nigel Dodds .
I have said three seats as the DUP should have won North Down too , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impossible .
The DUP needed to use 2020 to take stock , realign their objectives , bring in new blood , and with it a new leader .
In a very weakened position and without any time to evaluate the 2019 elections , the DUP entered negotiations which ultimately resulted in Stormont operating again .
As the DUP was desperate for the Executive to reform and suffering from their general election wounds , they were unable to secure any meaningful reform in how the Executive would function ; they also had to row @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Language Act which was always untenable .
A spoonful of sugar was offered to the DUP in the form of a “ cultural framework ” that would include Ulster-Scots , something few Unionists have any interest in .
The Executive has been hampered by dealing with the pandemic since its return ; however , during this time , it would be difficult to sell the DUP ’ s performance as satisfactory .
At the beginning of the pandemic , Arlene Foster was threatening to reassert herself as the leader of the DUP and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ms. Foster performed very strongly and showed genuine leadership when the Bobby Storey funeral controversy arose ; she managed to completely isolate Sinn Fein , such was the public anger across Northern Ireland at Sinn Fein ’ s disregard for the COVID regulations that they helped form .
However , Ms. Foster was quickly undermined by her own party , the Westminster team have gone on innumerable solo runs that have undermined Foster ’ s stance , Sammy Wilson on at least five occasions has flouted mask guidelines and openly opposed lockdowns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social media to attack the health Minister and even on one occasion attempted to troll him , such was the lack of self-awareness in these actions , Sammy Wilson was unable to realise that these attacks were making the Health Minister more popular and Sammy himself less popular .
Further financial irregularities have come to light regarding Ian Paisley who also inadvertently sent an open email exclaiming how he wouldn ’ t let the Northern Ireland Executive track and trace him , not ideal when his leader is promoting the scheme .
Edwin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the Executive , again undermining lockdown regulations and blaming COVID spikes on Nationalist areas – something that was very quickly debunked .
In recent times Alderman John Carson made false assertions about the vaccine that his own leader and First Minister was promoting and advised he would not be taking it .
Further to this , early on in the pandemic , Alderman Carson blamed the pandemic on the homosexual community .
Ian McCrea who has been rejected by the electorate at Westminster , Stormont , and Council level has attained a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paid £9k despite having not attended a meeting in two years .
The list could go on concerning these types of breaches in both standards and party discipline ; however , the most notable aspect is that the DUP has not disciplined any of its members this year .
This is something that is not playing out well with the electorate .
Performance-wise , the DUP is certainly not causing their rivals any great concern , the Executive team looks weak and frequently appear to be out of their depth – there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Executive positions and what qualifications and experiences do they have to justify their involvement ?
I have spoken before about how the Westminster team has become an embarrassment with particular emphasis on the behaviour of Sammy Wilson .
Not only is this team proving to be ineffective within their role , but they are also always ripe for lampooning – it ’ s disconcerting that in hindsight this is the team that was key to the most significant constitutional change to the UK in a generation .
Jim Shannon is probably the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the actual ability to form relationships with people outside of his party , is very involved in the role of an MP , and has at times taken a more pragmatic position to the COVID regulations .
The DUP leader was again accused of misunderstanding legislation , this time concerning the Function ’ s Bill ” which resulted in 11 members of her Stormont team abstaining from the vote – a hugely unprecedented move within the DUP .
Hugely significant in that it also involved former SPAD Richard Bullick speaking out against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advisor Tim Cairns called it his moment of the year , to be fair I may not have deemed it quite as significant as Tim does .
The DUP ’ s strategic failure to avoid the sea border will go down as a huge own goal , the constitutional position of Northern Ireland has been weakened and the economic implications will be damaging for everyone in Northern Ireland .
Furthermore , the DUP is failing to sell Northern Ireland ’ s membership of the Union , one could also say that via their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A lack a self-reflection and accountability coupled with arrogance and incompetence is driving voters further away from the DUP , the biggest issue for the DUP is that they seem incapable or unwilling to do anything to redress these issues .
The DUP ’ s problems should be an opportune time for the UUP to capitalise and prepare to be a party in waiting .
The unfortunate reality is that the UUP is not seen as a credible alternative and they are predicted to return with an even smaller team after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that nobody is clear on what they stand for , they are a grouping of decent individual members but lacking in a collective sense of purpose or drive .
Their standout performer is continually Doug Beattie and Doug remains for me the only viable leader within Unionism .
Steve Aiken has not put his stamp on the party , it ’ s unclear what his vision is and he seems to have been completely neutered since standing the UUP aside in North Belfast .
Robin Swann has been one of the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 and he is someone who took his role as Health Minister extremely seriously .
At no point did Minster Swann bring party or constitutional points into his remit and at all times he has provided sombre and realistic leadership .
The portfolio he undertook is not one anybody would have liked ( remember it was the second from last to be picked ) but during a pandemic year , it was a frankly unpleasant role .
It would be wrong to overlook issues that arose during Minister Swann ’ s tenure such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , slow to action in other areas , and significantly serious non-COVID illnesses that have been put on the shelf with no plan in place on how to deal with these .
However , like many of the positions that we have in the Executive we have to be realistic on our expectations when someone unqualified is given such a significant portfolio , also could a different MLA have performed better ?
Minster Swann will certainly want to close out this pandemic with the vaccine being rolled out , however , is he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change within the health service ?
There will be huge difficulties in 2021 and people will want hope , a vision , and a plan .
The Minister having been thrown in at the deep end will know himself if he is capable of driving through this change .
Regardless of what the Minister decides , the template that he has set for professionalism within an Executive position is something that should be replicated by all departments .
I think few can question Minister Swann ’ s integrity in a very difficult ministerial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TUV will see some additional support as a result of problems within the DUP .
It is still very difficult to see the TUV increasing their current number of seats within Stormont from one .
The TUV brand is increasingly out of step with a changing Northern Ireland , and their continued refusal to accept Sinn Fein in government is unrealistic .
People suggesting the TUV as an alternative are in some ways expecting someone of Jim Allister ’ s ability to stand in all of the constituencies , whereas the reality will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , all of whom are unlikely to gain any traction .
Jim Allister in 2020 has continued to be an important voice in the Assembly , scrutinising policy and providing an articulate voice .
The problem for Jim Allister and indeed Unionism is that he opposes almost everything and does not have a realistic vision of a Northern Ireland that can genuinely work in the modern era .
The TUV might feel they ’ ve had a decent year in terms of potentially picking up some slippage from the DUP in terms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more seats still seems to be beyond them .
Two former UUP stalwarts and current Lords within the House of Lords have made the news this year for all of the wrong reasons .
Lord Kilclooney is very active on social media .
However , many felt that due to some of the bizarre tweets coming from his handle that it was perhaps a parody account .
Unfortunately , the account has proven to be valid , and following up on a racial reference concerning Leo Varadkar some years ago , recently Lord @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , this time about Kamala Harris .
The backlash was so extreme that it made it into newspapers in the United States and Lord Kilclooney was trending on Twitter in the UK at the time .
Lord Maginnis has had a heavy suspension imposed on him from the House of Lords for bullying , aggressive behaviour , and homophobic language used against security staff which was witnessed by several MP ’ s .
In an interview with William Crawley that was nothing short of a car crash , Lord Maginnis appeared oblivious to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his actions on being a diabetic .
Earlier in the year there was the case of David Vance , formerly of the TUV also trending on Twitter for racist comments against Marcus Rashford .
Vance ’ s account was sailing close to the wind up until this point and this tweet about Rashford resulted in Vance ’ s permanent removal from Twitter .
These three cases of quite high-profile Unionists ( Vance boasted the highest online following of any Unionist ) granted exposure to Unionism beyond Northern Ireland and each case depicted an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ image we must remember that has never been extremely positive to an external audience .
Brexit – The biggest issue is the fallout from Brexit and the impact this will have on Northern Ireland .
The immediate plan for Unionism should be in building up a cross-party working group to mitigate against the implications of a sea border .
It ’ s difficult to fathom why the DUP when they had the balance of power in Westminster did not make unfettered access to and from GB an absolute red line and flag this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the EU , building up an alliance with the ERG was very short-sighted and ultimately ineffective .
What does Unionism stand for ?
– This is something that we in Unionism need to review and from this review , a clear set of values can be developed that a broad group of people can sign up to .
In today ’ s Newsletter , Ben Lowry argues that Liberal Unionism has been damaging for Unionism .
I don ’ t agree with this assessment and besides Unionism should be a comfortable home for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between .
The problem now is that political Unionism almost solely reflects a conservative ideology with liberals often unable to align with the confused messaging that is coming from Unionism .
Leadership – As mentioned in a previous article , the leadership vacuum within Unionism is resulting in its unravelling , the is an area for immediate redress in the new year , the current situation is unsustainable .
Discipline and Scandal – Until these matters begin to be addressed in a manner the public expects , then Unionism can not expect to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Inaction on breaches of discipline and general scandal is hurting Unionism and will continue to do so until it is addressed consistently .
New blood , young blood , and females – Whilst people wanting to get involved in political Unionism is declining , it ’ s noticeable that with the remaining crop they are older and more often than not male .
With Unionism at present being such an unattractive beast to many , it ’ s very difficult to see it being able to attract new blood until or unless internal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the SDLP which appears to be a party in the ascendancy , they were able to recruit Matthew O ’ Toole and as a result , he now appears to be a rising star within the party .
Such an acquisition for Unionism would very much be out of the question and the contrary appears to be the case at the moment with talent leaving political Unionism .
Messaging – Many of us in Unionism at times cringe when a Unionist appears on TV or the radio as we know that a horror @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the previously assured politicians such as Jeffrey Donaldson and Nigel Dodds who are now tied in knots and often left humiliated by the interviewer .
Much was made of a recent debate involving Nigel Dodds in which he invoked concessions to Sinn Fein in 1998 by the UUP as a response to the DUP ’ s failed handling of Brexit , the Nigel Dodds of old would never have succumbed to this type of nonsense .
Many Unionists are also critical of those brought onto panel shows to represent the Unionist cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or perhaps the same person continuously .
It was therefore hugely refreshing on ‘ The View ’ to listen to Newton Emerson , Alex Kane , and Sarah Creighton talking informatively and passionately about Unionism under the assured stewardship of Mark Carruthers , more of this , please !
Online Footprint – Unionism has often been lampooned and indeed trolled for some of its online content , whether that be social media accounts or online blogs etc .
Sometimes we do ourselves absolutely no favours by setting out spurious arguments , making shortsighted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , accurately , or indeed informatively with someone with an opposing point of view .
Whether we like it or not , online political communication is becoming as important as anything that happens in the “ real world ” , therefore we need to up our game in terms of both engagement and the accuracy of our content .
There are so many “ Unionist ” accounts on social media that make very little attempt to promote Unionism and often seem intent on offending people outside of their own viewpoint , this ironically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claim to be defending .
On a positive note , there are signs of Unionist accounts engaging more online and engaging in good discussions .
Brian John Spencer has also embarked on an interesting and useful project aimed at creating podcasts featuring discussions with Unionists of different shades , very often they are Unionists we hear very little about .
Senate – I know that some Unionists will be heavily critical of me for highlighting this , however , I feel losing Ian Marshall from the Senate was unfortunate .
Unionism has precious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ therefore having a Unionist ally in the Senate to argue our case and to provide a positive image of Unionism seems like a no brainer .
I am hoping that Ian will be returned in the near future and it would be of great benefit to Unionism if he receives more support from the Unionist family .
Selling the Union – Still Unionisms biggest shortcoming , in fact , political Unionism is undermining the Union all too often .
One of the key benefits of the Union is the NHS , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be reformed here in Northern Ireland but it ’ s still a wonderful service .
Therefore , I can not fathom how it was the second last position to be selected within the Executive and I can not understand how a DUP MP was allowed to attack and troll the Health Minister online .
There are the financial benefits of the Union as well and the continuity that it can offer .
Opponents will criticise the NHS and its shortcomings , the impacts of Brexit , Northern Ireland ’ s overreliance on grants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received from Westminster .
It ’ s worthwhile taking onboard these criticisms and addressing them now whilst we ’ re still apart of the Union rather than making promises to address them during a referendum .
Conclusion Unfortunately , 2020 was a bad year for Unionism with almost all of our problems self-inflicted .
However , Unionism seems incapable of meaningful self-reflection and then from this taking corrective action .
The public is beginning to get tired of Unionism , no longer a significant political force , it ’ s now reduced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made up of various individuals , some of questionable ability whom we place our faith in and are more often than not let down by .
If death is by 1000 cuts then the Union has passed 900 and realistically a Unity referendum is unavoidable , we now need to begin preparing for that .
Photo by tinaiverieli is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

During a year in which a global pandemic has eclipsed all other matters in Northern Ireland, Unionism still managed to have an extremely troubled 365 days which has left it in a damaged and weakened position. As it is the time of year for year-end reviews, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how Unionism has performed in 2020.
The major talking point is the Northern Ireland Protocol which has come about as a result of Brexit. This protocol certainly changes the relationship Northern Ireland has with Great Britain, and we will soon see the realisation of a border in the Irish sea. Whilst from a Unionist perspective this is incredibly damaging, the actuality is that this impacts everyone across Northern Ireland. Unionism has failed to address this problem in a meaningful manner, the need to form alliances with different bodies is what politics is all about, however, Unionism and specifically, the DUP has inextricably welded themselves to the Conservatives and more worryingly to the European Research Group (ERG) which has resulted in DUP being cast aside by both. Unfortunately, the lessons from this episode have not been learned, and since December of 2019, the DUP have sought to blame everyone else for their negotiating failures. This leads me to begin the 2020 review of Unionism with the DUP themselves.
DUP
The DUP took a pounding in the December 2019 General Elections, losing three seats, one being that of their deputy leader and the person whom many feel was the power behind the throne, Nigel Dodds. I have said three seats as the DUP should have won North Down too, but the sheer anger amongst Unionism made this impossible. The DUP needed to use 2020 to take stock, realign their objectives, bring in new blood, and with it a new leader. In a very weakened position and without any time to evaluate the 2019 elections, the DUP entered negotiations which ultimately resulted in Stormont operating again. As the DUP was desperate for the Executive to reform and suffering from their general election wounds, they were unable to secure any meaningful reform in how the Executive would function; they also had to row back on their opposition to the Irish Language Act which was always untenable. A spoonful of sugar was offered to the DUP in the form of a “cultural framework” that would include Ulster-Scots, something few Unionists have any interest in.
The Executive has been hampered by dealing with the pandemic since its return; however, during this time, it would be difficult to sell the DUP’s performance as satisfactory. At the beginning of the pandemic, Arlene Foster was threatening to reassert herself as the leader of the DUP and as the First Minister of Northern Ireland. Ms. Foster performed very strongly and showed genuine leadership when the Bobby Storey funeral controversy arose; she managed to completely isolate Sinn Fein, such was the public anger across Northern Ireland at Sinn Fein’s disregard for the COVID regulations that they helped form.
However, Ms. Foster was quickly undermined by her own party, the Westminster team have gone on innumerable solo runs that have undermined Foster’s stance, Sammy Wilson on at least five occasions has flouted mask guidelines and openly opposed lockdowns. Furthermore, Sammy Wilson took to social media to attack the health Minister and even on one occasion attempted to troll him, such was the lack of self-awareness in these actions, Sammy Wilson was unable to realise that these attacks were making the Health Minister more popular and Sammy himself less popular.
Further financial irregularities have come to light regarding Ian Paisley who also inadvertently sent an open email exclaiming how he wouldn’t let the Northern Ireland Executive track and trace him, not ideal when his leader is promoting the scheme. Edwin Poots has sought to undermine Arlene Foster within the Executive, again undermining lockdown regulations and blaming COVID spikes on Nationalist areas – something that was very quickly debunked. In recent times Alderman John Carson made false assertions about the vaccine that his own leader and First Minister was promoting and advised he would not be taking it. Further to this, early on in the pandemic, Alderman Carson blamed the pandemic on the homosexual community. Ian McCrea who has been rejected by the electorate at Westminster, Stormont, and Council level has attained a role on a North/South body and was paid £9k despite having not attended a meeting in two years. The list could go on concerning these types of breaches in both standards and party discipline; however, the most notable aspect is that the DUP has not disciplined any of its members this year. This is something that is not playing out well with the electorate.
Performance-wise, the DUP is certainly not causing their rivals any great concern, the Executive team looks weak and frequently appear to be out of their depth – there is a wider discussion needed on who gets Executive positions and what qualifications and experiences do they have to justify their involvement? I have spoken before about how the Westminster team has become an embarrassment with particular emphasis on the behaviour of Sammy Wilson. Not only is this team proving to be ineffective within their role, but they are also always ripe for lampooning – it’s disconcerting that in hindsight this is the team that was key to the most significant constitutional change to the UK in a generation. Jim Shannon is probably the best DUP performer in Westminster; he has the actual ability to form relationships with people outside of his party, is very involved in the role of an MP, and has at times taken a more pragmatic position to the COVID regulations.
The DUP leader was again accused of misunderstanding legislation, this time concerning the Function’s Bill” which resulted in 11 members of her Stormont team abstaining from the vote – a hugely unprecedented move within the DUP. Hugely significant in that it also involved former SPAD Richard Bullick speaking out against the bill, whilst another former DUP special advisor Tim Cairns called it his moment of the year, to be fair I may not have deemed it quite as significant as Tim does.
The DUP’s strategic failure to avoid the sea border will go down as a huge own goal, the constitutional position of Northern Ireland has been weakened and the economic implications will be damaging for everyone in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the DUP is failing to sell Northern Ireland’s membership of the Union, one could also say that via their words and actions they are undermining it. A lack a self-reflection and accountability coupled with arrogance and incompetence is driving voters further away from the DUP, the biggest issue for the DUP is that they seem incapable or unwilling to do anything to redress these issues.
UUP
The DUP’s problems should be an opportune time for the UUP to capitalise and prepare to be a party in waiting. The unfortunate reality is that the UUP is not seen as a credible alternative and they are predicted to return with an even smaller team after the next Stormont election. Their main problem is that nobody is clear on what they stand for, they are a grouping of decent individual members but lacking in a collective sense of purpose or drive. Their standout performer is continually Doug Beattie and Doug remains for me the only viable leader within Unionism. Steve Aiken has not put his stamp on the party, it’s unclear what his vision is and he seems to have been completely neutered since standing the UUP aside in North Belfast. Robin Swann has been one of the most important political figures within Northern Ireland in 2020 and he is someone who took his role as Health Minister extremely seriously. At no point did Minster Swann bring party or constitutional points into his remit and at all times he has provided sombre and realistic leadership. The portfolio he undertook is not one anybody would have liked (remember it was the second from last to be picked) but during a pandemic year, it was a frankly unpleasant role.
It would be wrong to overlook issues that arose during Minister Swann’s tenure such as not granting care homes adequate protection, slow to action in other areas, and significantly serious non-COVID illnesses that have been put on the shelf with no plan in place on how to deal with these. However, like many of the positions that we have in the Executive we have to be realistic on our expectations when someone unqualified is given such a significant portfolio, also could a different MLA have performed better? Minster Swann will certainly want to close out this pandemic with the vaccine being rolled out, however, is he the person to drive forward the necessary change within the health service? There will be huge difficulties in 2021 and people will want hope, a vision, and a plan. The Minister having been thrown in at the deep end will know himself if he is capable of driving through this change. Regardless of what the Minister decides, the template that he has set for professionalism within an Executive position is something that should be replicated by all departments. I think few can question Minister Swann’s integrity in a very difficult ministerial position.
TUV
Polls are predicting that the TUV will see some additional support as a result of problems within the DUP. It is still very difficult to see the TUV increasing their current number of seats within Stormont from one. The TUV brand is increasingly out of step with a changing Northern Ireland, and their continued refusal to accept Sinn Fein in government is unrealistic. People suggesting the TUV as an alternative are in some ways expecting someone of Jim Allister’s ability to stand in all of the constituencies, whereas the reality will be candidates of varying levels of ability, all of whom are unlikely to gain any traction. Jim Allister in 2020 has continued to be an important voice in the Assembly, scrutinising policy and providing an articulate voice. The problem for Jim Allister and indeed Unionism is that he opposes almost everything and does not have a realistic vision of a Northern Ireland that can genuinely work in the modern era. The TUV might feel they’ve had a decent year in terms of potentially picking up some slippage from the DUP in terms of votes, however, turning this into more seats still seems to be beyond them.
Miscellaneous
Two former UUP stalwarts and current Lords within the House of Lords have made the news this year for all of the wrong reasons. Lord Kilclooney is very active on social media. However, many felt that due to some of the bizarre tweets coming from his handle that it was perhaps a parody account. Unfortunately, the account has proven to be valid, and following up on a racial reference concerning Leo Varadkar some years ago, recently Lord Kilclooney referenced “the Indian” again, this time about Kamala Harris. The backlash was so extreme that it made it into newspapers in the United States and Lord Kilclooney was trending on Twitter in the UK at the time. Lord Maginnis has had a heavy suspension imposed on him from the House of Lords for bullying, aggressive behaviour, and homophobic language used against security staff which was witnessed by several MP’s. In an interview with William Crawley that was nothing short of a car crash, Lord Maginnis appeared oblivious to his behaviour and almost attempted to explain his actions on being a diabetic. Earlier in the year there was the case of David Vance, formerly of the TUV also trending on Twitter for racist comments against Marcus Rashford. Vance’s account was sailing close to the wind up until this point and this tweet about Rashford resulted in Vance’s permanent removal from Twitter.
These three cases of quite high-profile Unionists (Vance boasted the highest online following of any Unionist) granted exposure to Unionism beyond Northern Ireland and each case depicted an unpleasant image to the world, an image we must remember that has never been extremely positive to an external audience.
Ongoing Issues
Brexit – The biggest issue is the fallout from Brexit and the impact this will have on Northern Ireland. The immediate plan for Unionism should be in building up a cross-party working group to mitigate against the implications of a sea border. It’s difficult to fathom why the DUP when they had the balance of power in Westminster did not make unfettered access to and from GB an absolute red line and flag this point with both the Irish government and the EU, building up an alliance with the ERG was very short-sighted and ultimately ineffective.
What does Unionism stand for? – This is something that we in Unionism need to review and from this review, a clear set of values can be developed that a broad group of people can sign up to. In today’s Newsletter, Ben Lowry argues that Liberal Unionism has been damaging for Unionism. I don’t agree with this assessment and besides Unionism should be a comfortable home for liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between. The problem now is that political Unionism almost solely reflects a conservative ideology with liberals often unable to align with the confused messaging that is coming from Unionism.
Leadership – As mentioned in a previous article, the leadership vacuum within Unionism is resulting in its unravelling, the is an area for immediate redress in the new year, the current situation is unsustainable.
Discipline and Scandal – Until these matters begin to be addressed in a manner the public expects, then Unionism cannot expect to provide moral leadership of any kind. Inaction on breaches of discipline and general scandal is hurting Unionism and will continue to do so until it is addressed consistently.
New blood, young blood, and females – Whilst people wanting to get involved in political Unionism is declining, it’s noticeable that with the remaining crop they are older and more often than not male. With Unionism at present being such an unattractive beast to many, it’s very difficult to see it being able to attract new blood until or unless internal reform occurs. If we look at the SDLP which appears to be a party in the ascendancy, they were able to recruit Matthew O’Toole and as a result, he now appears to be a rising star within the party. Such an acquisition for Unionism would very much be out of the question and the contrary appears to be the case at the moment with talent leaving political Unionism.
Messaging – Many of us in Unionism at times cringe when a Unionist appears on TV or the radio as we know that a horror show is likely to ensue. Even with the previously assured politicians such as Jeffrey Donaldson and Nigel Dodds who are now tied in knots and often left humiliated by the interviewer. Much was made of a recent debate involving Nigel Dodds in which he invoked concessions to Sinn Fein in 1998 by the UUP as a response to the DUP’s failed handling of Brexit, the Nigel Dodds of old would never have succumbed to this type of nonsense. Many Unionists are also critical of those brought onto panel shows to represent the Unionist cause, it’s generally someone uninformed or perhaps the same person continuously. It was therefore hugely refreshing on ‘The View’ to listen to Newton Emerson, Alex Kane, and Sarah Creighton talking informatively and passionately about Unionism under the assured stewardship of Mark Carruthers, more of this, please!
Online Footprint – Unionism has often been lampooned and indeed trolled for some of its online content, whether that be social media accounts or online blogs etc. Sometimes we do ourselves absolutely no favours by setting out spurious arguments, making shortsighted points, or failing to engage constructively, accurately, or indeed informatively with someone with an opposing point of view. Whether we like it or not, online political communication is becoming as important as anything that happens in the “real world”, therefore we need to up our game in terms of both engagement and the accuracy of our content. There are so many “Unionist” accounts on social media that make very little attempt to promote Unionism and often seem intent on offending people outside of their own viewpoint, this ironically does a disservice to the cause they claim to be defending.
On a positive note, there are signs of Unionist accounts engaging more online and engaging in good discussions. Brian John Spencer has also embarked on an interesting and useful project aimed at creating podcasts featuring discussions with Unionists of different shades, very often they are Unionists we hear very little about.
Senate – I know that some Unionists will be heavily critical of me for highlighting this, however, I feel losing Ian Marshall from the Senate was unfortunate. Unionism has precious few friends outside of Northern Ireland, therefore having a Unionist ally in the Senate to argue our case and to provide a positive image of Unionism seems like a no brainer. I am hoping that Ian will be returned in the near future and it would be of great benefit to Unionism if he receives more support from the Unionist family.
Selling the Union – Still Unionisms biggest shortcoming, in fact, political Unionism is undermining the Union all too often. One of the key benefits of the Union is the NHS, it’s not perfect and it needs to be reformed here in Northern Ireland but it’s still a wonderful service. Therefore, I cannot fathom how it was the second last position to be selected within the Executive and I cannot understand how a DUP MP was allowed to attack and troll the Health Minister online. There are the financial benefits of the Union as well and the continuity that it can offer. Opponents will criticise the NHS and its shortcomings, the impacts of Brexit, Northern Ireland’s overreliance on grants, and our inefficient use of finances received from Westminster. It’s worthwhile taking onboard these criticisms and addressing them now whilst we’re still apart of the Union rather than making promises to address them during a referendum.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, 2020 was a bad year for Unionism with almost all of our problems self-inflicted. However, Unionism seems incapable of meaningful self-reflection and then from this taking corrective action. The public is beginning to get tired of Unionism, no longer a significant political force, it’s now reduced to an entity ripe for lampooning that is made up of various individuals, some of questionable ability whom we place our faith in and are more often than not let down by. If death is by 1000 cuts then the Union has passed 900 and realistically a Unity referendum is unavoidable, we now need to begin preparing for that.
Photo by tinaiverieli is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-12-13--Going internet cold turkey at Christmas…

It would be for a week , said Virgin Media – a week before my new modem would be available and meanwhile , long ( technical ) story , I could not use the old one in the interim period .
No bother , I thought .
I ’ m a practising artist .
I might even get a lot more work done when I ’ m not making comments on other peoples ’ latest creations ; getting sucked into plucking images from Instagram postings onto my Pinterest boards or , reacting to the various Whatsapp Lock-down video highlights of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Biden and the Cuomo brothers , posted by a handful of my self-quarantining friends pontificating and protesting in their perfectly valid chattering clusters .
In a normal pre-Lockdown world , though – being without an Internet connection at home , would have been a whole other ball-game , with local libraries , cafes , pubs , Arts ’ Centres , Colleges and even friends and neighbours I could drop , willy-nilly , into to piggy-back for free onto their Wi-Fi .
Four days in , it began to hit me .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hatches , switching on the electric blanket and going into hibernation- with the occasional forays to the kitchen for a coffee and tinned soup respite felt vaguely appealing .
I suddenly had no access to my Office Word online course and the ZOOM fitness class I had followed faithfully every morning for Lock-down months .
I couldn ’ t shop online in my usual pre-Xmas dribs and drabs for presents and I right-royally missed Black Friday , Saturday , Sunday and Monday .
Timing was suddenly everything .
I had an art @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get on with .
I was making large quantities of Christmas angels because my larger Lock-down pieces were scattered throughout three galleries – including a pop-up one in a shop window in Bangor – and I just needed ceramic grunt work , nothing that required too much analysis – to be getting on with .
So – I did .
I emerged from the studio after a six-hour stretch , the kiln firing up for the next 48 hours , feeling virtuous , stiff and starving , the lack of Internet a mere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then nothing .
I went to sleep .
I slept deep .
I woke up at 4 in the morning – wide awake , insomnia pulsing through me , reached for my phone , without thinking , read the ‘ No Signal ’ icon and stared into the darkness .
I started to think .
Things were still manageable .
The weekly Landmark seminar I had covered .
I was ZOOMing online at a friend ’ s house one evening a week , which was kind of fun .
She and I were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ God – this Covid lingo tripped so easily off the tongue , these days .
There were 200 global participants in this particular seminar , which was dealing with Money and our relationship to it – and it was throwing up some interesting conundrums .
I had made lists of where money had appeared in my life since childhood – how it came as objects , rather than currency , how my dad and uncle always unpeeled their cash from a money clip and steered away from banks ; how easy it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first account , using a bank-card like a magic wand and how easy it was to glide through this abstract world until I ran out and of the necessity of cash in my hand to make my world go around again .
That ’ s what this felt like , I thought .
Having no internet felt like having a bank account – but with no bank-card .
However , it felt curiously liberating to suddenly have no standing in the world ; to go off-grid and have a bona fide excuse for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had used up all of the Data on my phone on the first weekend during an on-line Ceramics Congress sited in Korea , Italy , Spain , England and India – boy , did all those global clay-building demonstration videos ever burn up data !
So , mysteriously – BUT not surprisingly , I now couldn ’ t make or get telephone calls .
Family and a few friends knew what was happening so nobody was panicking….yet .
I could die in the next few days and get a by-ball for at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ My son was in a flat across town .
My potter-daughter was in America .
My partner lived across the river .
We were incommunicado .
Getting on with things .
Meeting up after the art-fair .
No way was he dipping his quarantining toe into that public affair !
There was a surreal post-apocalyptical feel to my days .
I ate .
I had an Epsom bath .
I made a bed up for the PHD student who was coming to rent an upstairs room in February .
I wrote a busy-sounding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ message to Universal Credit , my new employment buddies , who were aiding and abetting my computer up-skilling shenanigans and then , virtuously sent it – knowing it might be days before it actually arrived .
I then weeded the front steps , between the cracks ; emptied all of the out-of-date jams , pickles and sauces from the larder , washed them and filled up the glass recycling bin .
I changed and washed sheets ; cleared the kitchen counter ; the cupboard under the sink , washed the bathroom floor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which I hadn ’ t seen since it was re-tiled a year ago .
The house began to have a different , cleaner , emptier echo to it .
I cleared the table in the den , changed the light bulbs in the lamps and hooked the laptop to the printer .
I started to write .
I wrote all of this down – knowing I was just scratching the surface….I mean , the money thing ?
That was a whole fresh rabbit hole I ’ d just unearthed .
My father used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ( as a teenager ) and give them away to his lorry driver friends – like little party favours .
He once threw my entire Bunty comic cut-out doll collection-meant for an elaborate landscape collage – onto a bonfire , right in front of me – admittedly I ’ d burnt two of his lorry tyres prior to that .
It was Halloween – a long , other , story… Was that why I had such a hard time putting a decent price on my work ?
Well , now , pull @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plenty of other stuff piling up to think about .
And then – it kind of struck me .
I was Thinking .
There were several conversations going on in my head .
It even ached a little .
I hadn ’ t been thinking like that since…I hadn ’ t been questioning deliberately since… .
had my synapses blazing with questions and theories for… The Internet had taken me out of myself , distracted and wrapped me up in bright mind-numbing , time-stealing , shiny pieces of information ; gossip , scandals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parrots , amazing essential kitchen , garden and building gadgets and washed me in a technicolour miasma of Ted Turner-tinted movie snippets that sucked me deeper and deeper into an electronic algorithmic entertainment vortex… Now there was a thought .
This Internet deprivation was triggering an awareness of all my sins of time-waste , omission , lack of motivation .
Had my internet/social media over-usage been depriving me of vital intellectual oxygen ?
So – I started to write .
I was onto something .
I felt euphoric….light-headed .
This was hard-core .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ deconstruct , analyse…realise…..formulate… .
I hit Print….nothing happened .
It only worked online .
I hit manual .
The light flashed up .
I was fresh out of ink .
“ Smartphone addiction or nomophobia ” by wuestenigel is licensed under CC BY

It would be for a week, said Virgin Media – a week before my new modem would be available and meanwhile, long (technical) story, I could not use the old one in the interim period.
No bother, I thought. I’m a practising artist. I might even get a lot more work done when I’m not making comments on other peoples’ latest creations; getting sucked into plucking images from Instagram postings onto my Pinterest boards or, reacting to the various Whatsapp Lock-down video highlights of Trump, Brexit, Stormont, Obama, Biden and the Cuomo brothers, posted by a handful of my self-quarantining friends pontificating and protesting in their perfectly valid chattering clusters.
In a normal pre-Lockdown world, though – being without an Internet connection at home, would have been a whole other ball-game, with local libraries, cafes, pubs, Arts’ Centres, Colleges and even friends and neighbours I could drop, willy-nilly, into to piggy-back for free onto their Wi-Fi.
Four days in, it began to hit me.
I’ll be honest. Battening down the hatches, switching on the electric blanket and going into hibernation- with the occasional forays to the kitchen for a coffee and tinned soup respite felt vaguely appealing.
I suddenly had no access to my Office Word online course and the ZOOM fitness class I had followed faithfully every morning for Lock-down months.
I couldn’t shop online in my usual pre-Xmas dribs and drabs for presents and I right-royally missed Black Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Timing was suddenly everything.
I had an art fair coming up and two bisque-firings to get on with. I was making large quantities of Christmas angels because my larger Lock-down pieces were scattered throughout three galleries – including a pop-up one in a shop window in Bangor – and I just needed ceramic grunt work, nothing that required too much analysis – to be getting on with.
So – I did. I emerged from the studio after a six-hour stretch, the kiln firing up for the next 48 hours, feeling virtuous, stiff and starving, the lack of Internet a mere dot on the horizon.
And, then nothing. I went to sleep. I slept deep. I woke up at 4 in the morning – wide awake, insomnia pulsing through me, reached for my phone, without thinking, read the ‘No Signal’ icon and stared into the darkness. I started to think. Things were still manageable.
The weekly Landmark seminar I had covered. I was ZOOMing online at a friend’s house one evening a week, which was kind of fun. She and I were both in a ‘bubble’. God – this Covid lingo tripped so easily off the tongue, these days.
There were 200 global participants in this particular seminar, which was dealing with Money and our relationship to it – and it was throwing up some interesting conundrums.
I had made lists of where money had appeared in my life since childhood – how it came as objects, rather than currency, how my dad and uncle always unpeeled their cash from a money clip and steered away from banks; how easy it was to spend my student grant from my first account, using a bank-card like a magic wand and how easy it was to glide through this abstract world until I ran out and of the necessity of cash in my hand to make my world go around again.
That’s what this felt like, I thought. Having no internet felt like having a bank account – but with no bank-card.
However, it felt curiously liberating to suddenly have no standing in the world; to go off-grid and have a bona fide excuse for not returning calls and emails.
I had used up all of the Data on my phone on the first weekend during an on-line Ceramics Congress sited in Korea, Italy, Spain, England and India – boy, did all those global clay-building demonstration videos ever burn up data!
So, mysteriously – BUT not surprisingly, I now couldn’t make or get telephone calls.
Family and a few friends knew what was happening so nobody was panicking….yet.
I could die in the next few days and get a by-ball for at least a week.
I lived alone. My son was in a flat across town. My potter-daughter was in America. My partner lived across the river. We were incommunicado. Getting on with things. Meeting up after the art-fair. No way was he dipping his quarantining toe into that public affair!
There was a surreal post-apocalyptical feel to my days.
I ate. I had an Epsom bath. I made a bed up for the PHD student who was coming to rent an upstairs room in February.
I wrote a busy-sounding ‘I’m looking for work’ message to Universal Credit, my new employment buddies, who were aiding and abetting my computer up-skilling shenanigans and then, virtuously sent it – knowing it might be days before it actually arrived.
I then weeded the front steps, between the cracks; emptied all of the out-of-date jams, pickles and sauces from the larder, washed them and filled up the glass recycling bin.
I changed and washed sheets; cleared the kitchen counter; the cupboard under the sink, washed the bathroom floor and the floor behind the bath – which I hadn’t seen since it was re-tiled a year ago.
The house began to have a different, cleaner, emptier echo to it.
I cleared the table in the den, changed the light bulbs in the lamps and hooked the laptop to the printer. I started to write. I wrote all of this down – knowing I was just scratching the surface….I mean, the money thing? That was a whole fresh rabbit hole I’d just unearthed.
My father used to take the miniature paintings I made, (as a teenager) and give them away to his lorry driver friends – like little party favours. He once threw my entire Bunty comic cut-out doll collection-meant for an elaborate landscape collage – onto a bonfire, right in front of me – admittedly I’d burnt two of his lorry tyres prior to that. It was Halloween – a long, other, story…
Was that why I had such a hard time putting a decent price on my work?
Daddy issues?
Well, now, pull up there, missy….
There was plenty of other stuff piling up to think about.
And then – it kind of struck me. I was Thinking. There were several conversations going on in my head. It even ached a little. I hadn’t been thinking like that since…I hadn’t been questioning deliberately since…. had my synapses blazing with questions and theories for…
months?…no, I tell a lie….years.
The Internet had taken me out of myself, distracted and wrapped me up in bright mind-numbing, time-stealing, shiny pieces of information; gossip, scandals, stranger-than-fiction-cute cats, dogs, dancing parrots, amazing essential kitchen, garden and building gadgets and washed me in a technicolour miasma of Ted Turner-tinted movie snippets that sucked me deeper and deeper into an electronic algorithmic entertainment vortex…
Now there was a thought. This Internet deprivation was triggering an awareness of all my sins of time-waste, omission, lack of motivation.
Christ – this felt almost evangelical.
Had my internet/social media over-usage been depriving me of vital intellectual oxygen?
So – I started to write. I was onto something. I felt euphoric….light-headed. This was hard-core.
I had to get this down, deconstruct, analyse…realise…..formulate….
conclude…
I hit Print….nothing happened. It only worked online. I hit manual. The light flashed up.
I was fresh out of ink.
“Smartphone addiction or nomophobia” by wuestenigel is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-12-14--Lost Lives is a vital and eloquent riposte to “the old Lie”: Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori….

I have been to the Vietnam wall in Washington , twice .
The second time was every bit as emotional as the first .
It was the trouble in the world when I was a kid , until it became us .
It cuts a scar in the landscape appropriate to the human mess it left , not just in those who died but in the quiet way old men come to say goodbye to their much younger fallen comrades .
I ’ ve often thought of that great book Lost Lives as our only moral equivalent .
Every name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is included , stacked , classified and accounted for .
Fintan O ’ Toole did his country some considerable service by pointing out that this great tome of recovery and compassion is no longer in print .
It has prompted the Irish government to consider buying the rights .
One back bench government TD laid out the logic… Fianna Fáil TD Jim O ’ Callaghan describing the book as a “ monument to the people who died ” raised concerns in the Dáil this week that the book will not be re-printed and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ In many instances , the dead are being invoked for a particular political purpose .
There is nothing wrong with that , but legacy issues have become part of the territory on which political division in Northern Ireland now operates .
The Dublin Bay South TD said if the Government let the opportunity pass it will be too “ contentious and difficult for us to get any collective agreement between communities in Northern Ireland as to how we can put together one complete memorial for all the people who died ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group has raised an objection to resurrecting this great work in this way .
Lost Lives co-author Brian Feeney fears it could be “ contentious ” .
Mr Feeney told BBC News NI that he would be “ very concerned ” if the NI Executive or Irish government purchased the rights to the book .
“ At the moment , and everyone says this , the book is not contentious , but if politicians got their hands on it it would be contentious , ” he said .
“ I would be certain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book.
” That last is probably true .
The amount ( and the nature ) of the primary materials available to Brian and the others back in the 1990s has likely increased , if not actually multiplied .
It is worth acknowledging too that it sprang from an incredibly generous and optimistic moment in our history which the stop start history of our institutions have ground down .
We can see that in the narrow and selective ways we have sought to handle the legacy of 25 years of low level terrorist engagement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being felt today in communities which mainstream politics it seems would rather forget or leave them to mind their own internal affairs without any interferences from the outside .
The genius of Lost Lives was , and remains , its inclusivity .
Its tragedy , in its temporal form as a book , is that it has been relegated to the fragmentary search realms of Google Books .
The reason why it sells for ridiculous prices ought to be obvious .
Once you have bought a copy the chances of you ever wanting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But it is also true that a book which no one of the next generation is able to buy or access is merely an idea , or much worse , an abstraction .
As Fintan notes , this matters , because : …the book , painstakingly , and one might almost say reverently , compiled by David McKittrick , Seamus Kelters , Brian Feeney , Chris Thornton and David McVea , is not just history .
It acts on the here-and-now .
It does something to you as you read it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ You start to weep , not just for them , but with them .
They cease to be “ legitimate targets ” or tit-for-tat scores .
Their humanity is restored .
Such a process is crucial not just for understanding the past , but knowing what human ( as opposed to ideological ) qualities we need to live a better , less bitter life that those chronicled in this great book .
The drift that Fintan notes into ‘ amnesia and selective memory ’ is also an invitation to exclude large numbers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circles of empathy ‘ .
Access to the real stories of what happened to all of those who died be they civilians ( by far the greatest number of casualties ) or pro or anti State actors , is vital for restoring proportionality to our political lives across the island .
Let ’ s hope whatever concerns Brian has can be addressed without compromising or destroying the integrity of the original project .
We owe it to future generations , as the poet says , not to… “ …tell with such high zest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , The old Lie : Dulce et decorum est , Pro patria mori ” .

I have been to the Vietnam wall in Washington, twice. The second time was every bit as emotional as the first. It was the trouble in the world when I was a kid, until it became us. It cuts a scar in the landscape appropriate to the human mess it left, not just in those who died but in the quiet way old men come to say goodbye to their much younger fallen comrades.
I’ve often thought of that great book Lost Lives as our only moral equivalent. Every name, regardless of side or motivation, is included, stacked, classified and accounted for. Fintan O’Toole did his country some considerable service by pointing out that this great tome of recovery and compassion is no longer in print.
It has prompted the Irish government to consider buying the rights. One back bench government TD laid out the logic…
Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan describing the book as a “monument to the people who died” raised concerns in the Dáil this week that the book will not be re-printed and that its objective record would be lost. “In many instances, the dead are being invoked for a particular political purpose. There is nothing wrong with that, but legacy issues have become part of the territory on which political division in Northern Ireland now operates. The Dublin Bay South TD said if the Government let the opportunity pass it will be too “contentious and difficult for us to get any collective agreement between communities in Northern Ireland as to how we can put together one complete memorial for all the people who died”.
However, one of the authorial group has raised an objection to resurrecting this great work in this way.
The BBC reports:
Lost Lives co-author Brian Feeney fears it could be “contentious”. Mr Feeney told BBC News NI that he would be “very concerned” if the NI Executive or Irish government purchased the rights to the book. “At the moment, and everyone says this, the book is not contentious, but if politicians got their hands on it it would be contentious,” he said. “I would be certain that there would be edits to the book.”
That last is probably true. The amount (and the nature) of the primary materials available to Brian and the others back in the 1990s has likely increased, if not actually multiplied. It is worth acknowledging too that it sprang from an incredibly generous and optimistic moment in our history which the stop start history of our institutions have ground down.
We can see that in the narrow and selective ways we have sought to handle the legacy of 25 years of low level terrorist engagement, the uneven effects of which are being felt today in communities which mainstream politics it seems would rather forget or leave them to mind their own internal affairs without any interferences from the outside.
The genius of Lost Lives was, and remains, its inclusivity. Its tragedy, in its temporal form as a book, is that it has been relegated to the fragmentary search realms of Google Books. The reason why it sells for ridiculous prices ought to be obvious. Once you have bought a copy the chances of you ever wanting to sell it again are vanishingly small.
But it is also true that a book which no one of the next generation is able to buy or access is merely an idea, or much worse, an abstraction. As Fintan notes, this matters, because:
…the book, painstakingly, and one might almost say reverently, compiled by David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, is not just history. It acts on the here-and-now. It does something to you as you read it. It brings the dead to life. You start to weep, not just for them, but with them. They cease to be “legitimate targets” or tit-for-tat scores. Their humanity is restored.
Such a process is crucial not just for understanding the past, but knowing what human (as opposed to ideological) qualities we need to live a better, less bitter life that those chronicled in this great book. The drift that Fintan notes into ‘amnesia and selective memory’ is also an invitation to exclude large numbers of our own citizens from our personal ‘circles of empathy‘.
Access to the real stories of what happened to all of those who died be they civilians (by far the greatest number of casualties) or pro or anti State actors, is vital for restoring proportionality to our political lives across the island. Let’s hope whatever concerns Brian has can be addressed without compromising or destroying the integrity of the original project.
We owe it to future generations, as the poet says, not to…
“…tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est,
Pro patria mori”.


sluggerotoole--2020-12-14--Why did more than 1000 people queue outside Primark at midnight during a pandemic?

I don ’ t know about you , but at midnight on Friday night , I was tucked up in bed snoozing .
Some of our fellow citizens , on the other hand , thought it was a better idea to traipse down to Primark in the Abbey Centre for some midnight shopping .
Unfortunately over a thousand people also had the same idea and the queue to get in was over a mile long .
At this point you may be thinking , WTF ?
Let me explain .
The good people of Primark thought it would be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 36 hours straight because there is nothing minimum wage staff enjoy more than folding jeans at 4 am .
With the pubs being closed and people being bored , a good chunk of them decided , sure wouldn ’ t it be fun to make a midnight trip to Primark ?
It was incredibility irresponsible of the Abbey Centre and Primark to have such an event during the pandemic .
Stephen Nolan is going to eviscerate them and frankly , they deserve it .
What does it say about our society that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an IRA funeral and queues for Primark ?
“ Primark ( Danbury Fair , Danbury , Connecticut ) ” by jjbers is licensed under CC BY

I don’t know about you, but at midnight on Friday night, I was tucked up in bed snoozing. Some of our fellow citizens, on the other hand, thought it was a better idea to traipse down to Primark in the Abbey Centre for some midnight shopping. Unfortunately over a thousand people also had the same idea and the queue to get in was over a mile long.
Primark AbbeyCentre last night we didn’t bother queuing up because it was absolutely massive and the police were there as well in my pics is only half of what you see lol was right around the corner too! pic.twitter.com/n9Cs10Co9G — Natasha Wallace (@Natasha17070268) December 12, 2020
At this point you may be thinking, WTF? Let me explain.
The good people of Primark thought it would be a great idea to open their store for 36 hours straight because there is nothing minimum wage staff enjoy more than folding jeans at 4 am. With the pubs being closed and people being bored, a good chunk of them decided, sure wouldn’t it be fun to make a midnight trip to Primark?
Come as you are…
Whether your go-to is off-duty style, fancy festive wear or PJ chic, we're here for you. Primark, Abbey Centre will open Friday 11th December 9am and STAY OPEN all the way through until 6pm Saturday 12th December. 33 HOURS! #primark #abbeycentre pic.twitter.com/LAjbXVPO5u — Abbey Centre (@abbeycentre) December 8, 2020
It was incredibility irresponsible of the Abbey Centre and Primark to have such an event during the pandemic. Stephen Nolan is going to eviscerate them and frankly, they deserve it.
Day 1 of shops reopening… Happy? @sinnfeinireland & @duponline But it's ok, wet pubs, outdoor sporting events and house visits are still a no go, but this is… Remember this! Remember when its time to vote! #Primark #AbbeyCentre #yafuckedthatoneup pic.twitter.com/2uAINSxcM0 — OhhDannyBoii🤙🏻 (@DannyMcComish) December 12, 2020
What does it say about our society that the most contentious events during a pandemic are an IRA funeral and queues for Primark?
“Primark (Danbury Fair, Danbury, Connecticut)” by jjbers is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-12-14--Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael receive a harsh lesson in social media politics

When Solidarity/People Before Profit put forward a motion to pay student nurses , alarm bells should have been ringing in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael HQ ’ s .
Not only was the motion non-binding and would not have given the nurses a single cent had it been passed , but public pay is also not voted on in the Dáil , it is negotiated between the Government and Trade Unions not the Government and opposition parties .
It was classic party politics .
Propose an unrealistic motion that the Government could not support , screenshot the voting results , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Government do not want to pay student nurses .
The issue is not that political parties are playing party politics because that is hardly a new concept , the problem is the response from Fianna Fáil , Fine Gael and the Green Party was so inadequate and uninformative that it left themselves wide open for a slaughtering on social media .
And a slaughtering it was .
There was uproar left , right and centre across the political spectrum at the rejection of the motion .
Sinn Fein led the storm of anger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student nurses pay on social media and in the Dáil .
The first night of anger , when the motion was originally rejected , there was deafening silence on the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael social media front .
The live was being beat out of the two major parties in the Government and yet , silence .
In the days that followed , there were comments and explanations on the matter from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TD ’ s but the damage had long been done .
Tensions came to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week .
TDs and Senators from Fianna Fáil lambasted Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly for making his points around student nursing pay , a week too late .
After all these TD ’ s had to endure a bombardment of public criticism for the week following the vote .
The party ’ s youngest TD , James O ’ Connor is said to have complained of a lack of factual information around the issue that could have been used to counter the opposition using the emotive subject as a driving force to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supposedly said that the entire issue had been mishandled and that serious damage had also been done .
In truth , a lot of responsibility should lie on the shoulders of Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly , who ’ s department handles student nursing pay .
If anybody were to give an explanation on the matter plus keep the student nurses happy , it was him .
Similar events occurred in the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting , with those such as Emer Higgins and Charlie Flanagan reserving strong criticism for the handling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lack of adequate and timely briefings on the subject .
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested that the party had to do far better tactically and foresee any potential traps in the future .
If Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are serious about avoiding any similar events , they should look to some of Sinn Fein ’ s social media activities as a guide .
The keyword in that sentence being “ some ” .
What Sinn Fein are fantastic at on social media is reactivity .
They are highly alert and attentive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or points of contention created by the Government .
To demonstrate this point , I will use an example .
On the 12th of November this year , it was revealed that the Government were proposing to appoint Geraldine Feeney to the Standards in Public Office ( SIPO ) .
The problem Sinn Fein saw with this appointment was that Feeney had been a lobbyist for the NAGP and this meant a conflict of interest as SIPO were launching an investigation into the leaking of a document by Leo Varadkar to a member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it up in the Dáil and within literal seconds of leaving the Dáil chamber he began recording himself talking about the issue as he walked back to his office .
This meant Sinn Fein were ‘ breaking the news ’ in effect on social media and any media outlets reporting on the claim thereafter ended up sharing Pearse Doherty ’ s video .
While Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are in Government and Sinn Fein are not , and they require to take up a far more defensive position than offensive when it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ points of contention , the reactive concept on social media applies the exact same .
The moment they knew Solidarity/People Before Profit were to propose a motion to pay student nurses , a motion they knew they could not vote for , a motion that would lead to public outrage if they rejected it , they should have got their respective front benches in front of the camera .
Using the hashtag of the day , they could have explained the Government ’ s position and why they could not vote for such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it very clear that student nurses ( where applicable ) would be paid .
A pre-empted move such as that would have taken the wind out of the sails of the motion and the media would also have picked up on it meaning the public would have been relatively informed about the subject before the vote had even taken place .
People may point to hindsight in this piece , but a similar event occurred in the handling of the Mother and Baby Homes bill in October , in which the Government failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to be done before voting on the bill and received a barrage of criticism for it .
You can not always rely on the mainstream media to explain ever bill and motion to the public , sometimes if you want something done right , do it yourself .

When Solidarity/People Before Profit put forward a motion to pay student nurses, alarm bells should have been ringing in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael HQ’s. Not only was the motion non-binding and would not have given the nurses a single cent had it been passed, but public pay is also not voted on in the Dáil, it is negotiated between the Government and Trade Unions not the Government and opposition parties. It was classic party politics. Propose an unrealistic motion that the Government could not support, screenshot the voting results, hop on social media and claim the Government do not want to pay student nurses.
The issue is not that political parties are playing party politics because that is hardly a new concept, the problem is the response from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party was so inadequate and uninformative that it left themselves wide open for a slaughtering on social media. And a slaughtering it was.
There was uproar left, right and centre across the political spectrum at the rejection of the motion. Sinn Fein led the storm of anger and continued piling on the Government around student nurses pay on social media and in the Dáil. The first night of anger, when the motion was originally rejected, there was deafening silence on the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael social media front. The live was being beat out of the two major parties in the Government and yet, silence.
In the days that followed, there were comments and explanations on the matter from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TD’s but the damage had long been done. Tensions came to a head at their respective parliamentary party meetings this week. TDs and Senators from Fianna Fáil lambasted Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly for making his points around student nursing pay, a week too late. After all these TD’s had to endure a bombardment of public criticism for the week following the vote. The party’s youngest TD, James O’Connor is said to have complained of a lack of factual information around the issue that could have been used to counter the opposition using the emotive subject as a driving force to attack the government. TD Marc MacSharry supposedly said that the entire issue had been mishandled and that serious damage had also been done. In truth, a lot of responsibility should lie on the shoulders of Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, who’s department handles student nursing pay. If anybody were to give an explanation on the matter plus keep the student nurses happy, it was him.
Similar events occurred in the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, with those such as Emer Higgins and Charlie Flanagan reserving strong criticism for the handling of the controversy and also complaining of a lack of adequate and timely briefings on the subject. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested that the party had to do far better tactically and foresee any potential traps in the future.
If Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are serious about avoiding any similar events, they should look to some of Sinn Fein’s social media activities as a guide. The keyword in that sentence being “some”. What Sinn Fein are fantastic at on social media is reactivity. They are highly alert and attentive, ready to respond to any slip ups or points of contention created by the Government.
To demonstrate this point, I will use an example. On the 12th of November this year, it was revealed that the Government were proposing to appoint Geraldine Feeney to the Standards in Public Office (SIPO). The problem Sinn Fein saw with this appointment was that Feeney had been a lobbyist for the NAGP and this meant a conflict of interest as SIPO were launching an investigation into the leaking of a document by Leo Varadkar to a member of the NAGP. Pearse Doherty brought it up in the Dáil and within literal seconds of leaving the Dáil chamber he began recording himself talking about the issue as he walked back to his office. This meant Sinn Fein were ‘breaking the news’ in effect on social media and any media outlets reporting on the claim thereafter ended up sharing Pearse Doherty’s video.
While Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are in Government and Sinn Fein are not, and they require to take up a far more defensive position than offensive when it comes to dealing with slip up or points of contention, the reactive concept on social media applies the exact same. The moment they knew Solidarity/People Before Profit were to propose a motion to pay student nurses, a motion they knew they could not vote for, a motion that would lead to public outrage if they rejected it, they should have got their respective front benches in front of the camera. Using the hashtag of the day, they could have explained the Government’s position and why they could not vote for such motion. They should also have made it very clear that student nurses (where applicable) would be paid. A pre-empted move such as that would have taken the wind out of the sails of the motion and the media would also have picked up on it meaning the public would have been relatively informed about the subject before the vote had even taken place.
People may point to hindsight in this piece, but a similar event occurred in the handling of the Mother and Baby Homes bill in October, in which the Government failed to properly inform the public of what had to be done before voting on the bill and received a barrage of criticism for it. You cannot always rely on the mainstream media to explain ever bill and motion to the public, sometimes if you want something done right, do it yourself.


sluggerotoole--2020-12-15--Post Nationalism is a sign of political maturity…

In the history of ideas , Nationalism has burst through as nearly universal in its application , understanding and complexity .
The Northern Ireland political scene has long been described as two competing nationalisms , our polity birthed as it was in the cradle of nationalist fervour unleashed on the battlefields of the Great War and continuing into the 1920s with Ireland ’ s ( eventual ) split from the British Empire .
What we colloquially call “ unionism ” is a form of British nationalism intent on protecting the interests of British citizens here , maintaining a socio-legal link @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a promotion of the long heritage of interplay between these islands known to them as the “ British Isles.
” Irish nationalism had an ideological head start so to speak ; it began as an idea that the people of Ireland were Irish and their heritage of self-governance before Anglo-Norman invasion and before the upset of the Ulster Plantation was to be drawn from so that this island could take a seat amongst global nations .
It is rooted in separatist reform , change and revolution whereas Unionism is rooted in tradition , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yet both ideas are a means to an end , formed as they are for a given people in a given situation .
Take the Irish Free State , founded by Cumann na nGaedheal , a broad-church nationalist coalition which soon petered out to be replaced by a loose 2 party system of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail .
Due to their civil war legacies , these two parties started out as nationalist movements not bogged down by socio-economic debates of ‘ left and right.
’ But as time went on the Free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a modern European democracy with all the trappings of an ancient state .
Fianna Fail became the party of builders , slum clearance programmes and supporting the rural working and lower middle classes .
Fine Gael became the party of bookkeepers , defending state institutions and appealing to an urban middle class .
Sinn Fein boast of being the only all island nationalist movement , but even they slipped into the reality that their nationalism was only a methodological idea when they barely spoke of it at the last Dáil Éireann race – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a border poll in this decade .
Instead , election posters on the insurance industry , pensions and the housing crisis were unveiled to much fanfare and very nearly propelled the party into government .
With the rise of ‘ socialist ’ Sinn Fein offering real policy solutions to southern voters and the Alliance party offering a liberal internationalist vision to northern voters it looks very much like Irish democracy is maturing beyond old nationalisms .
We see the ideological lines sharpening along this left/right socio-economic spectrum as Fine Gael look set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against a centre left Sinn Fein in any future Irish coalition ( its unclear where FF stand in this future contest ) .
The existential crisis within unionism wrought by the realisation of what Brexit means in practice , has led Ben Lowry to charge Liberal Unionism as being part of the problem and not any kind of solution for unionism , instead advocating “ firm ” unionism .
Yet it ’ s hard to decipher who liberal unionists are , he charged the DUP as moving into a liberal direction but until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bertrand Russel on the green benches I won ’ t hold my breath .
Liberalism might kill ‘ unionism ’ but it certainly will not kill the ‘ union link.
’ This is where the political maturity of NI will take us .
It will be a constitutional discussion of dispassion ( as far as the old nationalistic passions are concerned ) and a discussion on socio-economic life in Northern Ireland towns , villages and cities .
To understand the shifting political sands , we should view parties here within this ‘ post-nationalist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and nationalism are not ideologies or philosophies , they are merely methodologies to govern us into ( or out of ) the socio-economic situations individuals and families find themselves living in .
“ People in Howth – Dublin , Ireland – Black and white street photography ” by Giuseppe Milo ( www.pixael.com ) is licensed under CC BY

In the history of ideas, Nationalism has burst through as nearly universal in its application, understanding and complexity. The Northern Ireland political scene has long been described as two competing nationalisms, our polity birthed as it was in the cradle of nationalist fervour unleashed on the battlefields of the Great War and continuing into the 1920s with Ireland’s (eventual) split from the British Empire.
What we colloquially call “unionism” is a form of British nationalism intent on protecting the interests of British citizens here, maintaining a socio-legal link with the island of Great Britain and a promotion of the long heritage of interplay between these islands known to them as the “British Isles.”
Irish nationalism had an ideological head start so to speak; it began as an idea that the people of Ireland were Irish and their heritage of self-governance before Anglo-Norman invasion and before the upset of the Ulster Plantation was to be drawn from so that this island could take a seat amongst global nations. It is rooted in separatist reform, change and revolution whereas Unionism is rooted in tradition, good governance and the status quo.
Yet both ideas are a means to an end, formed as they are for a given people in a given situation. Take the Irish Free State, founded by Cumann na nGaedheal, a broad-church nationalist coalition which soon petered out to be replaced by a loose 2 party system of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. Due to their civil war legacies, these two parties started out as nationalist movements not bogged down by socio-economic debates of ‘left and right.’
But as time went on the Free State grew into the Irish Republic, a modern European democracy with all the trappings of an ancient state. Fianna Fail became the party of builders, slum clearance programmes and supporting the rural working and lower middle classes. Fine Gael became the party of bookkeepers, defending state institutions and appealing to an urban middle class.
Sinn Fein boast of being the only all island nationalist movement, but even they slipped into the reality that their nationalism was only a methodological idea when they barely spoke of it at the last Dáil Éireann race – in comparison to the very real possibility of a border poll in this decade. Instead, election posters on the insurance industry, pensions and the housing crisis were unveiled to much fanfare and very nearly propelled the party into government.
With the rise of ‘socialist’ Sinn Fein offering real policy solutions to southern voters and the Alliance party offering a liberal internationalist vision to northern voters it looks very much like Irish democracy is maturing beyond old nationalisms. We see the ideological lines sharpening along this left/right socio-economic spectrum as Fine Gael look set to be the main centre right contender against a centre left Sinn Fein in any future Irish coalition (its unclear where FF stand in this future contest).
The existential crisis within unionism wrought by the realisation of what Brexit means in practice, has led Ben Lowry to charge Liberal Unionism as being part of the problem and not any kind of solution for unionism, instead advocating “firm” unionism. Yet it’s hard to decipher who liberal unionists are, he charged the DUP as moving into a liberal direction but until Sammy Wilson quotes John Stuart Mill or Bertrand Russel on the green benches I won’t hold my breath.
Liberalism might kill ‘unionism’ but it certainly will not kill the ‘union link.’ This is where the political maturity of NI will take us. It will be a constitutional discussion of dispassion (as far as the old nationalistic passions are concerned) and a discussion on socio-economic life in Northern Ireland towns, villages and cities.
To understand the shifting political sands, we should view parties here within this ‘post-nationalist’ lens and finally accept that unionism and nationalism are not ideologies or philosophies, they are merely methodologies to govern us into (or out of) the socio-economic situations individuals and families find themselves living in.
“People in Howth – Dublin, Ireland – Black and white street photography” by Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com) is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-12-15--Nationalism waiting for “jam the day after tomorrow”, but ‘our story in the making’ is starting now…

I ’ ll make this brief , but I think this statement from Arlene Foster yesterday , on the launch of the NI Centenary is worth sharing not least for the remarkable note of maturity it strikes ( in contrast to some of the responses it has invoked ) … “ I welcome the “ Our Story in the Making : NI Beyond 100 ” branding and fund which was announced by the Northern Ireland Office .
The 2021 centenary will at times be about reflection , commemoration and celebration but it must also be about looking forward to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must be about the next generations and building a Northern Ireland within which our grandchildren can be educated , live , work and grow old .
The Northern Ireland of 1921 was of its time .
The Northern Ireland of the new century must be of ours .
In 1921 we were world leaders in ships , rope and textiles .
For 2021 we have now established new industries of fintech , cybersecurity , film and television and advanced manufacturing .
We must now use every tool at our disposal such as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the national infrastructure we need to keep Northern Ireland moving forward .
Finally , those who refuse to engage with the centenary , are mistaken and should use this announcement to re-examine their decision.
” In Talkback yesterday , I thought Gavin Robinson made a telling comparison with Sinn Féin ’ s refusal to join in with the Queen ’ s first official visit to the Republic in 2011 ( which was then followed by hasty asking civil society to fix it for them to get her to come shake Martin by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the rest of the island was ) .
In the case of the SDLP it is missing trick here .
Marketing campaign or not , ‘ our story in the making ’ won ’ t be about the past .
This is the moment and the place for constitutional nationalists who believe in the consent ( as opposed to the smash and grab 50 % plus 1 ) principle to begin to tell the story of how our island begins the long journey to unity , by agreement .
My hunch is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viz a viz by only really talking to itself about the inevitability of a United Ireland .
The numbers simply aren ’ t there for such an internalised approach to work .
People are getting fed up with the jam tomorrow ( or as Mary Lou has recently clarified , jam the day after tomorrow ) .
The story of ‘ a greater us ’ has to start somewhere .
It might as well start a 100 years late rather than never .

I’ll make this brief, but I think this statement from Arlene Foster yesterday, on the launch of the NI Centenary is worth sharing not least for the remarkable note of maturity it strikes (in contrast to some of the responses it has invoked)…
“I welcome the “Our Story in the Making: NI Beyond 100” branding and fund which was announced by the Northern Ireland Office. The 2021 centenary will at times be about reflection, commemoration and celebration but it must also be about looking forward to the new century of Northern Ireland. It must be about the next generations and building a Northern Ireland within which our grandchildren can be educated, live, work and grow old. The Northern Ireland of 1921 was of its time. The Northern Ireland of the new century must be of ours. In 1921 we were world leaders in ships, rope and textiles. For 2021 we have now established new industries of fintech, cybersecurity, film and television and advanced manufacturing. We must now use every tool at our disposal such as the new national levelling up agenda to develop the national infrastructure we need to keep Northern Ireland moving forward. Finally, those who refuse to engage with the centenary, are mistaken and should use this announcement to re-examine their decision.”
In Talkback yesterday, I thought Gavin Robinson made a telling comparison with Sinn Féin’s refusal to join in with the Queen’s first official visit to the Republic in 2011 (which was then followed by hasty asking civil society to fix it for them to get her to come shake Martin by the hand so they could catch up with where the rest of the island was).
In the case of the SDLP it is missing trick here. Marketing campaign or not, ‘our story in the making’ won’t be about the past. This is the moment and the place for constitutional nationalists who believe in the consent (as opposed to the smash and grab 50% plus 1) principle to begin to tell the story of how our island begins the long journey to unity, by agreement.
Some images from branding that’s going to be used to officially mark the centenary of N Ireland next year. pic.twitter.com/veS0MJaY8O — Mark Simpson (@BBCMarkSimpson) December 14, 2020
My hunch is that nationalism has sold itself a pup viz a viz by only really talking to itself about the inevitability of a United Ireland. The numbers simply aren’t there for such an internalised approach to work. People are getting fed up with the jam tomorrow (or as Mary Lou has recently clarified, jam the day after tomorrow).
The story of ‘a greater us’ has to start somewhere. It might as well start a 100 years late rather than never.


sluggerotoole--2020-12-16--Is civil disobedience an effective means of achieving political gain?

Julie Ann Corr-Johnson is a former Belfast City Councillor and now a Commentator .
When I think of civil disobedience I think of occupation : sit down strikes in civic buildings , public and symbolic places and the blocking of critical infrastructure such as train stations , airports and ports .
Examples of somewhat effective social and political movements agitating for change are dotted throughout our global history .
The Glasgow Rent Strike for example .
When during the First World War landlords sought to capitalise on an influx of shipbuilders and munitions workers by raising rents .
Owing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tenants had little choice but to meet their demands or face eviction .
That was until Mary Barbour and her army of angry neighbours initiated an eviction resistance ; withholding rent and forcibly blocking eviction agents from entering their properties .
It is said that some 20,000 households participated in this strike .
And such was the impact felt that not only did the City drop the citations it had handed down to some of the strikers but the Government also introduced legislation to restrict rents to the pre-war level .
The 504 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disobedience .
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( the first U.S. federal civil rights protection for people with disabilities ) was half-baked .
The language was broad meaning the policing of and obligations to enforce it were open to interpretation .
For years people with disabilities , their families and allies lobbied for meaningful guidelines and regulations to prevent discrimination with no avail .
Frustrated and having grown tired of waiting campaigners then issued the Secretary of the Department of Health , Education and Welfare ( HEW ) , Joseph @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rallies .
Califano refused and on the 5th of April 1977 protesters both picketed and occupied regional HEW offices across the States .
The occupation of the San Francisco office in particular not only broke records -having been both the largest and longest occupation of a U.S Federal Building – but also changed the law .
Califano folded and gave way to the new regulations merely twenty three days later .
In contrast to these goal achieving acts of civil disobedience we here in Northern Ireland have had an abundance of inconclusive and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the days that the Union Flag was flown over Belfast City Hall for example .
An event that sparked unrelenting daily protests throughout the December of 2012 and January of 2013 which included ; human barricades blocking main arterial routes across the City , the attempted highjacking of public transport vehicles , assaults on public representatives and violent clashes with police resulting only in bloody riots , criminal records and a large dent in the public purse .
The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement is another but rather pertinent example .
Despite mass resistance – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , petitions , the renown ‘ Ulster Says No ’ rally , strikes and countless acts of political violence – the Prime Minister , Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative Government gave the Republic of Ireland a role in the governance of Northern Ireland .
Of course Unionism wasn ’ t the only protagonist that fell short when agitating for change during this period .
Sinn Fein endured a significant setback when the Irish Republican movement pursued the infamous ‘ Armalite and Ballot Box ’ strategy as a means to “ ending British rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , anti-violence , Social and Democratic Labour Party dominated much of Northern Ireland ’ s Nationalist politics .
That was until the violence stopped .
Which brings me back to that question : just how effective is an act of civil disobedience ?

Julie Ann Corr-Johnson is a former Belfast City Councillor and now a Commentator.
When I think of civil disobedience I think of occupation: sit down strikes in civic buildings, public and symbolic places and the blocking of critical infrastructure such as train stations, airports and ports. Examples of somewhat effective social and political movements agitating for change are dotted throughout our global history.
The Glasgow Rent Strike for example. When during the First World War landlords sought to capitalise on an influx of shipbuilders and munitions workers by raising rents. Owing to the City’s housing shortage – tenants had little choice but to meet their demands or face eviction. That was until Mary Barbour and her army of angry neighbours initiated an eviction resistance; withholding rent and forcibly blocking eviction agents from entering their properties. It is said that some 20,000 households participated in this strike. And such was the impact felt that not only did the City drop the citations it had handed down to some of the strikers but the Government also introduced legislation to restrict rents to the pre-war level.
The 504 Sit-In is another notable act of civil disobedience. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the first U.S. federal civil rights protection for people with disabilities) was half-baked. The language was broad meaning the policing of and obligations to enforce it were open to interpretation. For years people with disabilities, their families and allies lobbied for meaningful guidelines and regulations to prevent discrimination with no avail. Frustrated and having grown tired of waiting campaigners then issued the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), Joseph Califano, an ultimatum: rights or rallies. Califano refused and on the 5th of April 1977 protesters both picketed and occupied regional HEW offices across the States. The occupation of the San Francisco office in particular not only broke records -having been both the largest and longest occupation of a U.S Federal Building – but also changed the law. Califano folded and gave way to the new regulations merely twenty three days later.
In contrast to these goal achieving acts of civil disobedience we here in Northern Ireland have had an abundance of inconclusive and fruitless encounters.
The decision to limit the days that the Union Flag was flown over Belfast City Hall for example. An event that sparked unrelenting daily protests throughout the December of 2012 and January of 2013 which included; human barricades blocking main arterial routes across the City, the attempted highjacking of public transport vehicles, assaults on public representatives and violent clashes with police resulting only in bloody riots, criminal records and a large dent in the public purse.
The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement is another but rather pertinent example. Despite mass resistance – including the resignation of our Unionist MPs, petitions, the renown ‘Ulster Says No’ rally, strikes and countless acts of political violence – the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative Government gave the Republic of Ireland a role in the governance of Northern Ireland.
Of course Unionism wasn’t the only protagonist that fell short when agitating for change during this period. Sinn Fein endured a significant setback when the Irish Republican movement pursued the infamous ‘Armalite and Ballot Box’ strategy as a means to “ending British rule in Ireland”. Instead the pro-peace, anti-violence, Social and Democratic Labour Party dominated much of Northern Ireland’s Nationalist politics. That was until the violence stopped.
Which brings me back to that question: just how effective is an act of civil disobedience?