The Constitution – I Don’t Care…

In 1922, following Partition, there were real differences in the two parts of Ireland. Ireland had a huge majority that were Roman Catholic, Northern Ireland was predominantly Protestant. Each jurisdiction followed the paths set by their denomination. The North was a Protestant state for Protestant people, the south was a Catholic State for Catholic people. The problem for the North was that the six counties of Northern Ireland always had a sizeable minority, in the south that was not the case.

Through the first fifty years of Partition, the Unionists used a simple majority to ignore the minority. Sectarian discrimination was the norm, after all Northern Ireland was theirs and the Catholics had the south. In Ireland, the discrimination was also there, but affecting such a small minority as to not matter. The remnants of the British presence in Ireland gave Protestants opportunities. Trinity College and the Irish Times had a protestant heritage that still had influence.

But fast forward to 2023 and we see that the need for the constant constitutional wrangling is no longer relevant to the lives led in Ireland.

Ingrained sectarian discrimination is no longer legal. Jobs cannot be allocated by religious preference, equal rights, a s demanded by the Civil Rights movement are now in place. Nationalists have power equal to Unionists. Both have stopped the Assembly working in their own interests.

Ireland is no longer a no-go area for Protestants, as the power of the Catholic Church has been diminished year by year, and what was a conservative minded country is now liberal, and modern.

Is the constitutional conundrum now an anachronism? Does it matter if we are in Ireland or the United Kingdom?

There will be those that cry Brexit. Others that call for a geographical unity. Many want what they want because they have always wanted it, ignoring the complete change of circumstances in both parts of the island.

We are all supposed to have an answer to the United Ireland question, a yes or a no. But what if we don’t care?

What if we believe that it genuinely doesn’t matter? That the differences in the 21st Century are so small as to not actually matter?

What if we really believe that the important things in life are not what we call ourselves, or the notional identity that we have. People are already Irish or British in Northern Ireland, and if it changes, or stays the same, they will remain so. People are Irish and British all over the world. They don’t need to be in the country of that designation to be that nationality.

Education, health, prosperity and all-round improvement could be a goal. Adults could make up their own minds based on the potential for a better life for their families and themselves. They could be selfish!

But that is not the Irish way. All over the island we have been brought up to “believe”, o have a side, to ignore the reality. People who wanted a United Ireland when it was still a country with a very religious conservatism still want it now that it is socially liberal, so they want it no matter what. People who wanted the Union because they didn’t want to live as a minority in a Catholic country weill still not consider it even though everything is different.

Take your choice. I don’t care. Come a vote either way, I will still be living in the same home, with the same neighbours, the same shops, the same cafes, the same hospitals, the same schools, the same golf courses, the same fourball, the same life.

So, after a lot of years toing and froing, I have arrived at my destination as far as the UK/Irish Constitution is concerned.

I don’t care.