Northern-Ireland

A few trips through Belfast recently have taken me up the Shankill Road, and I wanted to share these thoughts with you.

Firstly, I like the Shankill Road. I can’t stress this enough. Along with the Falls Road, the Shankill has been at the epicenter of Northern Irish news and politics for many years. There’s no doubt that the Shankill Road harbours a colourful (deadly? murderous?) array of paramilitary characters, but aren’t there aggressors on all sides of our conflict?

A few weeks ago, as I was passing through the Shankill, I had to smile when I realised that the vast majority of shop fronts and buildings along the way were painted some combination of red, white or blue. I chuckled to myself: was this accidental or by design?

In the intervening weeks, the Shankill Road has been decorated from top to bottom with Union Flags and bunting and banners on every lamppost, supported by local orange lodges and businesses. The thing is, it’s a bit much. Looking up or down the road, your view is hazed by Union Flag bunting, like an Impressionist panting done by a Loyalist! Comes across as a wee bit insecure, if you ask me.

From Belfast City Centre to the Woodvale Road

As you come up the Shankill Road (from the City Centre), there is a lot of dereliction to deal with. You get that a lot around interface areas - no man’s land.

However, in the last seven days, a portion of waste ground on the lower Shankill has been fenced off. It looks like there’s some construction work about to begin.

Further up the road, the 12th of July is being built. Instead of the usual “Dump Wood Here” sign, a board cockily announces “Carlsberg don’t do bonfires, but if they did this would be the best!“. The structure is massive - that’s going to be some inferno when they light it.

As you pass the traffic lights up the road, you’re entering UVF territory (note the PUP office on the right-hand-side past the junction). The Shankill (like the Falls) is still the bastion of local businesses, and like its Nationalist counterpart is a bustling, busy community. I’ll always maintain these people have much more in common than they’ll ever admit - those steely, hardened faces are pure Belfast…

Pass The Rex bar on the right, marked by serious Loyalist murals - it was the scene of a Loyalist turf war a few years ago. I saw some tourists taking pictures last week (and I wonder if they visisted the bar for a drink, did they get served?). On up the road, there are some posters where waste ground has been fenced off. I must stop there someday to read them.

Stream of Consciousness

Sorry if that was a bit muddled, but I have conflicted impressions of the Shankill. On one hand, it’s the ‘home’ of mindless Loyalism (don’t start me on the cock-eyed portrait of the Queen Mother!), but on the other, the people of the area have come through their own Troubles, coupled with the decline of many local trades. Nothing has risen to take the place of those trades, and the area has fallen into decline, the people represented badly by the mainstream Unionist parties.

We talked quite a bit last year about Protestant/Unionist disenfranchisement. Well, the Shankill’s not that bad, as far as I can see. What it’s really crying out for is to have the paramilitary element removed. How can kids on the Shankill grow up normally when they have gang wars and ‘brigadiers of bling’ on their doorstep? They need and deserve something better, but no-one’s there to give it to them.

Regardless, everyday life continues as normal on the Shankill Road, just like everywhere else…

Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 // General

OK, I haven’t technically sorted out the long-running Parades issue just yet, but I think I’ve got a viable blueprint, provided the communities in question have the leadership and resolve to pull it off.

So, Let’s Work Out The Grievances

The Orange Order are the parading Kings (and Queens) of Northern Ireland. They organise more expeditions per year than your local hiking group and are generally well-attended by certain sections of the community.

These Parades don’t exactly knock the socks off some Nationalist residents, who steadfastly refuse to allow parades to pass through ‘their’ areas. And no wonder. We only have to look to the violence on the Springfield Road last year when marchers were denied access to the Whiterock. Would you want those yahoos ripping tiles off your roof and smashing up your car?

But then, is it possible that Nationalists are provoked into reacting by their local resident’s groups? I mean, if managed properly how long would a parade take to pass through the area? An hour, two at most. Better still, instead of pretending to be prisoners in your own home, come out and support the parade because you can. If you must get caught up in symbolism, let it be positive.

Right, are you with me so far? In summary: Orange Order - your entourage is carrying too much riff raff. Nationalist residents - you’re getting too shirty about a parade that’ll have passed in an hour.

The Spirit Of Reconciliation

OK. Swallow hard people, this is where we have to accommodate.

Orange Order & Guests: Leave the rabble behind. It may be the Queen’s highway, but this is a bridge building exercise. If anyone on the day looks like they’re geared for trouble, tell them to watch the parade via BBC1 or meet you down the Kneebreakers later. Likewise, anyone with terrorist connections should probably stay at home too.

The people of the Nationalist area you are proposing to walk through aren’t thrilled about the music. Perhaps an appropriate silence as you pass through would be a fitting mark of respect.

On the plus side, if all goes well this year, next year’s parade will be a doddle to organise and we might not need the Parades Commission to intervene.

Nationalist Residents: You are inviting the Protestant people into your area under friendly terms. Don’t underestimate the significance of this.

I’d like to see a welcoming gesture at the interface, with a selection of members of the community greeting the parade as it begins to pass through. Perhaps a banner celebrating the occasion and welcoming the parade through and an appropriate photo op handshake between the leader of the parade and one of the residents.

To come back to the issue of disenfranchisement from September, it might show that the two areas aren’t all that different. It might show Protestants that West Belfast Catholics live much the same way and have similar lifestyles. It’s not Beverley Hills on the Falls Road compared with Ethiopia on the Shankill!

A Model For The Future?

Am I being stunningly naive as usual? Are both parties so consumed by bigotry that they don’t want a solution to this? Or are they simply allowing themselves to be stirred up by their ‘community leaders’?

Not to blow my own trumpet, but I think this is a fine model for peaceful parades in Northern Ireland. On both sides.

No-one can ‘win’ the parades issue. It is something that recurrs every year and isn’t likely to stop. The best that everybody can hope for is a peaceful compromise.

Wednesday, May 31st, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

Spurred on by Matthew Ingram’s post on blogs affecting politics (and society), I’m wondering to what extent local (Northern Irish) bloggers can challenge traditional preconceptions in our wider society.

That was a long sentence! What I mean is, can blogs like Slugger encourage a wider variety of debate than what we’re exposed to when it’s just one-way propaganda from the party press office?

I specifically mention Slugger O’Toole, because Mick Fealty and the team have done a fantastic job of creating an open forum for debate. In fact, a few people (who don’t know about my double life as Levee) have recommended Slugger to me. They’re always enthusiastic. Many can see from the comments how regressive the ‘old’ attitudes are, and biggoted commentary exposes the futility of the traditional stances (my opinion).

There are other sites which impress me due to their seeming desire to explore new avenues. For instance, Big Ulsterman regularly challenges traditional ideologies by putting forward an alternative viewpoint and trying to reconcile ‘his’ culture and background with Nationalism and (to a lesser degree) Catholicism. He too, appears tired of politics here running around in circles with nothing ever being resolved and rarely ends a post without suggesting something Big that his subject might undertake.

Can Northern Irish Bloggers Make A Difference?

Over to you. Can those of us who blog on politics here make a difference? Is our audience wide enough to make a dent in the old school? What was your motivation for starting a blog in the first place (assuming you have one)?

Update: Slugger has recently run a more detailed commentary on this subject. Worth a read.

Thursday, April 27th, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

I was pleased to read on Slugger this evening that NIO Finance Minister Lord Rooker has set the record straight on direct rule versus devolved government.

He claims that much of the unpopular reforms the the Northern Ireland Office are currently pushing through were originally conceived by the “locally elected Assembly”.

The inference, as Mick correctly points out, is that the Northern Irish Assembly ministers know that some form of unpopular reform is necessary but that they don’t want to risk the PR backlash of being the ones to announce it. Instead, they’re criticising the NIO for implementing their initiatives!

By the sounds of the UTV report, Jeff Rooker is as fed up with our politicians as the rest of us. Would it be too much to hope that Peter Hain has finally set a time-bomb under their collective arses?

Monday, April 24th, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

Paul at The Northern Irish Magyar is hosting a very interesting debate on the subject of Irishness.

Despite my RC upbringing, I wasn’t indoctrinated with attendant Republican or even Nationalist values. I always viewed Northern Ireland as a seperate entity, quite apart from either Ireland or Britain. Paul sums it up well in the comments:

political Republicanism has succeeded in greatly narrowing the definition of Irishness for their own political ends

I would argue that similarly Unionism/Loyalism have narrowed the definition of Britishness (in Northern Ireland at least) to representing a group of pompous, bigotted, intransigent stick-in-the-muds! I’ve never been comfortable with either label.

Another well-made point is that pre-partition, everyone on the island would have defined themselves as ‘Irish’, simply because it wasn’t an issue. A history book I’ve been reading recently has reminded me of the fact.

Interesting to see a number of mostly Unionist bloggers considering national identity and playing with the concept of being Irish while remaining British. I’ll leave you with an inspirational quote:

We appeal to you not to fall into the 1916 trap and risk a fragile new relationship for the whole island, by pressing for the fulfilment of an old political romance. We in our turn will come to acknowledge an over-arching Irishness we all can share. This is an age for forging new relationships, not for breaking up old ones. Irish unity of the traditional kind is no more for our time than it was in 1916.

Works for me!

Monday, April 24th, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

A thought-provoking piece by Dr Crawford Gribben about the relationship between Unionism and Protestantism, something which has been on my mind recently.

Dr Gribben makes the assertion that, demographically, Unionists no longer represent a political majority in Northern Ireland and that they need to broaden their appeal in order to regain their strength.

As the population statistics of Northern Ireland no longer reflect a Unionist majority, so Unionist leaders must make the case for the Union to a population broader than the conservative Protestants whose votes they have traditionally taken for granted.

Surely the same argument applies to Nationalists and Republicans in that they need to somehow broaden their appeal to attract new voters, not existing ones? This harks back to what I blogged about earlier - can the political parties broaden their appeal by actually tackling issues that affect the public?

Similar questions were being asked after the Whiterock riots last September, with some citing social differences between Nationalist and Unionist areas of West Belfast as a potential starting point for Gerry Adams to prove that Sinn Fein really wants an Ireland Of Equals, and that it’s not hollow rhetoric.

Friday, April 21st, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

I took a hard line yesterday on the language of Republicanism, the talk of continuing struggles and so on. Chris took some offense at my position, which I still feel is justified.

Looking To The Future

Now, Chris Gaskin is an intelligent fellow. As a student of law, he is no doubt aware of some of the ridiculous laws that were created generations ago. Laws that are unrealistic and do not apply to society today.

And, if last centuries’ notions of Protestant/Unionist supremacy are subject to ridicule today, why are other historical events like the Easter Rising beyond scrutiny? They shouldn’t be. We cannot uphold principles from the past century if they do not apply to society today. These things need to be questioned.

What is the compelling reason for a United Ireland? Why should we consider it? Who will benefit from a United Ireland? What about the Unionist/Loyalist population - and people like myself who just want a normal society without the labels? What relevance does the Easter Rising have for modern life in (Northern) Ireland?

Common Ground - Social Problems

Republicanism - yes, and Loyalism - are movements which serve to separate the population by convincing their respective followers of an irredeemable gulf exists between them. But strip those people of their political identities and they are virtually the same. They suffer the same problems: education standards, unemployment, housing, teenage pregnancy, medical care, disenfranchised youth.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on both the Falls and Shankill Roads over the years, and both are bustling, thriving working-class communities. If both of those neighbourhoods worked together to their mutual advantage, there’s no telling what they might achieve. They have so much in common.

Where are the bold politicians willing to tackle social problems on a truly equal basis? They simply don’t exist.

And that, my friends, is my problem with Republicans. And also with Loyalists. And with anybody who pushes a one-sided political agenda instead of focusing on the issues our society is crying out to resolve. They spend all their time sitting in little cliques, convincing themselves that their narrow viewpoints are correct, churning out outdated slogans (British oppression my arse - who’s paying your benefits?) and conveniently ignoring the ‘other’ culture.

Let’s face it, Northern Ireland - illegal Orange statelet or not - is not immune from 21st Century social problems. Disenfranchised youths, for example, are everywhere. On the mainland, they’re chavs. Over here, they’re spides and millies. They are not the unique by-product of disadvantaged Unionist areas, Dr. Paisley!

I don’t think a United Ireland is some kind of silver bullet solution. It won’t stop teenage pregnancies, stem the suicide rate or stop the joyriding problem. It certainly won’t ‘cure’ sectarianism.

So, which is the more pressing issue? Hooking up with the Republic and filling our wallets with Euros, or dropping the agenda and starting to tackle social problems and sectarianism?

Friday, April 21st, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

I’ll make this short.

I’m tired of hearing about Republican ’struggle’ and British oppression and occupation. I can honestly say that not once in my life have I felt oppressed or discriminated against on the grounds of my religious background. I have not been held back from getting gainful employment, nor buying a house, nor living to a relatively decent standard.

While I have little knowledge of the background to the Easter Rising, and subsequent events in Ireland, I am coming to the conclusion that certain parts of our history on this island were inevitable. This is courtesy of Mr Joe Cahill, whose biography I am reading at the moment. It really is food for thought as to how we might have reacted in the same circumstances.

However, we are not in the same circumstances. Northern Ireland has changed. Nobody here is an ‘oppressed people’, except for the daft prejudices that rattle around inside their heads.

This post is in response to Mr Gaskin’s Official Easter Address To The People. I have nothing against the celebrating of the Easter Rising, but don’t bang on about the injustice that is British rule. Especially not when trying to espouse Liberty and Justice for all where all of the children of the Nation, when Sinn Fein (Mr Gaskin is a proud member) have shown absolutely no interest in the welfare or rights of the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist population here. That just stinks of hypocrisy.

All this talk of comrades and struggles reminds me of that Give My Head Peace episode where an old Republican who’s been hiding in an attic for years comes down thinking the Republicans are still fighting.

Ah, who cares? The only Easter Rising I was interested in last Sunday was the one I woke up with…

Wednesday, April 19th, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

I saw on Slugger this morning a piece about a new Ulster Scots website for children, and it reminded me that I’d meant to post about this some time ago.

The funniest thing about Ulster Scots is that I grew up listening to it, and talking it to some extent. While I don’t agree that it’s a language, it is a dialect which marks out parts of Northern Ireland as culturally unique. Up in North Antrim and the Glens, the air is peppered with Ulster Scots phrases.

And there’s no harm in it, either. I don’t understand why folk get so emotional about Irish or Ulster Scots. Alright I do - they buy into the political ownership of our cultural capital. I mean, why do Republicans ‘own’ Irish and Loyalists ‘own’ Ulster Scots? My upbringing in Ballycastle was non-political, but the home was Roman Catholic. Yet my parents and others around me were supposedly speaking this “Loyalist” language?

For my part, I think Ulster Scots has tremendous tourist potential for Northern Ireland and shouldn’t become bogged down in sectarian politics. Same goes for Irish. Visitors don’t care about our borders, they travel to Northern Ireland from far and wide to soak up our culture and the remarkable scenery.

Tuesday, April 4th, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

In a move destined to shock absolutely no-one in Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley Jr is

a) angry
b) offended
c) outraged
d) all of the above

by Tony Blair’s remarks about the Protestant Bigot. The gist of Blair’s outburst was aimed at Muslin extremists, but used a local analogy to spice things up:

“They are no more proper Muslims than the Protestant bigot who murders a Catholic in Northern Ireland is a proper Christian.

“But unfortunately, he’s still a Protestant bigot.

“To say his religion is irrelevant is both completely to misunderstand his motive and to refuse to face up to the strain of extremism within his religion that has given rise to it.”

Somehow, the outrage filter that exists in Paisley Jr’s head has picked up on this and amplified it into a mass insult of the entire Protestant population! Aided and abetted by “Friend of the DUP”, Reg Empey and former Presbyterian moderator Ken Newell, this formidable threesome have launched (seperate) attacks on Tony Blair on behalf of all Protestants. Hooray! Champions of the cause!

Is it possible that Tony Blair is speaking about a more distant period in (Northern) Ireland where the Catholic population were less well treated than they are now? I think so.

If Blair had launched an attack on ruthless Athiest murderers, I - as an Athiest - would not be offended. Because I am not a murderer. Therefore if I were a common-or-garden-Protestant, I would not be offended at the “Protestant Bigot” statement, because Tony Blair is patently not referring to me. Understand?

Now, if I was a Protestant bigot, or my father was a Protestant bigot, perhaps I’d be more pissed off. But let’s not blow the whole thing out of proportion, shall we?

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics