Halfpints preview: Brexit, the border and Irish unity
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A sneak preview of a bonus episode published to thank our Patreon supporters. Hear the full episode at patreon.com/theirishpassport.
How has Brexit transformed the debate on Irish unification? Naomi O’Leary and Tim Mc Inerney hear from locals in Northern Ireland on why a referendum on unity some thought they’d never see in their lifetime suddenly seems closer than ever. Naomi describes the mood on the ground and lays out polling that shows why the border is such a decisive issue. David McCann of Slugger O’Toole explains how politics in Northern Ireland has transformed since the referendum, and we hear from self-described unionist Raymond McCord on why he’s battling for clarification of the circumstances under which a vote on unification could be held.
The British government has locked itself in a country mansion to debate Brexit, like a demented Agatha Christie novel. In Brussels, Irish and European leaders grimly start planning for a cliff-edge, no-deal outcome. What’s going on and what does it all mean? Naomi O’Leary and Tim Mc Inerney untangle the latest developments and discuss the implications for Ireland and the border. We speak to UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn about his Brexit border stance and his plans for Northern Ireland if he became prime minister. Meanwhile, Irishmen at the heart of Brussels Dara Murphy and Commissioner Phil Hogan explain the challenges of the negotiation and why Europe is preparing itself for the worst.
For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.
Support this podcast
Recent politics have revealed a common lack of knowledge about Ireland and Northern Ireland in the Britain at a time when it is of vital strategic importance. What is behind the blind spot? We call this phenomenon ‘The Knowledge Gap’, and investigate how it came to be by comparing the history courses taught in Ireland and the UK, with some striking results. Naomi O’Leary and Tim Mc Inerney hear from experts on Northern Ireland who found themselves in the eye of the storm following the recent election which brought the Democratic Unionist Party unexpectedly close to power in Westminster and unleashed huge demand for crash courses on Northern Ireland. This episode reveals that uncertainty about where the UK begins and ends is widespread — including among those whose job is to know.
For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.
Support this podcast
What will happen to the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit? We discuss how Britain has ignored this problem, and speak to ordinary people on the border about their lives and their fears about any hardening of the border. Naomi O’Leary reports from the border on how Brexit could affect a family of farmers and a man who has to cross the border four times in 10 minutes to get to his nearest town. We hear how talk of a united Ireland is on the rise, and a Sinn Fein councillor who is missing a few fingers from his struggles against a hard border in the past tells us a return to violence “depends on what conditions are created”. Tim Mc Inerney lays out how the border came to be in the first place, from the plantations, through religious wars, rebellions, and the war of independence that led to the emergence of the modern Irish state. What is Ireland anyway? This episode gets the facts straight.
