Falls and Shankill agree: it’s all a shambles
...but idea of soft border is a relief in Londonderry
PEOPLE on the Falls and the Shankill agreed about one thing yesterday — Brexit was a shambles.
That, though, was far as the agreement went.
On the Falls Road, Connor Burn (19) believed that the whole idea of Brexit should be scrapped.
“This is bad for Ireland, both north and south,” he said. “I have no idea how it’s going to effect the catering trade I work in. That’s what’s important to me and my future.
“I can’t see how it’s going to be of any help to me. I say scrap the whole thing.”
And he wasn’t too happy about the role Sinn Fein has been playing. “Sinn Fein had the chance to have a real say in this but don’t take their seats in Westminster.
“And now the DUP are seeing what the government are like — they’re not to be trusted. From left: Keith McCullough, John McVicar and Connor Burn. Below, from left: Jean Martin and Bridgeen Coyle
“I say have a border poll instead and really find out what people in the north think.”
Geraldine Fox said: “I never thought we should have been leaving the EU in the first place and though I’m not into politics I can see this decision shouldn’t be forced on us. People talk about hard borders, soft borders, borders in the Irish Sea, but the truth is, even with a deal on the table, no one knows what it all means.
“Because there are so many issues and so many different opinions, it makes me think it’s a bad thing all round. People voted for something and didn’t know what they were voting for, which isn’t right.”
Over on the Shankill Road, Keith McCullough felt that Northern Ireland had been “sold down the river”.
“We need a strong leader and Theresa May is not a strong leader. Get Boris Johnston in.
“We want someone who will take no nonsense from the EU.
“We are leaving and we should simply tell the EU that and be done with it. Walk away. But walk away with us setting the terms.
“Does Europe not remember that they wouldn’t have their own countries at all if it hadn’t been for Britain in the Second World War?
“We don’t owe the EU anything and for us to be lined up to pay them for the right to leave, that’s nonsense.”
John McVicar added: “I want us out of Europe and what I have heard a lot of people saying is that the Prime Minister needs to fall on her sword.
“If she doesn’t, I can’t see her lasting much longer. This is not the deal Northern Ireland needs — and we’ve taken over two years to get here. It’s a shambles.
“And I’d love to know how much money has been spent on sorting this mess out, when we have real issues at home.”
Meanwhile, on the streets of Londonderry there was an overwhelming sigh of relief that the deal meant no return to a hard border.
Jean Martin was very enthusiastic about the deal and what it could bring further down the line.
She said: “I think it is an amazing deal. I think it is the road now into a united Ireland, which is long overdue.
“I understand people are nervous that it may not go through and that the DUP seem to be holding all of the EU to ransom, but at the end of the day I think it will be amazing for the north of Ireland and the south.”
Bridgeen Coyle was relieved that the deal meant there would be no border.
She said: “People in Derry move into Donegal all the time and it is the same the other way.
“The idea that there could be a hard border was a worry, so it is great that that seems to be sorted.”