Nationalists need more than just tokenism to accommodate unionists
THERE has been a lot of discussion after the Claire Byrne show on RTE on the topic of Irish unity. The great majority of the contributors to the programme were nationalists and it would be fair to say that they were all of the opinion that it is just a matter of time before there is a border poll and that, in the event of a nationalist victory, concessions would need to be made to accommodate the British minority in the new Ireland.
The first question up related to symbols in the new Ireland. Leo Varadkar’s response, when asked whether the national flag, the tricolour, would need to be changed, his response was immediate and enlightening.
He opposed such a proposal virtually out of hand, stating that the orange and green on the tricolour already represented the two traditions on the island, with white representing peace.
Well, I am a unionist who considers himself Irish as well as British and I was quite taken aback by his apparent belief that the tricolour would be seen by erstwhile unionists as a suitable national flag for a new “shared Ireland”.
Indeed, the idea that orange is representative of unionism in the modern era is inappropriate.
The Orange Order, while a significant section of unionism, does not reflect the broad diversity of British people in Ireland.
If a united Ireland ever came about, it would require a radical rethink that many would find uncomfortable in the new reality. May I make a suggestion for the design of the new flag? The flag would be green with a gold harp in the centre and on the top left corner the Union flag, in the same manner as applies to others throughout the world — Australia and New Zealand being the most familiar.
If nationalists are serious about a genuinely united Ireland, this would be one of the uncomfortable questions they would need to grapple with. Unless, of course, in reality they are only concerned with tokenism.
I would be interested to hear the response from nationalists.
CURIOUS UNIONIST