The dilemma over the England team illustrates our ever-evolving relationship with the neighbours
BACK in the day when she was riding high in the world of British politics, Margaret Thatcher had her very own in-house rottweiler in the gangly shape of Norman Tebbit. He seemed most in tune with the Iron Lady’s deepest desires. And when it came to immigration, they were especially as one. They shared an instinctive unease that too many ‘foreigners’ were planting roots on British soil. And they regarded the EU with the deepest suspicion. For example, such was Thatcher’s antipathy towards Germany, it later emerged she secretly opposed the reunification of the continent’s most powerful economy following the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
The anti-immigrant virus that currently runs so deep in the Conservative Party was fostered in those years. Tebbit, one of her favourite cabinet ministers, famously gained notoriety from what was dubbed the ‘cricket test’. According to his reasoning, the loyalty of Caribbean immigrants living and working in Britain could be determined by their sporting preferences. If they failed to support the English cricket team – and instead cheered on the side representing the land of their forebears – then it was a moot point whether they should be allowed permanent residency in Britain. Were they not refusing to fully identify and engage with the country in which they had now decided to make their home and stake their future?
As the Brexit bandwagon reaches a crucial fork in the road, many Irish people this week found themselves confronted with a variant of this sporting dilemma. Should they back the English soccer team, willing them on without hesitation in their semi-final clash with Croatia? And in their heart of hearts, should they wish for them to go all the way and win the World Cup?
It was a test of sorts for some. There was a time when it would have been a case of ‘anybody but England’. That’s not too unusual. Sporting rivalries are at their most intense all over the world when neighbouring countries are involved. But in Ireland we are desperate to show we live in more enlightened times when it comes to our relationship with the ‘auld enemy’.
There are many reasons, some tangible, many ephemeral, why Anglo-Irish relations are now on their best footing ever. There is undoubtedly a new political maturity among power brokers in Dublin and London. In general, there is less ignorance about the other side. As a result, many of the old shibboleths and self-delusions which underpinned the ancient quarrel are no more; this new awareness is manifest in many previously unforeseen ways.
For example, there has been a revolution in Irish attitudes to British royalty. Queen Elizabeth laid the groundwork in her charmed-filled visit here seven years ago. Subsequently, other royals, such as Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, have been received with genuine warmth among a wide cross section of Irish life.
Reports suggest British government and diplomatic insiders were behind the visit this week of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. They argued the presence of the newlyweds in Dublin could not but provide a timely nudge forward in further nurturing Anglo-Irish relations. Their arrival was at a crucial time. The ideology of hardline Brexiteers continues to test all that hard-fought-for goodwill built up between Irish and British governments over the past decade.
But, in any case, the happy couple did their bit. Their coming here was yet another minuscule step forward in cementing good tidings between ourselves and those who live on the neighbouring island. Once again, the obvious public warmth towards visiting British royalty was something unimaginable until fairly recent times.
There may be an aura of glitzy showbusiness about Harry and Meghan. But what matter? They succeeded in what was the ultimate objective of their trip – a reminder of how much the British and the Irish have in common.
However, back in the real world of hard chaw international politics, uncertainty as ever rules. The stakes rise ever higher as the relentless Brexit conundrum moves nearer a tipping point. In common with our fellow EU members, we have to read carefully the small print of any future trading arrangements. And the avoidance of that much talked-about ‘hard Border’ on the island of Ireland continues to defy resolution.
The cleavage in the Tory party dividing ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ Brexiteers is now clear for all to see. The former group, peopled by the likes of Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, has little regard for Irish concerns on the Brexit issue. Their stance is a chilling reminder of the damage caused to Anglo-Irish relations over the decades by this neo-nationalist strain in British life. However, in the case of Johnson it must be remembered his approach has more to do with his own desire to be prime minister than any particular ideology and the EU.
Meanwhile, that most unusual mix of Brexit and soccer enmeshed much of British life in recent days. Prime Minister Theresa May, not exactly known as an aficionado of the beautiful game, might have been engaged more than ever before with the fortunes of the England team. Had they actually gone on to win the World Cup, the national feelgood factor would have been a peripheral, but important boost for her knife-edge premiership.
BUT it was not to be. Some silken skills by assorted Croatian players did for England in the end. It’s of little consolation that England’s recently appointed manager, Gareth Southgate, and indeed the team, attracted genuine affection not only among home fans, but also among many football lovers in this country.
All the while, it has now become deeply unfashionable – if Ireland is not involved – to be seen as anti an English team in a major sporting tournament. That’s a good thing. Small-minded petty nationalism is ever so slowly seeping from our bones.
But one still cannot but wonder was there a secret visceral pleasure – shared by more Irish people than we care to admit – when that winning Croatian goal found the net? There are occasions when it seems sport can dwarf real life.
Perhaps the dilemma was best summed up in a conversation with that sometimes fountain of insight – a Dublin taxi driver – this week.
“I kept hoping England would stay in the World Cup, while also hoping they would be knocked out. Do you know what I mean?” he asked. “I know exactly what you mean,” I replied.
Was there a secret visceral pleasure when that winning Croatian goal found the net?