United in peace! Let’s hope we stay that way T
HE atmosphere in the bar was close to igniting. All eyes were on the TV screens.
New Zealand were battering the green lines of determination in the last quarter of an epic encounter.
The Irish were giving their all for each other and the shirts they wore. This was a united Ireland at its finest: A team chosen from the island of Ireland with no border distinction. And what a victory it achieved. For a short time, Brexit was forgotten. The UK’s departure from Europe is a major concern in Ireland. Everyone wants a deal.
No-one wants a return to manned crossings, disrupted lives and trade, and an excuse for the revival of violence.
My daughter Siobhan and her family live in Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, no more than six miles from the border. Dixie’s bar is in Strabane in the North, where the finest pint of Guinness in the country is served.
Mind you, I may be biased because The Masala curry restaurant is only three doors down. A frictionless border means you can have a pint or three of stout, collect a curry and take a taxi home for a
No-one wants a return to manned crossings, disrupted lives and trade, and an excuse for the revival of violence.
family feast. The boundary is the River Foyle. Strabane is on one side and Lifford on the other. There used to be concrete, barbed wire and British soldiers blocking the bridge. During the Troubles, Strabane was the most bombed town in Europe in proportion to its size. Today, you only notice the border by the road signs that change from miles to kilometres and the need to carry both euros and pounds. My daughter works in Letterkenny in the South and her eldest son goes to college in the North.
Her two younger children are at school in the South. My son-in-law Ronan is a musician who works both sides of the border in schools, bands and orchestras. He plays in the Northern Ireland Philharmonic and teaches at Queen’s University, Belfast.
The re-imposition of a hard border would cause everyday hardship and disruption for thousands. And the possibility of violence.
For the brilliant Irish Rugby Union team, a border doesn’t exist. I sincerely hope that politicians in London make sure it stays that way.