Writing ~ Re-connecting
Writing ~ Re-connecting
Ulster and Brexit: The pandemic distracted from the reality of Brexit. The threat of renewed violence and polarisation between British identity and Irish nationalism brings uncertainty. On the Ulster border no-one wants a hard border so hopefully compromise on customs and trade can avert this threat. Co-operation over the nature that binds us together on this island can offer new ways of exploring unity.
Donegal has 311 kms of European border which cuts through a scattered villages, farms, and rural roads. Only 9kms connect Donegal to the rest of the Republic. Language can give us insights into where the battle for survival meets self-deception.…
“It is not the literal past, the ‚facts‘ of history, that shape us, but the images of the past embodied in language”. The words of Hugh in #Brian Friel’s play Translations highlights the complexity of the relationship between language, landscape, culture,…
Banners, flags, and emblems have an emotional history in Northern Ireland and can unhinge us. Madge Herron describing her father tells us: “That little line where all his flags hang out is now collapsed/In the house next to us, there…
Locals cross the border between #Donegal in the Republic and #Fermanagh in Northern Ireland daily. Both counties are rural and both part of #Ulster. Since the #PeaceAgreement in 1998, a united Ireland needs a majority of citizens in both jurisdictions…
The farmer buys diesel at a service station in #Pettigo which has petrol pumps in both euro and sterling. Ireland joined the euro as a common currency but the UK kept sterling and miles. When you cross the #Ulsterborder in…
Small roads with stone bridges criss-cross the hills between #Donegal and #Tyrone.Many roads and bridges to Castlederg on the #Ulsterborder between Donegal, Fermanagh and Tyrone were closed during the “Troubles”. #MichellGallen, a writer who grew up in Castlederg in #Tyrone,…
Since the Peace Agreement in 1998, this road sign may be the only indication you have crossed #European border. Mainland Europeans accustomed to driving on the right are reminded to drive on the left but so many of the small…
Polarisation in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s meant the roads that crisscross the #UlsterBorder were blocked during the “Troubles” and the main border crossings like this one in Strabane, my birthplace, had heavily fortified checkpoints. After demolition, it is hard…
Cross-community initiatives celebrated by the NI Women’s Coalition continue but success has been restricted by high news-grabbing polarised politics and manipulation. #Brexit threatens the fragile #Belfast Peace Agreement of 1998. Would #British and #Irish politicians have succeeded in drawing up…
Insights into Ulster Border tensions have been transformed by Irish Times journalist, Freya Mc Clements @freyamcc from Derry. Her interviews and insights give insights into the frustration of people like Jim Wilson, a former member of a loyalist paramilitary group…