Brexit, Demographic Change And A ‘New Republic’ For All

Posted by Jim on April 29, 2017

By Sean Bresnahan

With Brexit looming and unionism fast becoming not only a national
minority but one within its own gerrymandered statelet, what is now
required is a national dialogue, inclusive of all stakeholders in
society, that moves to agree – freely and without impediment – proposals
for an independent all-Ireland republic. An elected Constituent Assembly
is arguably best-placed to speed that function and should proceed at the
earliest opportunity.

Such a ‘new Ireland’ requires a modern, pluralist political arrangement,
where the identity of all is secured and upheld regardless their class,
tradition or creed. Republicans must prepare a solid proposal that puts
substance to that vision, giving form to a new and vibrant democracy in
tune with the needs of today. Our initiative must speed an advanced
proposal towards that end, offering a new beginning for Ireland and her
people as is their democratic entitlement.

If there is to be such a ‘new Ireland’ – spoken of increasingly by many
and which no doubt will come to pass given changing demographics – then
republicans must influence its form and appearance, ensuring to the
greatest extent practical that it is bound by our rights to national
freedom and sovereignty. Our banner is the Irish Republic and we must
position to ensure that when constitutional change arrives that
republican objectives are achieved.

The revisionist concept of an Agreed Ireland is out of sync with
traditional notions of a full republic. It is instead yet another
compromise with the occupation. Britain should not be allowed to
negotiate the terms of her withdrawal, the shape and structure of the
new Ireland with it, and should not be facilitated in so doing in the
event of Irish reunification. That is what the ‘Agreed Ireland’ project
is really about and it must not go forward unchallenged.

If a United Ireland should come to be then as a people and as a nation
it will be for us – ourselves alone – to determine its constitutional
form. By agreement among and between our people, yes; inclusive of their
number entire. But the link with Britain, fully and in its totality,
must go and without equivocation.

Key here is that a United Ireland must be an Irish Republic. Indeed it
is arguable it should be The Irish Republic – the Republic of 1916. It
is there in that Republic where our rights to freedom and sovereignty
reside. As such it should be restored to the people, albeit in
newly-agreed form where the requirements of society, in all its
diversity, can be accounted for as they must in the Ireland of today.

Post-Irish Unity, allowances for Ulster’s Protestants – their culture,
identity, traditions and fears – should only be accounted for under the
constitution of a united and sovereign republic. The ‘Agreed Ireland’
notion of ‘enhanced ethnic status’ for unionists, encompassing a
constitutional recognition of their attachment to the Crown, is an
anathema to the idea of a republic. Constitutional protections should be
afforded all citizens, not a group within their number, if sectarian
division is to be consigned to the past. If there is to be Irish Unity
then contrived divisions, fostered by colonial rule, must not carry
through into a new beginning.

The republican position is simple: British rule derives from conquest
and is without legitimate title. Accordingly, Britain should leave
Ireland and allow her people to determine their own future, freely and
of themselves. It does not and should not require a vote, of any
description, to see this made good – not even an all-Ireland referendum.
Nevertheless a vote could prove useful in the face of Britain’s refusal
to leave. Indeed, given that one such vote has already been signed-off
for under the British-Irish Agreement and given also and in turn the
shifting demographics exposed by the last election, republicans would
ignore this at their peril.

With that in mind, republicans should be conscious of the emerging
dynamics, laying out in turn that constitutional change – regardless how
it comes to pass – must deliver, in full, Irish Unity. There is no
reason we can’t hold that Britain should leave Ireland – no matter of
any poll and on the basis that she has no right here – while taking
stock of emerging realities, factoring them in as we proceed on a
nuanced basis, exploiting them where we can and at the ready. It seems
at times as though republicans are good at saying what we’re against but
not so strong regards what we’re for.

The real task before us is to contest the narrative of what should
happen should constitutional change unfold – to ‘steer the bus’ towards
destination Irish Republic rather than the emerging consensus that a
role reversal, within the Good Friday set-up, should follow a
nationalist majority. Why should it? We have waited long enough. Britain
has outlined her terms for leaving and should they be met – regardless
whether we consider them legitimate or otherwise – then out must mean
out.

As much has been codified in the British Irish Agreement – an
international and binding Treaty between two sovereign states registered
at the United Nations – which allows only for ‘continued Union with
Britain’ or a ‘sovereign United Ireland’, depending on unionism’s
ability to retain its majority internal to the north. Should that
majority be eclipsed by a rising nationalist population within the
northern gerrymander then Britain’s feet should be held to the fire:
full Irish Unity should proceed without delay and as agreed.

On that basis, Irish republicans need to forward a detailed plan as to
what should happen, from our perspective, in the event of Irish Unity.
With the British Government’s triggering of Article 50, this is now a
matter of urgency. Republicans must get their heads around the
game-changer ‘Brexit’ will prove. Its implications for Ireland are
massive. The time to get this moving is now, with immediate effect.
Slogans and rhetoric, while useful to an extent, will not carry the day
and will simply bounce off the establishment’s narrative.

The establishment cannot be allowed to frame the agenda unhindered but
to challenge it, as we must, requires something more comprehensive – a
solid proposal, with substance behind it, that all can lend their weight
to. It remains to be seen how far we are capable of putting this
together but it stands as the task now before us.

Ultimately, how Irish Unity is to be achieved – whether by national
referendum, six-county border poll, a declaration of intent or some
other means – is secondary to the form it will take. Brexit and
demographic change are set to bring forward that day and so we must get
our house in order. The time to put this together is now. A Constituent
Assembly as spoken of above, its remit to determine the form and
specifics of a new all-Ireland republic, is arguably where our weight
needs applied. It is here and here alone where the new Ireland should be
agreed.

In such an initiative lies new opportunity to reconnect republicanism,
and the notion of the Republic, with the broad mass of the people –
without whom constitutional change is a near-impossibility. As much is
the task before us and we cannot afford to wait. We must set forward our
proposals now, placing the Irish Republic at the centre of the debate as
a viable alternative to the failed status quo.

Onwards to the Republic – An Phoblacht Abu.