Opinion & Reviews

The response to Burnham’s comment was swift and to the point. Michelle O'Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland and Vice President of Sinn Féin, said, "[t]he future of Ireland is for the people of this island to decide, and for the people of this island alone… It is not the right of any British Prime Minister to deny our people’s right to self-determination."

Heaven was not far away to them. Heaven was the nearest door, and the beads were the knock upon it.

I just finished watching a most interesting programme. The series, The Hills Are Alive: A Year at Kylemore Abbey, documents different aspects of the Benedictine monastery in Galway’s Connemara.

“The number of vacant and derelict buildings in this country that could be transformed into homes is immense. Those buildings are a visual represenatation of the disappointment and frustration many feel in the struggle to get a home.

Many leading voices in academia, public policy, history, and civil society are optimistic about the prospects for a new Ireland. Professor Bredan O’Leary of the University of Pennsylvania, author of Making Sense of a United Ireland: Should it happen? How might it happen? points out that the demographic and political environment of Northern Ireland is changing steadily, leading to the increased likelihood of referenda being called. His analysis supports ongoing planning and public discussions in preparation for referenda being called.