In recent weeks there has
been a great deal of interest in Irish American circles
regarding Ireland, partition and a federal solution due
to comments attributed to Dr. Brendan Ó Leary a
professor of political science at the University of
Pennsylvania. His comments were made during a recent
meeting at the New York Hilton. Prof. Ó Leary proposed a
“federal solution” to Ireland and partition. In Ó
Leary’s proposal Ireland would have the British occupied
six counties form a “federation” with the 26 southern
counties.
Additionally, Professor Ó
Leary did lower
expectations regarding the once promised hope that
nationalists would outnumber unionists, subsequently
leading to a nationalist majority. He indicated that the
nationalist population has now stabilized between 40-45
% of the six counties’ population. So where does this
leave nationalists and republicans? What is this
“federal” solution?
For the sake of clarity it is important to make a
distinction between a federation and a confederation
arrangement. A federation provides for provincial
government that falls under the coordination of a
central government to form a single independent state. A
confederation is made up of two or more independent
states that form a union for specific purposes but these
states remain independent. Professor O’Leary did not
supply any specifics as to the mechanics of his idea.
However, it appears from his remarks that he is
suggesting the former - a federation.
Reaction in the Irish-American media has been
both positive and interesting. Newspaper articles have
reacted to the “federal” suggestion as novel. However,
it is anything but novel. The idea of a federal Ireland
goes back to August 11, 1971 with the adoption of the
Éire Nua (New Ireland) program by the republican
movement. Éire Nua was authored by the late Dáithí Ó
Conaill.
Mr. Ó Conaill was a
lifelong Irish republican who
played an important role from the 1950’s until his
untimely death in 1991. Most notably, Dáithí Ó
Conaill held various positions in Sinn Féin during his
lifetime including a seat on the Árd Chómha›rle
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and the
Vice-Presidency of Sinn Féin. He was also
responsible for proposing that the hunger striker,
Bobby Sands, contest the Westminster by-election for the
Fermanagh/South Tyrone seat in 1981.
So what
is Éire Nua and why is it so important?
The concept on which Éire Nua is based is that of a
federation. Under this concept, true democracy would be
fostered, thus undermining sectarianism and eliminating the
causes for conflict. As a basic principle Éire Nua provides
for::
• A
federation of the four historic provinces, Ulster, Leinster,
Munster, and Connacht, each having its own provincial parliament
under the coordination of a national government,
• The devolution of powers through provincial
parliaments to local councils, and
• Citizen participation in their own governance at all
levels of government.
Éire Nua
sets forth specific proposals to start the
process of Irish reunification and reconciliation that
includes:
• A British declaration of intent to withdraw from
Ireland,
• The convening of a constitutional convention to draft a new
all-Ireland constitution, and
• An actual British withdrawal and the unconditional
release of all political prisoners.
Éire Nua
also includes proposals for a new
all-Ireland constitution incorporating:
• A Bill of Rights,
• New Government Structures,
• Separation of Church and State, and
• An Independent Judiciary.
One of
the major concerns with any proposal for
reunification is how receptive or acceptable it would
be to the unionist community. After initial contacts
with unionists circa 1972, discussions continued with the
Reverend Eric Gallagher, a leading Methodist minister who
commented, “political scientists in leading universities have
analyzed Éire Nua and have found no fault with it’s systems of
checks and balances.”
In 1976, Rev. Billy Arklow, who later went on to
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become
Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Belfast,
arranged for a meeting between Ruairí Ó Brádaigh,
President of Sinn Féin, and various leaders of the
Protestant community. The meeting took place at
Queen’s University in Belfast and by all accounts was well
received. Harry Murray, the Chairman of the Ulster Worker’s
Council drew parallels between Éire Nua and the Australian
system (which is also a federation of states) which Mr. Murray
felt worked very well.
The
positive reaction by many unionists to Éire
Nua did not go unnoticed by the British and Irish
governments. In an attempt to short circuit support in the U.S.
they placed pressure on the U.S. government to deny visas to
Éire Nua proponents including Sinn Féin President, Ruairí Ó
Brádaigh. This policy of visa denial continues until this day.
The
British consider Ó Brádaigh and others to be
effective spokespersons for the Éire Nua program and thus a
threat to the status quo. They believe that if proponents of
Éire Nua were granted access to the U.S. they would pose a
serious threat to Britain’s own unopposed public relations
campaign here in the U.S. that seeks to legitimize their
occupation of the six counties.
In 1978,
this U. S. policy of visa denial led to an
investigation by the U.S.House Judiciary Committee. The
Committee issued its Justice Report, “Politics and Visa Denial,”
condemning this behavior on the part of the U.S. government.
Unfortunately, the committee’s report has not changed the policy
of the State Department which continues to enforce this unjust
policy.
In
another attempt to undermine the advances
made by republicans with the Éire Nua program, the Irish and
British governments developed and implemented the Sunningdale
Agreement. As most people now know, this was a short lived
venture.
In the weeks and months ahead, as the topic of Ireland,
partition, and Irish reunification is discussed, keep in mind
that the Éire Nua program offers much to achieving what so many
have fought and dreamt of: a United Ireland. |
