“There’s a very, very real conversation going on about the future of the union – principally that means how do you not lose Scotland. Northern Ireland is slightly to one side of that. It’s different because we have an international treaty in the Good Friday Agreement that guarantees a border poll, or if there is a demand for people to leave the UK and become a part of a united Ireland, and the British government will facilitate that.“
Today I’m joined by author Kevin Meagher. Kevin is a commentator on Irish and British politics and has published books on Northern Ireland and the Irish unity question. His writing offers a frank opening point on the relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom and their future as neighbours. Kevin is a strong proponent of Irish unity and in his recently updated book, A United Ireland: Why Unification Is Inevitable and How It Will Come About, Kevin lays out his set of proposals for a road map to a united island of Ireland. Having read his publications and having followed him on social media, I invited Kevin to join me a guest, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.
I started our chat by asking Kevin about his background and early life as a third generation Irish (02:17), before moving on to discussing his involvement in politics and the British Labour party (03:50), and what drew him to focus on Irish politics (08:00). Following on, we talked about the concept of Irish unity and how Irish citizens will react to a vote on a united Ireland (16:30), whether the unionist community will want to be a part of a united Ireland (28:35), and how a Scottish referendum on independence will affect the island of Ireland. Towards the end of the chat Kevin discussed some new projects (55:10) and what he is reading at the moment (60:02).
Show Notes
- Kevin Meagher on Labour Uncut
- Kevin on Twitter
- Kevin on Irish Border Poll
- Kevin’s publications
- For more, hear my conversations with Eimear Ní Bhraonáin, Dr. Jennifer Cassidy and Brian Milne.
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, review and rate: Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Comfortable Spot Podcast 