BELFAST, Northern Ireland — It was meant to be a year of celebration.
But Northern Ireland, created in 1921 when Britain carved six counties out of Ireland’s northeast, is not enjoying its centenary. Its most ardent upholders, the unionists who believe that the place they call “our wee country” is and must forever remain an intrinsic part of the United Kingdom, are in utter disarray. Their largest party has ousted two leaders within a matter of weeks, while an angry minority has taken to the streets waving flags and threatening violence. And the British government, in resolving Brexit, placed a new border in the Irish Sea.
The writing is on the wall. While the process by which Ireland could become unified is complicated and fraught, one thing seems certain: There isn’t going to be a second centenary for Northern Ireland. It might not even last another decade.
One can only hope. And hope it is for a peaceful transition. Sith gun robh so!
Eideard 
The United Kingdom’s government has demanded the European Union re-negotiate post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland after rioting and business disruption hit the restive province.
But the European Commission immediately poured cold water on the plea on Wednesday, saying Britain had to respect its international obligations. The EU has long insisted that it is up to London to implement what it agreed in their drawn-out Brexit divorce. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/21/uk-demands-new-post-brexit-eu-trade-deal-northern-ireland
Northern Ireland, which suffered thirty years of sectarian conflict until a peace agreement in 1998, has been rocked by unrest this year, in part against the protocol.
Many pro-UK unionists see it as creating a de facto border in the Irish Sea with mainland Britain and say they feel betrayed.
“Northern Ireland unrest: Four key questions answered” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/8/northern-ireland-unrest-four-key-questions-answered
“Why is the Northern Ireland protocol still an issue? Actions have consequences”
Fintan O’Toole https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/23/northern-ireland-protocol-boris-johnson-oven-ready-deal-sausage
Fintan: “There used to be a gameshow on American radio and TV called Truth or Consequences. It was so popular that a whole city in New Mexico is named after it. It’s where we live now. In each episode, the contestant was asked a deliberately daft question – and when they failed to answer it, they had to perform a zany or embarrassing stunt.
We’ve reached that point in the Brexit show. The question is: why did you divide one part of the UK from the rest, creating a chimerical country in which most of the body is outside the EU’s single market while one foot is still inside? Since it is unanswerable, we get the embarrassing stunt: the demand that the EU should tear up a crucial part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement – or else.”
Re: T or C (“Trrsee”) New Mexico https://www.newmexico.org/nmmagazine/articles/post/20-things-to-love-about-truth-or-consequences/
“Divorced UK and EU head for new Brexit fight over N Ireland” https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-brussels-ireland-european-union-6851210204a2f2c70a466da9d7b36478
Ireland’s deputy PM has warned governments doing trade deals with the UK that it is a nation that “doesn’t necessarily keep its word”.
Leo Varadkar made the comment after Dominic Cummings suggested the UK had always intended to tear up the Brexit deal it signed with the EU in 2019.
Boris Johnson’s ex-adviser said the plan had been to “ditch the bits we didn’t like” after winning power. (BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-58898117
“In a string of tweets, Cummings said the flawed Brexit deal had been a way to get out of the electoral doldrums and “whack [Jeremy] Corbyn”, and “of course” the government should be allowed to “sometimes break deals… like every other state does”. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/oct/13/dominic-cummings-says-uk-always-intended-to-ditch-ni-protocol-brexit
[Jeremy Corbyn was the Leader of the Labour Party and the Opposition from 2015 to 2020].
Will the N Ireland election pave the way for a united Ireland?
Sinn Féin is likely to be the largest party in Northern Ireland after the May 5 election – what does this mean for moves towards a united Ireland? https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/3/will-the-n-ireland-election-pave-the-way-for-a-united-ireland
7AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 4th