Irish Unity by Ben Collins sampler
Irish Unity is the first book to explore Irish reunification in the aftermath of Brexit which is written by Ben Collins who comes from a pro-British and Unionist background and has lived and worked across the UK. In this book Collins explains how he has come to favour Irish Unity. He uses his twenty years of experience working in political communications to give his insight on the current situation regarding the building momentum for Irish Unity, the importance of the Good Friday Agreement and Brexit. In this book he sets out what it would take to win a Border Poll referendum and the importance of preparation in advance. Inspired by the momentum of the Scottish referendum and taking lessons from elsewhere, Ben Collins guides the reader through the steps needed from both sides that he believes will unite Ireland. Collins gives deep insight from a Northern Ireland perspective about how the financial, cultural and social ramifications could pan out for citizens in both parts of Ireland and how it would affect the United Kingdom, Europe and the world.
Irish Unity is the first book to explore Irish reunification in the aftermath of Brexit which is written by Ben Collins who comes from a pro-British and Unionist background and has lived and worked across the UK. In this book Collins explains how he has come to favour Irish Unity. He uses his twenty years of experience working in political communications to give his insight on the current situation regarding the building momentum for Irish Unity, the importance of the Good Friday Agreement and Brexit. In this book he sets out what it would take to win a Border Poll referendum and the importance of preparation in advance.
Inspired by the momentum of the Scottish referendum and taking lessons from elsewhere, Ben Collins guides the reader through the steps needed from both sides that he believes will unite Ireland.
Collins gives deep insight from a Northern Ireland perspective about how the financial, cultural and social ramifications could pan out for citizens in both parts of Ireland and how it would affect the United Kingdom, Europe and the world.
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preface<br />
of my unionist background – I applied for a job with a public sector<br />
body in Scotland and felt confident I would get it until a senior<br />
manager in the second interview started asking me hostile questions<br />
about my work experience with the UUP. I was asked to explain how<br />
Orange Order marches could possibly be like Mardi Gras, as the<br />
person snorted with disdain. Needless to say, I did not get the job<br />
after that.<br />
Whether they feel British, <strong>Irish</strong>, a combination of the two, or a<br />
different nationality altogether, I want the best for everyone across<br />
the island of Ireland. Many unionists will be opposed to unity, but<br />
I would urge them to consider, who are the people that have actually<br />
betrayed Northern Ireland? The answer is the British government<br />
and Boris Johnson, the former British Prime Minister, in particular.<br />
Amongst other failings, he led the government that put a border<br />
down the <strong>Irish</strong> Sea a year after coming to Belfast and saying no British<br />
prime minister would ever do that.<br />
<strong>Irish</strong> unity is an idea whose time has come. We need to rebuild<br />
our economy for the post- COVID world, to address the climate crisis<br />
and deal with the consequences of a hard Brexit. The Good Friday<br />
Agreement allowed the people of Ireland to decide on their future for<br />
themselves; we are now a quarter of a century on from this groundbreaking<br />
peace accord, which was supposed to allow bothparts of<br />
the island to develop a peaceful and prosperous relationship, with<br />
the potential for <strong>Irish</strong> unity over time. But now, the United Kingdom’s<br />
vote to leave the European Union, despite Northern Ireland<br />
and Scotland voting to remain, has brought the issue of uniting Ireland<br />
to the forefront. We need to talk about what <strong>Irish</strong> unity would<br />
look like, where all the people of this island can live together in<br />
peace, prosperity and harmony. The time to start planning is today<br />
so that we can avoid the chaos of Brexit. We need to prepare now or<br />
we will fail later.<br />
There are many positives to reunification – economic, social<br />
and political. Over the course of this book, I will set out detailed,<br />
evidence- based arguments to prove why now is the time to prepare<br />
for unity. If there is to be <strong>Irish</strong> unity in the true sense of the phrase,<br />
a significant number of steps and fundamental changes will have to<br />
be undertaken. I aim to set a clear- headed analysis of what the issues<br />
are, with options to overcome them and the likely impact. While<br />
there will be references to the complex history of Ireland, the primary<br />
focus will be looking forward to the future, with specific and<br />
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