Ireland and the Runcible Men

Abstract

Few British politicians are willing to say so openly, but it seems possible that Bobby Sands, first by his election, and then by his death, has at last begun the process which can end only in the termination of British rule in Ulster and thus in a united Ireland. On all sides the sound of political throat-clearing fills the air. The Labour Party is tiptoeing towards a united Ireland policy, provided (laughably) that ‘working-class unity’ can first be achieved. Tony Benn wants the United Nations in. David Owen wants a (non-existent) eec peacekeeping force in. Even Conor Cruise O’Brien has suddenly veered round to the idea of a fresh partition of Ulster.

First published in New Society, 25 June 1981.