County Down is one of the most beautiful counties in Ireland. It’s a pity so few of us head up the M1 to witness the hauntingly empty beauty just a few miles to the north. Sitting in the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle as the sun is going down behind the vertiginous Mournes, it’s difficult to imagine a more peaceful place on the island. However, this being the North, I can hear in the distance the local Orange pipe band practicing ahead of the “Glorious 12th”.
For about three hours last night, the loyalist band belted out their top ten marching tunes, making sure no one was under any illusion about what this time of the year signifies to some people around here. But Newcastle is a broadly nationalist town as evidenced by the large Palestinian flag at the roundabout on the way in. So maybe the band belted out the tune more loudly just to remind local people that they haven’t gone away.
Not to be outdone, a few miles down the road in Kilkeel, the Israeli “Star of David” flies proudly on the main street beside the Ulster Scots Heritage foundation. Quite what the link between the Ulster/Scots dialect and Hebrew might be is anyone’s guess. But this is Ireland – or at least a certain corner of it.
The sectarian division of County Down is stark.
North Down is overwhelmingly Unionist and South Down is overwhelmingly nationalist. For the uninitiated traveller, the flags are a good pointer. When you cross from Palestine to Israel, you know where you are. If you drive down the beautiful ‘Ards Peninsula, flags change from village to village.
In economics, geography is as important as history. Proximity demands attention. Much as we Southerners might like to ignore what is happening in Northern Ireland, we can’t ignore it indefinitely. The demographic sands are shifting towards a United Ireland; Brexit and the attendant political car crash in England have accelerated this process immeasurably.
The demographics in Northern Ireland from the 2011 census tell the story that many in Dublin don’t want to absorb.
The most interesting statistic shows the proportion of Catholics and Protestants in various age groups. Of the elderly, those over-90 in the North, 64 per cent are Protestant and 25 per cent are Catholic. A total of 9 per cent had no declared religion.
This reflects the religious status quo when these people were born, in the 1920s, and more or less reflects the realities of the Treaty.
When you look at those children and babies born since 2008, the picture changes dramatically. The corresponding figure is 31 per cent Protestant and 44 per cent Catholic. In one (admittedly long) lifetime, the Catholic population in the youngest cohort has nearly doubled, while the Protestant cohort has more than halved.
Even given the fact that 23 per cent of parents of infants declared themselves as having no religion, we seem to be en route to a united Ireland.
Up to now, it has always been argued that a significant number of Northern Irish Catholics believe that staying with the UK was the right thing to do for their back pocket. But when you look at the numbers, you can see that this would be a bizarre choice.
It is unfashionable to say it, but the Union has been an economic disaster for both tribes in Northern Ireland.
If we go back to 1920, 80 per cent of the industrial output of the entire island of Ireland came from the three counties centred on Belfast. This was where all Irish industry was. It was industrial and innovative; northern entrepreneurs and inventors were at the forefront of industrial innovation. By 1911, Belfast was the biggest city in Ireland, with a population of close to 400,000, which was growing rapidly. It was by far the richest part of the island.
Fast-forward to now and the collapse of the once-dynamic Northern economy versus that of the Republic is shocking. Having been a fraction of the North’s at independence, the Republic’s industrial output is now ten times greater than that of Northern Ireland. Exports from the Republic are €89 billion while from the North, exports are a paltry €6 billion. This obviously reflects multinationals, but it also underscores just how far ahead the Republic’s industrial base is. Producing 15 times more exports underscores a vast difference in terms of the globalisation of business.
Immigration is a good indicator of economic success. People move to places where they feel their kids will have a better life. Today in the Republic one in six people are foreign-born. In the North it is one in a hundred. If immigration tells you about foreign people’s choices, direct foreign investment tells you about the choices made by foreign capital. Since the Good Friday Agreement, American corporations alone have invested close to $400 billion in the Republic. This is equivalent to 56 years of the British government’s annual subvention to keep the North afloat!
The dependent nature of the NI economy has become endemic, with handouts from Whitehall replacing the urge to pay for itself. This is evidenced again by the DUP’s approach to propping up May’s government which has nothing to do with making N.I self-sufficient — in fact, it is nothing more than a subsidy of a junky’s shopping basket. This will make the Northern economy more, not less, fragile.
At the moment, the Republic’s budget deficit is 1% of GDP. If the North has to pay for itself in the morning, the budget deficit would be about 22% of GDP!
We can’t ignore this because we have a dog in this fight. Our dog, whether we like it or not, is the Hound of Ulster. In time, demographics will deliver the North to the South and we will need to have a plan. The Unionist population in a United Ireland will be no more than 14%, that’s considerably smaller than our immigrant population at the moment. The issue won’t be one of psychical absorption but of economic direction.
Whether it’s a “hard”, “soft” or “Mickey Mouse” Brexit serves to focus our mind on the future of this island.
Here in Newcastle, as the pipe band belts out its tunes, wouldn’t it be nice for once, to think about the future not the past.
We were a 32 county Ireland before – under a different imperial superstate. And here we are presented with the loyalty bonus for our continued obedience to the nEU empire project – a promise (nothing more)- of another rerun of 32 counties under imperial rule. In which case what were given in the 1920s was actually better. And as far as I know, under that imperial racket were we never asked to keep voting until we produced the “acceptable” answer. Remember how we used to talk about the path to sovereign “freedom”. Well that word has been completely removed from… Read more »
Time to challenge the statistics that were quoted as if they are real weight. GDP ? GDP is an aggregate of all sorts of enterprises, including those in Las Vegas on the Liffey shoving as much revenue through the jurisdiction, to pay as little tax as possible. GDP is a joke. Only the media takes GDP seriously. In other words, the rest of us know that it is BS. The demographics of the over 90s, in NI is another joke. Bear in mind that nationalists in the North have endured a different occupational profile for much of the last 90… Read more »
The island of Ireland does not have to be anybody’s bitch: not the UK’s or the EU’s. It really is quite dispiriting that the only alternative that Ireland’s political and academic class can come up with as an alternative to the British hegemon is subsumation into a European State: just another satrapy of another imperial project. Crunch time will come when the demos is asked to OK this: will they be asked to think again until the right answer is achieved? This time I think they may get a very dusty answer.
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If the Catholics support Uruguay, the Protestants will back Paraguay, if Sinn Fein like the Xhosa, the prods will see some affinity with the Zulu. Apart from some Oliver j Flanagan style anti Semitism, there’s no significance in those flags.
David , I grew up in Dublin and now live in NI , and also lived for years in England . Economically , I am much better off than my counterparts in ROI. I have much more disposable income than my colleagues who are based in Dublin. My tax credits are a lot more generous, car insurance , car tax etc are vastly cheaper . My grocery bills are cheaper . I have access to pretty much free health care . I live in a nice home with great neighbours . I have only benefited under the UK system .… Read more »
Looking at returns for the last 2 UK general elections, it would seem that SF & SDLP (if they exist) will get a majority of votes within a decade.
Unsunscribe. The only united Ireland we will ever see is a re United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
SF will not drop the Westminster subsidies and FF will not ask the Southern electorate to plug the funding gap.
Interesting comments ;
And, I say this, of course, even though I do not necessarily agree with them.
Always worthwhile whilst ewer nation is not intellectually honest that ewe keep open mind & challenge ur intellect with some exercise.
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http://www.politicalirish.com/threads/does-this-sound-true.13058/
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JOAN OF ARC moral courage here ; U do not get this type of courage in a man. U get it from a woman. Although, from a very very rare woman. Akin to Joan of Arc too, Jude Duffy is clearly a righteous patriot & not a bigot. . . THIS EXCERPT OF AN ARTICLE IS CENSORED BY TRUTHIST BECAUSE WE LIVE IN THE BERNIE SANDERS’s “POLITICAL CORRECTNESS” / “HYPOCRISY” EPOCH. . . By Jude Duffy . August 3, 2016, Anno Domini . . Contrary to what some in the alternative media suggest, Ireland, not Italy, is the birthplace of… Read more »
I hate to disagree with ur claim that if Ireland were a decent country … … “Michey Martin … would be (a) school teacher” . Naye, that would not be decent ; Because, Mehole has no aptitude for being a true teacher ; I have that on testimonies of very reliable past pupils of his. . ONLY 1 YEAR AS TEACHER BUT A CIVIL SERVICE ROLE FROM WHICH MEHOLE CLAIMED A VERY LUCRATIVE YEARLY PAYMENT FROM THE TAXPAYERS TO HIM IN ADDITION TO HIS EXCESSIVE SALARIES — LAWFUL & IN COMMON WITH THE OTHERS IN DAIL OF SIMILAR SITUATION —… Read more »
@ Grzegorz, . Further to ur sincere belief & sympathies for reported Spanish man victim trying to save person[s] from Islamic nutter terrorists [s] outside Westminster building, London, I regret that I am inclined to believe that event as false & instead take Chris Spivey’s angle as it being another false flag AND pretend injuries aul bollox. At time of this very posting, “find” function of browser reveals no mention of Spanish man in Spivey’s article itself nor in the comments section. Perhaps later they will. . . Although, I am again persuaded by Spivey’s research, I dispute his assertions… Read more »
As a Northern Catholic educated in the Republic and then third level, living and working here for over forty years I have to say as a Northerner that between David and those who blame it on the Masons ranters…. catch a hold of yourself! The average Northern Catholic and Protestant have more in common and understand each other better than how Southerners feel about us. As a Northern Catholic certainly discriminated against in the North by the civil service I returned here with nothing less than superb qualifications, publications and experience. I applied for two jobs in a branch of… Read more »
David can’t stop promoting immigration. He can’t help it. It is an article of faith. Perhaps he is right and it will all work out well but I cannot see any precedents for this and I think it is no more than wishful thinking. One thing is for sure: the people were never asked about this issue (they know what the answer would have been), here or anywhere else, and they never will be asked.
Who cares about economic statistics when it took me two hours today to drive-crawl-stop-start from Dublin city centre to the M50 Bray exit, walking would be quicker!! Behind David’s shiny ROI economic data is a miserable reality of zero quality of life in the Rip-Off Banana Republic. Those exasperated gridlocked drivers would prefer to live an African hut with life’s basics met rather than this dysfunctional hell hole grind. And the Northerners know that and have the sense to choose quality of life over United Misery.
Coldblow, As I wasn’t able to post my answer to your comment (a technical glitch that occurs from time to time), I’m posting it today. “DB, who used to post here, made a comment under it” – aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Gotcha “Identity Ireland” I read their program some time ago. There is a lot that I agree with in their program (90% maybe?), although they would really need to work out a p r o p e r economic program. I have 2 doubts though about “Identity Ireland” (as a way of politicising, not necessarily about them themselves): 1. If I were… Read more »
I’m a great believer in not reinventing the wheel.
On that basis Leo Varadkar should ask Donald Trump for a copy of his latest “Solar Power” Mexican wall along with construction quotes etc if available.
I’ll leave you to figure out where we might build such a wall.
Maybe a few wind turbines could be included.
“Meanwhile in households it looks like it has taken the appearance of a chocolate bar to drive the message home that businesses are experiencing price pressures. Unfortunately this has merely come out as anger towards companies rather than the central banks and governments who are ultimately responsible for this inflationary issue.” “”In Ireland, the Consumer Association’s Chief Executive stated “I don’t know if we can say consumers are being deliberately misled but they are being put in a position where it becomes very difficult to make informed decisions.”” Such is the story of inflation. It is a lot higher than… Read more »
Be prepared to get your own back after Brexit is passed.
“There are thought to be about 13,000 foreign offenders in Britain, including 6,000 who have served sentences and are awaiting deportation. The top two nationalities are Polish and Irish, both EU members.”
https://www.britainfirst.tv/eu-criminals-will-be-deported-from-britain-after-brexit/
The peoples representatives now think they are superior to the people they are supposed to serve.
Jason Chaffetz wants rent money from taxpayers
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=26406?omhide=true
If you do not earn enough to warrant being a representative then reduce the size of government to that commensurate with the stipend you receive. Then we will all be happy. OR get another job.
There appears to be a lot of negative comment re Ireland and how Irish society is organised. I have no doubt that some of those comments are justified and things can be much improved. However I think it is also worth pointing out that society within Ireland appears to be getting something right. Things are not universally negative. Perhaps the UN Human Development Report 2016 may give some encouragement to those who like to see the complete picture rather than just what is wrong. http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/hdr/2016-human-development-report.html Also for what it is worth, I think the main thrust of David’s article is… Read more »
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” And our NI junkie’s getting old! The Western World’s moved on since that 19th century quote of Karl Marx. ISIS suicide bombers are the overdosed nihilists in our 21st century. The Republic’s in an absolute frenzy of scrubbing itself clean of its Catholic past, wearing out the soap and in some respects throwing the baby out with the bath water – but that’s another story. We now have a leader who is from… Read more »
Once abortion is legalised in Ireland and Northern Ireland, the catholics are more often than not to abort their children. Perhaps that is why the DUP allowed the conservatives to pay for Northern Irish women to go the UK for terminations.
So a united Ireland is less likely as a result
Grzegorz, this Polish journalist mentions the 1,000 Christian Syrian refugees who Poland accepted only for them all to clear off to Germahny where they get better benefits. (You mentioned this a few months ago.) If we are forced to accept refugees, she asks, are we then expected to fence them in to stop it happening again? One couldn’t make it up.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-bad-is-the-crisis-in-illinois-it-has-14-6-billion-in-unpaid-bills-1498590946
Bankrupt state. Not the only one. this is a daisy chain
https://spectator.org/freeing-us-from-isis-and-sharia/?utm_source=American+Spectator+Emails&utm_campaign=ecdbc8398f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_06_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_797a38d487-ecdbc8398f-104365713
TO DAVID MCWILLIAMS – MY VISION OF IRELAND’S FOREIGN POLICY DURING MR TRUMP: WHERE I AGREE WITH THEE, AND WHERE I THINK THAT YOU SAID A FOR A PENNY, BUT YOU DIDN’T SAY B FOR A POUND. A question that is likely to provoke pro-Europeans (and maybe even some Eurosceptics) – so that includes me (I’m also pro-European – I want Europe based on Christianity, Roman Law and Common Law traditions, and Greek philosophy): SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: which one of these countries is more pro-European? 1. “Greece’s defence minister threatens to send migrants including Jihadists to Western Europe” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11459675/Greeces-defence-minister-threatens-to-send-migrants-including-jihadists-to-Western-Europe.html ________________________________________________________________________… Read more »
So what have we learned in 2,067 years ?
“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” … Cicero – 55 BC
Posted in http://www.lemetropolecafe.com
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/pm-trudeau-to-meet-with-queen-elizabeth-and-irish-taoiseach-ahead-of-g20-summit/wcm/2dfc3d00-ef6d-4fb6-939b-2ce223e44ffd The day before his royal meeting, Trudeau will be in Dublin for talks with Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar. They will discuss the Canada-EU trade deal, known as CETA, and work on a trade agenda to create “good, middle class jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.” Following his U.K. visits, the prime minister will head to Hamburg, Germany for the G20 summit on July 7 and 8. The gathering is expected to focus on such issues as climate change, global health and gender equality. ————————————————————————– More carbon taxes, disburse the wealth, Gotta lecture those new immigrants, rape… Read more »
Some “Home Truths” . . Irish Isles is NOT part of British Isles . . Irish Isles is part of Europe … now But, perhaps before, Irish Isles was part of Atlantis. . . Irish Isles is the country of Ireland . . The country of Ireland consists of present-day Irish State territory + its Islands AND North-East of Ireland [ NEOI ] + its islands. . . For simplicity I refer, hereon in this post, to : citizens of Irish State as Southern / Southerners citizens of UK born & bred in NEOI as Northern / Northerners . .… Read more »
Obviously some Jerks are not-cerebral
e.g.
Simpleton “Christ-mocking” Jerks
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And, the converse is true also ;
Some Jerks are cerebral :
e.g.s
Intellectual “Christ-mocking” Jerks
Marquis de Sade [ French ]
Allister Crowley [ British ; Anglo-Irish ? ]
Willhelm Reich [ ? ]
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THIS SHOULD INTEREST A CEREBRAL NON-JERK SUCH AS GRZEGORZ
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HEADING ;
E. Michael Jones ;
Major Religions and Geopolitics in light of Logos / Reason / Christ
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEYHnwT2A-s
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SILLY NORTHERN “POSH” UNIONISTS, & “VULGAR” UNIONISTS [ LOYALISTS ], — FREE..M..SONS ALL — & SILLY SOUTHERN F..M S.NS [ TORIES & WHIGS > SOUTHERN UNIONISTS + IRISH PARLIAMANTARIES / REDMONDITES > FINE GAEL + PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS — FREE..M..SONS ALL — ARE ALWAYS BEMOANING THE TERRIBLE LOSS OF LIFE AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME. . . HERE EWES GO … ; Thank u Henry . . https://www.henrymakow.com/2017/06/Fre . . .em . . asons-Slaughtered-Christians-in%20World-War-One%20.html . . ONCE AGAIN, GIVEN “THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL” / “MARXIST” BERNIE SANDERS’s — CAMPAIGNING FOR MURDER OF PRE-BORN CHILDREN, & ALSO DE FACTO NEWLY BORN INFANTS,… Read more »
Two dozen Democrats get behind bill to lay grounds for removing President Michael D. Higgins on mental grounds – sorry, removing President Donald Trump. And here is the evidence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifIAlft47bM
But they need Vice President Mike Pence to agree. Are they mental?
Buahahahahahahaha!!!
Here is why an American conservative, who visited Poland and Germany, prefers Poland to Germany:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMqYmG7fvPI
More evil results caused deliberately by The Dreadful Few > The “Private” Central Banksters > The Frankfurt School ; And, they have been on ur case even before they discovered, or invented accordingly : Divide & Conquer Fractional Reserve Banking Private Central Banking Media The ‘ologies War by Proxy Worship of them by all ewe guys inter alia . . HEADING ; Canada issues ‘unknown’ health card to gender neutral baby . . 1 Jul, 2017 . . SUB-HEADING ; Canada issues ‘unknown’ health card to gender neutral baby © Gender Free ID Coalition . . ARTICLE ; Minus the… Read more »
@ Deco, & Grzegoz, . . THIS EXPLAINS DECADES OF MODERN IRISH CRIMINALS WITH REPUBLICAN TENDENCIES vis. Certain members of “Provisional IRA” & “Sinn Fein” Most of “INLA”, & “IRSP” etc. Almost all of “Official IRA”, & “Sinn Fein the Workers Party” / “The Workers Party” / “Democratic Left” > Labour Party . Note ; I do not class British Secret Service & old KGB / Mshd moles within any of above. They would be devoid of even Nationalist Tendencies . . Ref. Jude Duffy . . EXCERPT ; “…There is almost no white nationalist movement in Ireland to speak… Read more »
Bail-in history, the law and future actions.
https://www.tfmetalsreport.com/blog/8405/guest-post-regarding-bank-bail-ins-james-gibson
http://investmentresearchdynamics.com/tag/share-buybacks/ JP Morgan Insider Rats Dumping Shares As Bank Ups Buyback June 30, 2017Financial Markets, Market Manipulation, U.S. Economybanking collapse, Fed stress test, JP Morgan, market collapse, share buybacks After it was announced that the Fed gave the big banks a pass on their “stress” test, the TBTFs announced huge dividend and share buyback plans: If the banks had properly marked to market their Level 3 assets and some of their riskiest non-Level 3 assets, would they have still passed the Fed stress test, which essentially places a stress-test “bar” on the ground and lets the banks step over it?… Read more »
“”It isn’t an accident that we (the US–TB) are 20 trillion dollars in debt. The truth is that the debt-based Federal Reserve is doing exactly what it was originally designed to do. And no matter what politicians will tell you, we will never have a permanent solution to our debt problem until we get rid of the Federal Reserve.”” The world’s debt is now over 200 Trillion, and the interest and repayments are sucking the lifeblood out of the economy. The banks benefit plus a few sycophants, while the rest of the world is pauperized. How many times has this… Read more »
[…] underscores a vast difference in terms of the globalisation of business. Full article here. Despite the DUP/Tory deal today, United Ireland is on the cards – we must have a plan! | David… Sign in or Register Now to […]
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