January 14th2012

“Ulster Scots” and Scotland’s First Minister.

By: Phil Mac Giolla Bhain (published January 14th, 2012 at 1:26 pm)

There was no mistaking Peter Robinson’s discomfort as an “Ulster Scot” being in the presence of the political leader of the Scottish people.

http://www.u.tv/News/NI-leaders-weigh-in-on-Scotland-debate/dafed86b-db79-4e91-9f0d-55ddd4e60405

The First Minister of Northern Ireland clearly doesn’t like the idea of the Scottish people determining their own future.

Martin McGuinness chuckled as delivered the killer blow by reminding Peter Robinson of the “Consent Principle” enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement; that if the people of the Six Counties decided they wanted to leave the UK then that was enshrined in an international Treaty.

Obviously that principle means that the electorate of the Six Counties have the block on any change to Northern Ireland’s constitutional position within the UK.

It would appear that Ulster Unionists want the Consent Principle for them but not for their ethnic kith and kin in Scotland.

The DUP leader looked decidedly uncomfortable even to discuss the possibility of Scottish independence.

Salmond himself did not let the significance of the venue of this meeting of the British Irish council pass him by.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish_independence_referendum_salmond_claims_links_to_irish_freedom_struggle_1_2055994?commentssort=1

It was Nick Clegg who had to squirm in his seat in Dublin as Salmond made reference to the fact that the Irish would instinctively understand about Westminster “bullying.”

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0113/britishirishcouncil.html#audio

All in all this was a good outing for Salmond in Dublin.

He certainly knows who his friends are on this island which makes his government’s failure to respectfully engage with Scotland’s Irish community even more mystifying.

Posted in: Categories19 comments

Comments

  • Alan Day

    Hmm- Robinson said it was ultimately for the people of Scotland to decide but that the rest of the UK has a vested interest in arguing for the Union which Scotland will be voting on. Not quite sure your article reflects that.

    January 20, 2012 at 7:00 pmReply

  • Kevin Hamill

    When as a teenager toying with the notion of Scottish nationalism I asked my dad what he thought and he immediately answered “No chance, they’ll turn this country into another Northern Ireland”, I found this view to be quite common amongst older family and friends at the time but tended to dismiss it as a hangover from the time when “catholics need not apply”, believing that bigoted attitudes in Scotland were on the wane and that another generation or two would see an end to bigotry as a serious social issue confined to a pariah fringe and the occasional outspoken pensioner.

    Now one of those generations is in it’s twenties and another is reaching school age and I find myself, in middle age, in a Scotland where bigotry, far from fading into history has seen a significant and damaging resurgence, but possibly even more dissapointingly, in a Scotland where our politicians and media can’t even admit what the problem is far less begin to tackle it, and that is where I fear the independence campaign could suffer.

    Can Alex Salmond take us to independence without tackling the issue? And would we want to go there with him if he did? Were the fears of my parents generation well founded, in a country where the political classes (and just about everyone who claims nuetral status in the debate) is too scared, deluded or wilfully ignorant to even admit what the problem is? Could the SNP gain enough of the catholic vote after introducing legisltion that has alienated a large portion of that community? I don’t think so and I’m not sure I’d want them to.

    I remain a nationalist and hope to see Scotland gain it’s independence, but not with any lingering resentment or colonial hangovers, let’s have a Scottish future we can all look forward to.

    January 16, 2012 at 1:14 amReply

  • Timabhouy

    If you are going to vote yes for independance for scotland then try and convince others to do the same !

    VOTE YES FOR INDEPENDANCE !

    January 15, 2012 at 3:00 pmReply

  • david

    The Jewsish people are Scotlands oldest ethnic minority, in one of the few, if not the only, country that never enacted any discriminatory laws against them, unlike our near neighbours.

    January 15, 2012 at 1:02 pmReply

  • Jon

    Peter Robinson could not care less about Scottish independence – whether it happens or not is irrelevant to the situation ib NI. The people here on both sides of the political divide have no interest in a united Ireland. Why would anyone with a brain want to join forces with a destitute country. As for calling Robinson “two faced” hes a politician, they all are. But him,paisley and mcguiness brought peace to my country. Thats good enough for me.

    January 14, 2012 at 11:21 pmReply

    • droid

      Here! Here! Jon

      In reality post independence nothing will really change we will all still have our political ideations and continue to trade between one another and contribute towards NATO.

      January 15, 2012 at 11:29 am

  • Compulsive Viewer

    Alex (your not that Alex, are you?),
    the partician off Ireland has been such a success that I’m sure John Taylor just wants us Scots to enjoy such peace and harmony as our neighbours.
    No, but seriously I think Mr Taylor is stirring things up and trying to frighten the Scottish people not unlike Mark the poster from the other day who compared Scotland to the Balkans.
    Shameful.

    January 14, 2012 at 6:55 pmReply

  • john fegan

    Salmond will play it straight and not get involved in the Scottish based republican movement. He is looking for support from all sections of the community and it would be political suicide to curry favour from one section of what is a very evident divide in Scotland. This is not being two faced, it is being smart.It is however well known that he is an admirer of the republican/nationalist political strategies used in Ireland. I also know that one of his favourite songs is “ONLY OUR RIVERS RUN FREE” Learned from an Irish student when he was at university.

    January 14, 2012 at 6:17 pmReply

    • droid

      Only our rivers has featured on Scottish Folk records with an independence theme as far back as the 80s.

      January 15, 2012 at 11:31 am

  • Iain2

    Good article only spoiled by the sly wee dig about your hobby horse issue at the end.
    The double standards of the unionists is breathtaking at times.

    January 14, 2012 at 5:59 pmReply

    • Phil Mac Giolla Bhain

      “hobby horse?”
      The dis-respect showed by official Scotland towards the country’s oldest ethnic minority cannot be dismissed in such a way.
      Indeed if Salmond does not get this fixed it could cost him in the 2014 referendum IMO.

      January 14, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    • Iain2

      I think you mixing up strength of feeling whith strength of numbers.
      The number who feel slighted by this is probably no where near as large as you think.
      At the last census there were 400000 English people in Scotland and 50000 Irish.
      Far more significant for the referendum.
      Even if we include everyone with Irish heritage who is tthinking about voting for independance, I would be astonished if large numbers feel so disrespected by “official Scotland” that they would change their vote to the unionist side.

      January 14, 2012 at 9:24 pm

    • Margaret Hart

      My husband agrees with you on this Phil, he is catholic and of Irish decent and is still voting yes in 2014 but he can understand the various reasons for others like him to go the other way. The way the establishment treats Irish Catholics has been and has continued to be awful (even though you have places like glasgow city council courting the catholic vote while doing hee haw for any area of glasgow even though they have a full majority, course they are now fully in cahoots with the orange order)

      The media are just as biased against Celtic as they are independence so I would hope they would atleast see that.

      Salmond et al hasnt done themselves any favours i will agree to that, but independence is more than just the SNP. I went to the march on saturday and there is a wide ranging group that support independence and not all those groups like each other but they are willing to rise above their differences to reach their shared goal.

      Unionists and brits do not wish to see independence and you will find the orange order, BNP, labour tories and libdems all voting against it so what you need to ask yourself is are you nationalist or will be you getting in bed with the likes of the orange order to stay brits?

      I wouls hope that my fellow Celtic fans would look beyond what the establishment wants and wish to be part of shaping the future of Scotland where sectarianism is not welcome.

      September 26, 2012 at 5:49 pm

  • brian(celt4ever)

    shame Salmond not think aboot Republicans in his own country,typical politician 2 faced.

    January 14, 2012 at 5:44 pmReply

  • Big jock x miner.

    What’s your view of McGuinness? I’m a bit confessed and where has Adams went to?

    January 14, 2012 at 2:22 pmReply

  • alex

    Phil, if you think Robinson is a bit two faced then I think John Taylor (the man who says catholics never suffered discrimination)out shines him with this

    http://www.donegaldaily.com/2012/01/13/unionist-peer-gets-his-donegal-sums-wrong-then-calls-for-partition-of-scotland/

    January 14, 2012 at 1:45 pmReply

    • droid

      Mr Taylor your are a shameless hatemonger and should be stripped of that title for your are not befitting of it.

      January 14, 2012 at 7:04 pm

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