🎧 Northern Ireland: Past, Present, Future

Episode summary: In the latest in our series on the fate of the Union, we talk to historians Richard Bourke and Niamh Gallagher about the history of Northern Ireland’s relationship to the rest of the UK. From the Anglo-Irish Union to partition to the Troubles to the Peace Process to Brexit and beyond, we discuss what makes Northern Irish politics so contentious and whether consensus is possible. Plus we ask if Irish re-unification is coming and what it might look like. Talking Points: The Anglo-Irish union was a response to the 1798 rebellion. It was a means of pacification through incorporation. - The union in Ireland came before Catholic Emancipation, which took place in 1829. By then, a political movement based on disaffection had already commenced. - In material terms, the union added 5 million new subjects (England at that time had a population of roughly 8 million). It also added a new dimension of grievances. The home rule movement was seeking a devolved administration, but failure to deliver that made the Irish…