Northern Ireland at 100: Pro-Union Voices

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 - 17:30 to 19:00
online

Maynooth Centre for European and Eurasian Studies Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, MU Department of Sociology and MUSSI bring you this webinar.
As it approaches its centenary, Northern Ireland is perhaps in a more precarious position than at any point since its creation. The political chaos summoned by the Brexit referendum has raised the prospect of a constitutional referendum that might pave the way to Irish unification. Moreover, the advent of the Northern Ireland Protocol has consigned the region to a form of economic limbo that has merely underlined its perennial status as an ante-chamber of the United Kingdom. In recent weeks, the growing tensions and schisms within the unionist community have given rise to scenes of urban violence chillingly reminiscent of the dark days of the Troubles. 
 
Against this backdrop, we are providing a space for pro-Union voices rather different to those typically aired in public discourse south of the Irish border. The participants will seek to provide a more positive and progressive case for maintaining the constitutional status quo. Framed in a conversational style, the event promises to cast fresh light on where Northern Ireland is, and where it might be going, as the region faces into its distinctly muted centenary celebrations. 

Chair: Professor Colin Coulter, MU Dept of Sociology

Speakers:

Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (Former Belfast City Councillor)

Brian Dougherty (Londonderry Bands Forum)

Alison Grundle (Former Special Advisor, NI Assembly)

Professor Peter Shirlow (University of Liverpool)