1912 Covenant

The Ulster Covenant and the accompanying Women's Declaration was largely a sectarian headcount. From my own family history, most of my Protestant ancestors were signatories, while all of my Catholic ancestors did not sign. This is probably a typical picture.

Some of the men who signed paid the ultimate price on the battlefield a few years later for their loyalty. Some folk might praise them for their patriotism. Others might suggest that they were extremely foolish. I couldn't possibly comment!

Instead, let's look at the main signing locations and the number of male and female signatories in the Coleraine area on Saturday the 28th of September 1912. If you wish to conduct searches of your own, simply use the attached link. Remember that Coleraine was part of the North Londonderry constituency. Portrush was not, which is why I haven't included its signing venues.

The list is:

Coleraine town hall: 3,824

Articlave (Presbyterian church?): 650

Ballyrashane: 433 (their local LOL is 431!)

Cromic Institute, Portstewart: 365

Second Presbyterian church, Dunboe: 289

Portstewart Orange Hall: 260

Articlave Orange Hall: 247

Methodist schoolroom, Portstewart: 151

Unspecified venue, Coleraine: 99

Methodist school, Portstewart: 40

Methodist hall, Portstewart: 10

Check out the following links:

Twitter @1900to1910

Twitter @1911to1921

Facebook: Coleraine Since 1845

https://apps.proni.gov.uk/ulstercovenant/Search.aspx

Irish Unity?

 It's hard to take the possibility of a 32-county state seriously when the Irish Republic don't take it seriously. None of them seem intent on competing in Northern Irish constituencies in a united state. As a consequence, we may well have nine or ten different political parties represented in a future Dail, with fifteen or twenty seats each. This would be a recipe for chaos, or at best parliamentary gridlock. The only beneficiaries of unity would be Sinn Fein who would double their Dail representation.

That's the first complexity and obstacle for unity.

Secondly, those who voted against Brexit did so on the basis that leaving the EU would leave us economically worse off. Surely, this argument holds true for Irish unity.

It's not easy to predict the economic outcome of Irish unity, but one could hazard a guess that unification will leave both sides of the border worse off. If anyone thinks that John Bull is going to write a big blank cheque as a leaving present, they are seriously deluded.

When push comes to shove, how keen would the good folk in the Irish Republic be when they have to fund the benefits of welfare recipients in the northern counties? Surely an increase in taxation would be required? How will they feel when investment in their business parks, industrial estates, and public transport is shunted down the queue by reallocation of funds to Carrickfergus or Ballymena or Limavady?

I'm not hostile to the concept of a united Ireland. However, rejoining the EU isn't an attractive thought. A state that takes four months to elect its prime minister after an election isn't exactly an enticing prospect either.
The only real winners would be the Shinners. 

Irish republicanism is a fine ideal. What ruins it for me is Irish republicans.