Ulster Unionist Research Articles

Eliza Lynn Linton and the Irish Question

This essay extends current scholarship on Eliza Lynn Linton by focusing on an under-examined aspect of her work—her Irish writings, in particular About Ireland (1890) and About Ulster (1892). These writings reflect the shift from her early support of radical Irish nationalism to her late advocacy of Liberal Unionism. Linton's contributions to literary and social history have been primarily discussed in terms of her position as an independent, professional woman writer who was a vociferous anti-feminist. Her Irish writings are similarly contentious, written during the historical juncture defined by the Home Rule movement (independence) and Ulster Unionism (strengthening the Union). Less an objective journalist than a provocative opinion writer, Linton in her writing reflects the period's debates about Ireland's impending break from the British Empire.

Irish Unification After Brexit: Old and New Political Identities?

AbstractThis article contends that the outcome of the prolonged dispute about the future constitutional status of Northern Ireland (NI) will be shaped by the emerging dynamic between ‘old’ and ‘new’ political identities in NI. The ‘old’ identities conceived political outcomes as defined by two monolithic ethno‐cultural blocs: nationalism (alongside republicanism) and unionism (alongside loyalism). Nationalism and unionism formed the ‘two communities model’ of consociational governance enshrined in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (B/GFA). Today, despite the Agreement being in existence for over twenty years, growing numbers of citizens identify with neither ethno‐cultural category. Recent elections indicate that more pluralistic ‘new’ political identities are gaining ground at the expense of traditional alignments. The implications for NI's constitutional future are likely to be profound. The emerging constituency of non‐aligned voters will have a decisive impact on the final outcome of any border poll on Irish unification. Such voters typically support the cross‐community Alliance Party, the Greens, or the left People Before Profit (PBP) party. Crucially, these parties are concerned as much with economic and social issues as constitutional questions. In the context of growing political fluidity, the result of any future border poll remains contingent.

The Spirit of Ulster in the Cape of Good Hope: The South African Anti-Irish Home Rule Movement, 1910–1914

ABSTRACT As the third Irish Home Rule crisis intensified, Ulster Unionists began searching for allies across the British Empire, including in South Africa. This article highlights the important role and influence of the South African anti-Home Rule movement from 1910 to 1914. It investigates a number of questions: Why did the Loyal Orange Institution publish sympathy resolutions? Who were the benefactors who donated funds to the Ulster Defence Fund or enlisted in a South African Ulster volunteer contingent? Most importantly, how widespread or organised were these Ulster sympathisers? This article uses extensive British, Irish, and South African newspaper archives, including the Belfast Weekly News that provides unique information on the Grand Orange Lodge of British South Africa and rare photography.

Brexit and the emergence of a new English identity

National identities change slowly but because of Brexit they are undergoing dramatic changes in the United Kingdom. This is particularly true for the English national identity. The report « Brexit and public opinion 2019 » by the UK in a Changing Europe shows how Brexit is viewed by British citizens. Among those who describe themselves as English, not British, there is strong support, not only for Brexit, but for « hard » Brexit. As a matter of fact, one of the consequences of the referendum result is that it has reinforced a feeling of national belonging among English citizens. They have the impression that their identity is threatrened by several factors: inequalities linked to devolution, the cost and terms of EU membership and above all the scale and impact of immigration. As a matter of fact, the leave campaign and the pro-Brexit press were focused on immigration and one of their main arguments was that the country had to tighten border controls. This reshaping of the English national identity is also linked to a context in which the elites and the media are not trusted any more, a context favourable to populist leaders. The impact of Brexit on national identities in the United Kingdom is tremendous: since it reveals the vacuity of British identity, it may hasten Irish unification and Scottish separation. The final resolution of an identity crisis is the emergence of a new identity. With Brexit, we see the formation of a new English identity which is nationalist, anti-EU and which regards foreigners as a threat.

Ireland, Literature, and the Coast: Seatangled by Nicholas Allen

<i>Ireland, Literature, and the Coast: Seatangled</i> by Nicholas Allen

The Belfast Pogrom and the Interminable Irish Question

This article re-examines the British establishment’s crucial role in partition, arguing that it rested on imperial considerations and, indeed, that the character of the resultant “Orange State” punctures liberal assumptions about twentieth-century Britain. It counters much of the prevailing historiography on what nationalists call the Belfast pogrom, identifying it as the pivotal episode in the genesis of Northern Ireland, during which the Ulster Unionist leadership – with near unconditional state support – effectively purged Belfast’s labour market of Catholics and Protestant socialists to create an Orange economy that served as the material basis for a half-century of Unionist rule. The piece concludes that loyalist ideology represented a fusion of inherent colonial-settler identity and derived racist and imperialist concepts then permeating metropolitan discourse and widely embraced across the post-war European Right.

Thomas Sinclair and the Political Representation of Presbyteria 1892–1912

AbstractThomas Sinclair was a Belfast merchant who exercised a crucial influence on the formation of Ulster Unionism in the period 1886–1912. He had been a leading Presbyterian Liberal; but on Gladstone's conversion to Irish home rule became president of the Liberal Unionists, and worked over the next decades to secure the alliance of Presbyterian Liberals and Conservatives to resist home rule. This article will consider the extent to which a Presbyterian Liberal element remained within this unionist alliance by examining a series of elections, in which former Liberals challenged the policy of Thomas Sinclair and the unionist candidates he backed. It will focus on two pressure groups, the Presbyterian Unionist Voters Association (PUVA) and the Russellites, on the links between them, and on the role of one‐time Liberal Unionist MP, T.W. Russell.

Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground by Susan McKay

Reviewed by: Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground by Susan McKay Dr Kevin Hargaden (bio) Susan McKay, Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground (Newtownards: Blackstaff Press, 2021), 346 pages. Susan McKay published one of the definitive modern books on Northern Ireland in 2000: Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People (Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 2000). Now, almost a generation later, she has published a sequel. It follows the same format, of using extensive interviews to weave together an evocative impression of the tensions and hopes that lie below the surface of the still-dominant (at least in some respects) community in Northern Ireland. Consisting of ten chapters, organised around four geographic sections – Far North, Belfast, Down to Mid Ulster, and The [End Page 203] Border – the author’s voice only explicitly comes to the fore in the epilogue. The book begins with a description of the annual burning of the effigy of Robert Lundy, the governor of what was then called Londonderry, who advocated for compromise during the 1689 siege. The book ends having convincingly demonstrated the ways in which this founding ‘No Surrender!’ myth of Ulster Unionism is self-immolating. The refusal to adapt, to even engage in such conversations remains foundationally prevalent. Again and again through the book, people describe how they won’t even engage in the formal process of dialogue we call voting (a non-exhaustive list includes: 26, 31, 45, 153, 182, 192, 292). The backdrop for these conversations – which partially took place through the pandemic – are concrete political disputes. The obvious complications around Brexit are central here, but so too are local issues like the ‘cash for ash’ scandal and the unjust treatment of NHS nurses in Northern Ireland. These are issues that can be addressed, even resolved, through community organising and clear political advocacy – developments that are not just permitted to Ulster Protestants but actively encouraged through EU peace funding. And yet so often the conversation with the interview subjects is mired in the endlessly self-referential debate about identity. One person opines that ‘Protestant working-class people don’t have a problem with limited abortion rights. … Gay sex, marriage, nobody gives a damn.’ A surprising perspective perhaps? But they then continue, ‘But see if they put Irish language road signs in my estate? They’ll be gone the next day’ (23). This is not to say that material politics are absent from the conversations that McKay presents. Her interviews engage voices from across the socioeconomic spectrum and they often speak with striking clarity. So one person admits that their standard of living and the ability to own a house and run a car ‘matter more to me than the flag that’s flying above our country’ (122) and another, a community activist, concisely describes the reigning neoliberal orthodoxy of the DUP’s economic policies based around deregulated land development before concluding that she would ‘rather politicians focused on policies that eradicate poverty than deliver food parcels’ (90). The craven greed of Ulster Protestant’s ruling class is a recurring motif. I could almost hear the voice of the conservative Ulster farmer who issued a damning verdict using only polite words: ‘The DUP seem very, very influenced by material gain’ (225). McKay’s interviews thus manage to combine to make an important point: what looks like an absurd preoccupation with questions [End Page 204] of identity for those outside the region are in fact articulations of the hopelessness with respect to material questions for those who live inside. What I mean by that is that there are vast swathes of Ulster Protestantism that have been without meaningful political representation for a long time. There has been little peace dividend in the working class estates or the deep rural interior of Ulster. And it is a material political decision to continue to divert discourse towards seemingly ephemeral identity questions so as to deter any serious questioning about why so many people are so politically homeless that they don’t even bother to spoil their vote. When ‘bread and butter’s hard to come by every day’ then it is easy to understand how one could conclude ‘a flag is all that people really do have to cling to’ (113...

‘Progress will not occur if we continually adopt positions of principle’:1 Irish republican prisoners and strategic reorientation, c.1976–1998

Examining the writings of more than 150 IRA prisoners, this article explains why a majority of jailed republicans supported the movement’s strategic reorientation between the anti-criminalisation protests of the late 1970s and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. First, it argues, experiences of prison protests, culminating in the hunger strike of 1981, inclined prisoners to endorse electoral interventions to counter their isolation. Sinn Féin’s subsequent successes impelled prisoners to back electoralism more constructively, envisioning an all-Ireland ‘pan-nationalist’ front. By the end of the 1980s, many republican prisoners regarded tactical eclecticism as vital for their campaign’s advance. Second, the article contends, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, prisoners pragmatically approved new methods as open-ended experiments. Electoralism, pan-nationalism, and, in the 1990s, peace talks were supposed to aggregate and strengthen the struggle. Tactics were dispensable, and worthwhile only insofar as they enhanced the perceived prospects of victory. By the Good Friday Agreement, prisoners espousing a transitional, constitutional route to Irish unification regarded even the IRA’s ‘armed struggle’ as suspensible. Woven through prisoners’ voluminous acclaim for tactical adaptability, traditions of intra-movement discipline and unity cohered the bulk of the IRA’s prison population.

Rugby's Celtic fringe goes global – an economic analysis of the Pro14

PurposeThe introduction of professionalism in 1995 posed serious challenges for Rugby Union in Ireland, Scotland and Wales given their limited fan bases and broadcast markets. It led to the creation of a new league, the Pro14, with teams from all three countries. The paper asks whether the Pro14 has been a success and whether it might offer lessons for other sports. It thus seeks to extend the knowledge base on professional team sports and derive lessons for management of professional sports leagues in small countries.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyse Pro14 performance using a range of metrics, including attendances, competitive balance and team performances, in European competitions. The authors also analyse the limited financial data available for Pro14 teams.FindingsPro14 teams have competed successfully in European competition, offering support for claims that mergers of smaller country leagues could improve competitive balance in European soccer. The Pro14 has increased attendances through specific measures and increased broadcast income through geographic expansion. Many Pro14 teams have struggled financially. Several English and French rugby clubs have also experienced financial problems, suggesting that European rugby may need to introduce financial fair play rules (FFPs) similar to soccer.Practical implicationsThe paper has implications for the Pro14 and its member clubs, particularly with reference to competition design. It may also have lessons for European football where some have suggested that mergers of smaller country leagues could improve competitive balance in European competitions.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the academic discussion on professional team sports, particularly Rugby Union. The paper has implications for Pro14 clubs and league organisers, particularly with reference to competition design. It may also have lessons for European soccer where some have suggested that mergers of smaller country leagues could reduce the dominance of larger country leagues.

An Interethnic Paradox: Chicago's Irish and Everyone Else

An Interethnic Paradox: Chicago's Irish and Everyone Else

Injury Trends for School Rugby Union in Ireland: The Need for Position-specific Injury-prevention Programs.

Concern has been raised over the injury risk to school Rugby union (Rugby) players and the potential long-term health consequences. Despite the increase in studies for this cohort, the influence of playing position on injury incidence and presentation is unclear. To describe the incidence, nature and severity of match injuries for school Rugby in Ireland overall, and as a function of playing position. Prospective cohort study. Data were collected from 15 male (aged 16-19 years) school Senior Cup teams across 2 seasons. In total, 339 players participated in season 1, whereas 326 players participated in season 2. Injury data were recorded onto a bespoke online platform. Match exposure was also recorded. The incidence rate of match injuries (24-hour time loss) was 53.6 per 1000 hours. Across both seasons, 6810 days were lost from play due to injury. Forwards (65.4 per 1000 hours) sustained significantly more (P < 0.05) injuries than backs (40.5 per 1000 hours). The head, shoulder, knee, and ankle were the most common injured body regions; however, forwards sustained significantly more (P < 0.05) head and shoulder injuries than backs. The tackle was responsible for the majority of injuries in both groups. The highest proportion of injuries occurred during the third quarter. Clear differences in injury presentation and incidence were evident when comparing forwards versus backs. The high rate of head and shoulder injuries in the forwards suggest the need for more targeted injury-prevention strategies and further research on education and laws around the tackle event. The spike of injuries in the third quarter suggests that fatigue or inadequate half-time warm-up may be a contributing factor warranting further exploration. This study demonstrates clear differences in injury presentation according to playing position in school Rugby and highlights the need for a more tailored approach to the design and implementation of injury-prevention strategies. Level 3.

A Farewell to Northern Ireland? Constitutional Options for Irish Unity

AbstractA combination of unintended consequences of Brexit and demographic change in Northern Ireland has brought the issue of Irish unity forcefully onto the political agenda. The meaning and implications of ‘unity’, however, remain unclear. The comparative politics literature offers several models of territorial statehood that are of theoretical interest, but only two potentially enjoy substantial political recognition in Ireland. The first is a unitary state with power concentrated in the capital, the model anticipated by Irish nationalists before the partition of Ireland in 1921, and widely supported since then. The second is a unitary state with special provisions for Northern Ireland's autonomy similar to those it now enjoys within the UK, as envisaged by other nationalists and implicitly endorsed by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Making a decision on Irish unity requires detailed analysis of what this concept implies and recognition of the complex issues to which it gives rise.

Irish Unity: Lessons from Germany?

Irish Unity: Lessons from Germany?

Lessons from German Reunification for Irish Unity

Lessons from German Reunification for Irish Unity

Public Attitudes to Irish Unification: Evidence on Models and Process from a Deliberative Forum in Ireland

Public Attitudes to Irish Unification: Evidence on Models and Process from a Deliberative Forum in Ireland

After the Peace: Performing Placelessness in David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue

This paper examines how contemporary Northern Irish playwright David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue (2016) articulates the Northern Irish unionists’ antagonism in tandem with the displacement of Ulster in a world of changing spaces. While post-Troubles Northern Irish dramas have been easily grouped together with a shared sensibility in their attitude towards the processes of truth and reconciliation, Ireland’s drama regards the process of spatial homogenization as a crisis, a sense of placelessness, or the loss of the socio-culturally distinct Northern Irish identity. Cyprus Avenue traces the unionists’ sense of placelessness, fear, and anger for the identity dissolution, as globalization requires the psychological and emotional attachment to Northern Irish place to be erased. The play further shows the burdens of geo-ideologically liminal positioning of Ulster unionism and unionists’ psychogeography by highlighting bizarre and violent ways in which unionism is maintained and reproduced in the post-peace process Brexit era. The dramatic power of Ireland draws on the tension between the placelessness in a world of changing spaces and the quest for the assertion of the primacy of place. Ireland’s drama helps to acknowledge new predicaments and contestations of disintegrating Ulster unionism in shaping the milieu of post-peace process Northern Ireland. Rather than defining or constructing a unique identity, Cyprus Avenue allows us to examine contrasting dramatic focuses for contemporary Northern Irish geography as the play adheres to, yet challenges the Northern Irish identity problems. On a broader scope, this paper aims to demonstrate that Ireland’s drama can significantly contribute to understanding different dimensions of the Northern Irish milieu.

Northern Ireland independence revisited

AbstractThis article examines the idea of Northern Ireland independence in Unionist political thought. It focuses on three moments which compelled Ulster Unionists to re‐evaluate Northern Ireland's constitutional status as part of the United Kingdom—the Stormont parliament's cohabitation with the post‐war Labour government, Stormont's collapse in 1972, and the Anglo‐Irish Agreement of 1985. It argues that rather than being the expression of Ulster nationalism or a contractarian understanding of political obligation, Unionist arguments for independence were motivated by a classical republican concern: the arbitrary power Northern Ireland is subject to as part of the United Kingdom. This locates Unionist thought on independence within a problem of democratic self‐determination: the relationship between majority rule and the bounds of the political community. The article finds that each moment compelled particular Unionist thinkers to reconceive of Ulster Unionists as a political minority subject to arbitrary power in the UK constitution and to choose between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom as the sovereign political community. The article is unique as there exists little scholarship on the idea of Northern Ireland independence and instructive in providing a challenging case study to assess the attraction and determinacy of classical republicanism as a theory of self‐determination.

What Form would Referendums on Irish Unification take?

AbstractThe Belfast or Good Friday Agreement of 1998 makes provision for Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland through a unification referendum, if voters so wish. Yet, the provision is short on detail and has not been substantively explored. A Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland has recently sought to address this gap. In this article, the Working Group's chair and research assistant outline the project's methodology and key findings, covering overall referendum configurations and specific design features, as well as what steps might be taken in the coming years. The article also highlights two comparative lessons, relating to tensions between the values of informed consent and inclusive design, and between majoritarian and consensual politics. These tensions afflict many referendums, particularly on sovereignty questions. They cannot be resolved, but only tempered, through careful and inclusive design of referendum processes.

Epidemiology of Shoulder Injuries in Schoolboy Rugby Union in Ireland.

Background:The shoulder has been reported as a frequent location of injury in adult professional and amateur rugby, with match injury incidence rates ranging from 1.8 to 3 per 1000 player-hours (h). An increased understanding of the incidence and mechanism of shoulder injuries in school rugby players is vital to establish effective injury preventive strategies and advise on appropriate rehabilitation.Purpose:To describe the incidence, nature, and severity of shoulder injuries in schoolboy rugby in Ireland.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:Injury surveillance was carried out for Senior Cup teams across two seasons (N = 665 players aged 17-19 years) in Ireland from 2018 to 2020. Match and training injury data were recorded using an online system by trained nominated injury recorders. Match exposure was also recorded.Results:Shoulder match injury incidence was 12.2 per 1000 h (95% CI, 9.1-16.2), with a mean severity of 47 days’ time loss and an overall burden of 573 days per 1000 h. In total, 47 match and 5 training shoulder injuries were recorded. The most common injuries were shoulder dislocations/subluxations (34%), followed by acromioclavicular joint sprains (30%). Shoulder dislocations/subluxations represented the most burdensome injury (280 days per 1000 h). The tackle accounted for the majority (81%) of shoulder injuries. Forwards sustained a significantly higher incidence of shoulder injuries (8.3/1000 h) in comparison with backs (3.9/1000 h), with a rate ratio of 2.13 (95% CI, 1.15-3.94; P = .015).Conclusion:We found a notably higher injury incidence rate in schoolboy rugby as compared with the adult amateur and professional game. Shoulder injuries were responsible for more days lost than any other injury, and shoulder dislocations were the most severe. This is of particular concern so early in a player’s career and warrants further investigation into potential risk factors and mechanisms associated with shoulder injuries in school-age players.