How coronavirus is spurring the cause of a united Ireland Una Mullally
over 5 years in The guardian
A pandemic that knows no borders has arrived at the same time as political support for unity is growing
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The outset of the coronavirus pandemic in Northern Ireland was beset with political disputes. First Minister Arlene Foster, of the DUP, and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, of Sinn Féin, held opposing views about the closure of schools, universities and childcare facilities. In the Republic, schools were closed by 13 March, but the UK planned to close schools a week later, on 20 March. As often happens, the situation in the North evoked the Irish saying idir dhá stól, a shorthand for falling between two stools, neither here nor there.
While the Irish government offered grave clarity, the North remained caught up in the UK government’s widely criticised tactics. These divergent responses to coronavirus established an accidental case study of two separate but overlapping approaches to the pandemic taking place on the same island – something researchers will no doubt pore over in the future. Continue reading...
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