Mary Kenny
Wallace the mule with his owner Lesley Radcliffe The economic boffins are now saying that a united Ireland is an entirely realistic proposition in the wake of Brexit. Indeed, that it could be the most sensible solution to the problem of the United Kingdom planning to leave the European Union while the island of Ireland, as a whole, wishes to remain within the EU (since the majority in Northern Ireland are EU voted to pro-EU).
The economist Dr John Bradley gave an influential paper on ‘Towards and All Ireland Economy’ at Queen’s University, Belfast, and the Joint Oireachtas Committee has adopted unanimously Mark Daly’s report along similar lines. Careful planning will be required, obviously, before the blueprint for economic, and thus political unification follows.
But the days when Northern Ireland was seen as economically advanced while the Republic of Ireland was economically backward are over. There is a great deal of convergence in the two economies.
A united Ireland is a long-held aspiration for Irish patriots – so many of whom have been Protestants, too – and it would also mean that the road to Brexit would be smoother for Great Britain itself. Especially since the main problem halting progress at the moment is the Border.
So, who would embrace this solution and who would be dismayed by it? We can assume that many Unionists in the North would be distressed and feel betrayed. And the ruling elite in Dublin would find it no easy task to integrate a million people – famous for their stubborn adherence to their tribe – into the fabric of Irish political life. A few Geoffrey Donaldsons and Arlene Fosters in Leinster House would cause certain discombobulations.
But for Irish Christians, a United Ireland might well provide a robust revival of values. I’m not saying that the ancient prejudices would disappear overnight, but a new majority would form in favour of pro-life and pro-family policies.
Infusion
It’s already happening in the North – where Catholics and Protestants, Unionists and Nationalists are marching together to uphold the pro-life cause. If that were replicated across the island, it would infuse a new energy into values that Christians hold in common.
Ulster Protestants often adhere to an even more traditional view of marriage than Irish Catholics. They may accept divorce in exceptional circumstances, but they hold to the Biblical view that matrimony is between a man and a woman. (That, perhaps, is why Sinn Fein has embraced the Gay Pride flag so ostentatiously – to irk the DUP.)
More than a ‘mere mule’
Like many young teenage girls, I had a phase of being mad about horses (and would haunt the horsey-smelling stables of the annual summer Dublin Horse Show, gazing devotedly at every nag therein).
A common storyline of books about horses for young girls was the yarn about a neglected horse being rescued from some abandoned location by a spirited teenager, groomed, fed, plied with love and emerging as a show champion. It’s the equine Cinderella story, with a dollop of proxy maternal instinct in emergent female adolescents.
But it’s a nice story, and a redemptive story too: and now it has happened, in real life, to an even more Cinderella-like gee-gee: a mule. Wallace the mule was found wandering alone in Ireland, rescued by the Donkey Sanctuary (mules are donkey on their sire’s side, horse on their dam’s side) and fostered by a young woman called Lesley Radcliffe.
Wallace turned out to be something of an ace performer, and under the care of his trainer, another young woman called Christie McLean [pictured with Wallace above], has just beaten eight horse rivals to win a first in the British Dressage Quest Club contest in Gloucestershire, which is big in equine dressage.
Disallowed
Initially, Wallace was disallowed entry because of being a mere mule, but when Ms McLean challenged this ruling as equine discrimination, the decision was reversed, for reasons of “inclusion and diversity”. And it’s only fair. Wallace did turn out to be the best in his section.
Mules have served humankind over thousands of years as hardy pack animals – tougher than horses, less obstinate than donkeys, sure-footed and intelligent. They have great endurance. The Amish people still use them in pulling the plough.
They have had less status than horses, but as it says in the Gospel: “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
Mary had the royal touch
President Mary Robinson “behaved for all the world like a queen” according to British state papers from 1990. This is a bit patronising, but there’s a grain of truth in the observation. Many voters liked Mary Robinson’s ladylike behaviour. They were pleased that she was “Catholic gentry”. They appreciated the dignity with which she conducted herself in public office – every inch a Mount Anville girl. And what’s wrong with that?