Taoiseach criticises assertion Irish unity is ‘inevitable’ as he promises new initiative
Taoiseach Micheál Martin promised to deliver a new initiative on Irish unity in a speech on Wednesday night. That initiative should scope out what is required for possible different “constitutional futures”, including unity, Martin said. He was speaking at the launch of Irish or British or Both: The Long Road to Good Friday and the Future beyond it by former Irish diplomat Noel Dorr. The announcement comes shortly before Fine Gael is due to unveil its “blueprint for a unified island”, promised during the summer by Simon Harris, at its ardfheis next week. In his speech, Martin was critical of assertions of the inevitability of unity, which he said has marked recent commentary and is “implicitly sidelining persuasion or change as prerequisites for unification”.“In this there is a sense of the old historical mistake being repeated, where nationalists gather together to agree how right we are and how everything will…