ABSTRACT
There is a battle currently going on for the soul of what remains of Irish unionism. The unionist community in Northern Ireland is split down the middle on the merits of the Belfast Agreement. The surprising feature of this debate is the absence of a historical dimension. The big political and economic facts of life favour the Ulster unionists: a very strong majority in Northern Ireland favours a Union which brings substantial material benefit. During his St Patrick’s Day trip to the United States in 1994 Albert Reynolds openly admitted that Northern Ireland required the British subvention at the current level for many years to come. Presumably it is partly in consequence of this insight that the Irish Premier also observed that he did not expect to see a united Ireland in his lifetime. Yet until recently at least, unionism in Northern Ireland was clearly on the defensive and the tide of history appeared to favour the cause of Irish unity. In Harold McCusker’s striking (if self-pitying) phrase, after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, Ulster unionism has been reduced in the eyes of its adherents to the status of an activity which can go on in private between two consenting adults. It is worth noting the changing language of successive Tory Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland: Tom King openly averred that he was a unionist; Sir Patrick Mayhew felt it safer to be a ‘Northern Irelandist’.
