Kevin Meagher

Dec 3, 2024 | irishborderpoll.com | Kevin Meagher

Kevin Meagher reflects on that election and is already thinking about the next one!1. First and foremost, this was not a ‘change’ election. Older Irish voters are a contented lot. And content, certainly, to let their children and grandchildren swing in an overheated housing market that is forcing many to flee the country in despair. So, apple carts were unturned. Traces left unkicked. And with a miserly turnout of just 59.7%, the Irish were not desperate enough for change, so didn’t vote for it. 2.

Nov 29, 2024 | labour-uncut.co.uk | Kevin Meagher

by Kevin MeagherTellingly, the House of Commons website carries a warning about the research briefing on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, due to receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons today. ‘This briefing discusses issues around suicide which some readers may find distressing,’ it intones in bold writing. It’s grim subject matter to be sure, but there is still a need for candour. We are talking about ending human life, courtesy of the state’s healthcare professionals.

Sep 20, 2024 | irishpost.com | Kevin Meagher

I’M never really a fan of public statues. They always seem grandiose and invariably end up as a toilet for disrespectful pigeons and seagulls. Then there’s the problem of the nature of the person they depict, what they did and how that is now perceived through contemporary eyes. For instance, the continued existence of a statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the House of Parliament (controversial even when it was first erected in 1899) is an insult to every Irish person entering the building.

Sep 19, 2024 | irishpost.com | Kevin Meagher

SO, Irish-British relations are restored to some sort of balance after the turbulence caused by Brexit then Boris. That was the impression Taoiseach Simon Harris and Prime Minister Keir Starmer were at pains to give recently in a carefully choreographed encounter, swapping football jerseys at their bilateral meeting ahead of the Ireland-England football game. They were the very definition of amity and accord. And there is a fair bit to smooth over.

Aug 18, 2024 | irishborderpoll.com | Kevin Meagher

Should Hilary Benn set out clear criteria for the circumstances in which to call a border poll? I’ve always been among those suggesting that the secretary of state should. It would hold British feet to the fire over actually calling a poll and give United Irelanders something concrete to focus their energies on. And at the very least, it allows unionists to see what’s coming down the line so we avoid their inevitable complaints about either the validity of the process or the result.