A united Ireland in our lifetime?

Fine Gael’s announcement that it will form a “Northern Ireland branch” by autumn of this year has certainly raised a few eyebrows, particularly given Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s comment to the party’s Ard Fheis last month that he believes Irish unification can happen in his lifetime.

Given its more overtly republican rivals’ criticisms of its somewhat standoffish approach towards the constitutional question over the past century, one could be forgiven for suspecting this shift owes more to the rise of Sinn Féin in opinion polls on both sides of the border than to an ideological commitment to unification. Yet the party’s intention launch a formal, constituency-level status branch has not come out of nowhere. Since 2019, for instance, the party has had a presence in NI in the form of Young Fine Gael at Queen’s University, Belfast; in the same year the party’s Northern Ireland Engagement group was formed to increase its presence here. Both events pre-date the ‘Sinn Féin surge’ seen at the Irish general election last February, coinciding with a period of disappointing local and European election results for the party.

Whatever way the party’s announcement is perceived by republicans or unionists for that matter, for a certain segment of Northern Ireland’s growing middle ground, particularly in a post-Brexit landscape a broadening of the unity conversation and with that enhanced exploration of options over everything from identity, prosperity to wellbeing, may be welcomed.

Unification shouldn’t be framed as a referendum on Sinn Féin

As well as offering Northern Ireland a credible centre-right party in favour of unity, many will share Varadkar’s sentiment that a Sinn Féin-dominated discussion on unity could prove unhelpful, largely because it wouldn’t be representative of the varied political hues that make up Irish republicanism. Furthermore, as somebody who wants to see a united Ireland, I do somewhat fear that a Sinn Féin-dominated campaign would put off undecided voters given the party’s controversial past. Saying that, Fine Gael and other parties don’t exactly help things when they continually depict Sinn Féin in the same light as the DUP do.

To party or not to party?

Despite the party’s assertion to the contrary, it’s hard not to see this Fine Gael Belfast branch serving as more than a ‘discussion club’ of sorts. Yes, it’s great to see another party from the Republic take an active interest in politics ‘up North’, but surely not standing in elections is a missed opportunity to nail their colours to the mast, especially given the ‘will they, won’t they merger/pact’ between the SDLP and Fianna Fáil seems to have come to nothing. As I previously remarked on Northern Slant concerning the need for Irish Labour to make inroads this side of the border, giving voters more options doesn’t exactly hurt. The practice of politics, after all, is about giving people a voice and a platform to enact change.

Last chance to make headway?

Time will tell whether this new approach proves fruitful, both for Fine Gael and for the wider discussions surrounding Irish unity. The fact that the party’s youth wing in Queen’s continues to operate at Queen’s suggests that there may be sticking power for Fine Gael. On the other hand, loss of momentum at a time when Sinn Féin look likely to take office at Stormont and the Dáil for the first time could put to bed any hopes of making headway in the North altogether. Either way, one thing can’t be denied: Irish unity is now very much on the minds of all parties, no matter what side of the border or spectrum they fall on.

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