From Northern Ireland politics, observations on the twentieth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Brexit negotiations and so much more – Northern Slant’s been home to quite a few opinions in 2018. Our aim is to unearth a new, more diverse NI – our platform welcomes perspectives from bloggers of different backgrounds and political persuasions. Here’s a summary of some perspectives and topics we’ve shared this year. Want to get involved in 2019? Visit our contact us page. You can also sign up to our newsletter here.

 

Northern Irish politics

The year started with the hope that power-sharing would return to Stormont – the DUP and Sinn Féin invited the British and Irish prime ministers to front-row seats only for them to watch the talks process implode. Our Editor Connor Daly wrote that the deal that wasn’t summed up why the sorry status quo in NI politics has to go. To have hope in the next generation of politicians, he later wrote, parties must encourage young people to think for themselves.

The realities of having not having a functioning Executive were explored by various authors – Stephen Morrison’s personal experience of the youth justice system and the “lonely battle” of voluntary organisations was a popular read.

With no return of an Executive in sight, Roger Greer argued it’s time to devolve more power to councils. As the RHI inquiry laid bare the culture of decision-making at Stormont, James McMordie considered new ways for appointing special advisors (SpAds) in future.

Despite the gloom of the political situation, in an uplifting read – and one of our most read contributions of the year – a football fan from West Belfast compared his very different experiences of attending a Northern Ireland game in 1987 and 2018.

 

The Good Friday Agreement at 20

In January we spoke to Quintin Oliver, the man who headed up the ‘YES’ campaign to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Almost twelve months had elapsed since the Executive collapsed – he told us not to despair: the peace process has plateaued, not collapsed. In a series of ‘GFA at 20’ interviews, Alina Utrata spoke to a number of people from across NI about their ideas on identity and stereotypes.

Gareth Brown reflected on Stormont’s power-sharing institutions – he wrote: The institutions have failed us. They must be reformed. In another article he looked to the next time power-sharing is to be set up – should all parties enter the Executive again or should we have an official opposition? He argued that whilst full party government is the best thing for Northern Ireland in the short term it could be at the expense of our politics more widely.

Our Deputy Editor Jamie Pow wrote that for all its imperfections the GFA was endorsed by a majority of the people across Ireland; its sustained legitimacy depends not on the citation of a referendum result, but on politicians successfully operating the political system to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

Other popular reflections on the GFA and NI politics today include:

Twenty years in ten days – by Vicky Cosstick

Senator George Mitchell: “The real heroes are the people of Northern Ireland – by Jamie Pow

Remembering imagining the unimagined sky – by Fionnbharr Rodgers

Respectful and constructive criticism – by Vicky Cosstick

Content with a ‘good enough’ peace – by Angela Graham

 

Citizens’ Assembly

The first Citizens’ Assembly for Northern Ireland met in Belfast in October. Jamie Pow, who sits on the Advisory Group of the initiative, offered some of his observations in the article: This is what democracy looks like. Frances Nielson followed up by summarising its main outcomes, showcasing fresh thinking on the future of social care.

The pilot is intended to offer a template for involving citizens in decision-making. Beyond helping to overcome ‘gridlock’ issues at Stormont, Ben McAteer thinks this kind of model could work well for dealing with environmental issues.

 

Nationalism and republicanism

On the appointment of Mary Lou McDonald as Sinn Féin president, replacing Gerry Adams, Kevin Meagher wrote: Welcome to Sinn Féin 2.0. On speculation relating to a prospective SDLP-Fianna Fáil merger, Gareth Brown argued why NI needs the SDLP.

 

Unionism

In February, Connor Daly sat in on a discussion on the future of Northern Irish unionism, with a London Irish audience.

Stuart Hughes provided a personal perspective on the state of unionism today, writing: “It is nonsensical to think that all of those who voted for the DUP are pro-life and anti-equal marriage, they are not…. the reality is, they are more concerned about keeping Sinn Féin out than anything else. This allows many within Unionism to be out of step with wider society on social issues. In doing this they are condemning themselves to losing an entire generation of support.”

In June, Joel Cassells wrote that DUP leader Arlene Foster’s attendance at a GAA match was the latest in a series of attempts by the unionist leader to lead a charge of reconciliation and celebrating different cultures.

 

Brexit

In March, one year after the Prime Minister triggered Article 50, unionist councillor and supporter of Brexit Alex Redpath wrote why he remains optimistic ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU. The sort of compromise deal the Prime Minister has agreed was coming down the line from Day One, wrote Kevin Meagher. On the DUP’s refusal to back Theresa May, despite the backing of business and farming communities for the deal, Kevin wrote that the DUP is stuck in a mess of its own making. As speculation over a no-deal Brexit continued to rise, Dean Farquhar wrote that such a scenario should be inconceivable.

 

Irish unity

In August, our Associate Editor Heather Wilson tweeted: “As time goes on and the reunification debate ramps up, it amazes me that Unionists aren’t even trying to sell the union. The ‘what we have, we hold’ mentality is no longer working- inaction will deliver unity every bit as quick as a convincing argument from Nationalism will.” She elaborated on this in her article: Reunification debate: Let’s hear from unionism. In response, Dean Farquhar wrote from a unionist perspective here.

 

Legacy of the conflict

Vicky Cosstick provided insights to post-conflict NI. In the article “Peace, what Peace?” she wrote about the  failure of political and civic leadership regarding mental health, and the cost of failing to recognise it and drug and alcohol abuse as part of the legacy of the decades of conflict.

In Vicky’s interview with Channel 4 presenter Jon Snow on his experiences of covering the Troubles, he said “I don’t think many of us are proud of our role during that time, and it wasn’t ultimately constructive.”

 

LucidTalk polls

We published analysis on a number of LucidTalk polls conducted throughout the year:

DUP and Sinn Féin don’t want to compromise – by Jamie Pow, 8 March

Is this the end of the road for devolution? – by James McMordie, 9 March

Local media – old and new – face issues of trust and performance – by Steve McGookin, 12 March

DUP continue to sow seeds of their own downfall – by James McMordie, 15 December

 

International politics

Among articles from Julia Flanagan is an analysis of the future of the UK’s relationships beyond Europe and Brexit – more specifically, here, with Saudi Arabia. Julia also contributed her thoughts on the US following the passing of Senator and former presidential nominee John McCain in: America mourns McCain and an era of consensus politics.

On the US mid-terms, our Associate Editor Steve McGookin wrote: Democrats capture the House of Representatives but the US remains as divided as ever. Other highlights from Steve on the Trump presidency include Truth and consequences (3 September) and Sorry seems to be the hardest word (11 June).

 

#ExploreUSA18

Our Editor Connor Daly undertook a coast-to-coast tour of the US during the summer – from Washington, D.C. to St Louis in Missouri, to San Diego and San Francisco – looking through current affairs through a NI lens. You can catch up on his contributions here.

 

Business

In Business, after Norwegian Air pulled the plug on its transatlantic route in September, Rowan Tunnicliffe asked whether it’s time to accept that the future of transatlantic flight from Ireland lies in Dublin. In another popular read, Daniel Marshall asked: what is the future of renewable energy in NI?

Aíne Maguire provided a personal insight into a NI graduate’s battle against the job market, writing “the struggle to find a post-graduate job in Northern Ireland is driving young, talented people elsewhere.” After the BBC published an interview with NI students in Dublin who said they don’t want to move back, Alina Utrata – from the US and studying in NI – described the so-called ‘brain drain’ as “unnecessarily alarmist”. Kids, she wrote, “move away, when they have dreams, and aspirations, and believe in themselves…. The angst about young people moving away reveals, I think, much more about the parents of Northern Ireland than it does about the children.”

On personal finance, Dale Kirkpatrick sought to debunk myths around investing – that it’s too scary, too complicated or only for rich people.

Niall Crozier shared reviews of the popular books Grit and The Power of Habit.

 

Interviews, imagery, reviews, sport and more

In our Northern Roots series we continued to speak to people originally from Northern Ireland but who are currently living elsewhere – or vice versa.

Our Northern Lens series included The Lost Moment exhibition: the Provocation of 1968 and an interview with the Belfast-born artist Martin Seeds, both by Allan Leonard. You can catch up with plenty of book and other reviews as part of our Northern Review series here.

In sport, Caolán Conroy was on hand for analysis on GAA, soccer, golf and more – including an interview with Peter Jackson, Ireland Hockey Senior Men’s Manager.

During the summer Steve McGookin treated us to a six-part Movies and Shakers series looking at some of the more entertaining ways politics has been brought to the big and small screen. The first instalment offered some essential viewing around the American political system. Earlier in the year Steve wrote a review of the movie The Post – a timeless story.

We also shared interviews with members of our team throughout 2018 – about them, their interests and hopes for Northern Ireland’s future. You can find our Two Minutes with the Team series here.

 

Podcasts

2018 in review – 27 December

And predictions for 2019 – 4 January

Interview with US Consul General Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau – 18 September

Interview with Senator George Mitchell – 25 August

 

Also published on Medium.