Want to find out more about the Northern Slant team? Every week we put 10 questions to our community of contributors – about them, their interests and hopes for Northern Ireland’s future. Today we speak to Rowan Tunnicliffe. You can follow him on Twitter @RowanTNI.

 

1. Tell us about yourself, and why you got involved with Northern Slant.

I was born and raised in England, and moved to Belfast to do a PhD at Queen’s, via Scotland where I did my Masters. I only managed a year of the PhD before I realised academia wasn’t for me, but in that time I’d found my home. I moved around a lot for my career before that, living in 5 different cities in 5 years when I arrived here, but I decided that Belfast was where I wanted to stay.

I’d been a member of the Green Party in Scotland, and when I moved here I was doing my PhD alongside Georgina Milne, who is now the Green Councillor on Belfast City Council. She persuaded me to get involved here too, and that led to me working for a time as a researcher for the party in the NI Assembly.

I’ve always had quite strong opinions, and generally give them an airing on Twitter. Heather Wilson [Northern Slant editorial team], who I’d met working in the Assembly, saw one of them and asked me to write a piece for Northern Slant. I generally assume that I’m just shouting into the void by posting on Twitter, but apparently people are more interested in my opinions than I thought. Now that I’m not working for a political party I have a lot more freedom to express my opinions too!


2. Describe Northern Ireland in 5 words.

Varied, confusing at times, home.

 

3. What makes you proud to be here?

I think that there are a lot of changes happening at the minute in Northern Ireland, not all of hem good (i.e. Brexit). But people take it in their stride with a great, sometimes dark, sense of humour. People here support each other and there’s a great community spirit in the face of adversity.

 

4. Are you hopeful for the future?

Yes and no. I think Northern Ireland has so much untapped potential, and could be so much more than it is. The people are some of the friendliest, most industrious and most resilient I’ve come across. Unfortunately, while we have the same old faces having the same old arguments, we will never achieve that potential. The lack of an Executive is causing all sorts of problems down the road that most people don’t even realise yet. Things like the North-South Interconnector not being approved have real potential to lead to the lights going out in a few years. At the same time, Northern Ireland has the potential and expertise to be a world leader in renewable energy.

5. If you could change one thing about Northern Ireland, what would it be?

Stronger transparency laws would be nice and would go some way to allowing us to shine a light into some of the darker corners of Northern Irish politics. Only with openness and transparency will we get the government we deserve.

 

5. Favourite NI celebrity?

I personally am not a fan of his show, but I have so much respect for Stephen Nolan. What he does is a lot more difficult than it seems, and his work ethic is second to none.

 

6. Politician you most admire, from outside Northern Ireland?

Probably Hillary Clinton. She’s achieved so much, and had to do a lot more to achieve that than a man would have. I don’t agree with her on some issues, but I think a lot of the criticism she gets from ‘progressives’ is unfounded. At the very least you can tell she understands all the issues, even if you don’t agree with her on them. Her strength and resilience in the face of constant attacks from both sides is inspirational. She’s the best President America never had.

 

8. Favourite place to bring a visitor?

The Cregagh Glen in Belfast is a great hidden gem in the city. It’s a lovely walk and has some beautiful waterfalls and a great view out over the city on one side, with a view all the way down to the Mournes on the other.

9. Potato bread or soda bread?

Soda bread. I was a vegan since before I moved to NI until earlier this year. Toasted wheaten bread covered in butter is a treat I was missing out on until a few months ago.

 

10. Snow Patrol or Van Morrison?

Van Morrison. All the best music was made before the ‘90s.

Also published on Medium.