Abstract
As with any book that covers current events in Northern Ireland, recent political convulsions over the Northern Ireland Protocol and the loss of two DUP leaders at the time of writing almost supersede Allen's intervention. This is a polemical text and the main thrust of the argument is clear. It is in a Marxist tradition and takes lessons from James Connolly's vision of a movement for national liberation that does not sideline social questions of poverty, inequality and exploitation. It maintains a materialist focus on questions of wealth and poverty across the Island of Ireland and its relation to the global financial system with occasional insights from Lenin's treatment of imperialism and Gramsci's observations on ideology. Allen proposes that for any attempted reunification of Ireland one must not ignore matters of pre-existing material exploitation in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. He writes clearly for a non-specialist audience and may not dwell long enough on theoretical bases for some specialists. This approach is fitting for a volume that takes its lead from Connolly. Connolly was a quintessential example of Gramsci’s (1992) “organic intellectual”, delivering contributions to Irish Marxism in a direct and accessible style, organising union activists across Ireland, Britain and America where he engaged in public debates with Daniel Dennett (Greaves, 1961), and finally his collaboration with armed Irish Republicanism in the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin that resulted in his execution.
Allen states that the Free State and the six counties of Northern Ireland that arose post-Independence is proof of Connolly's premonition that a national revolution without basis in class questions or is working class-led will lead to a “carnival of reaction”. The Free State and Northern Ireland were both deeply social conservative and reactionary. The Catholic Church held deep institutional influence in the Free State over service provision in education and politics resulting in a diminished labour movement as well as the shocking, century-long sexual and physical abuse of children and young women in industrial schools and Mother and Baby Homes.
Allen is very determined to correct lazy assumptions about the origins of the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland as one of simple differences of religion between Irish people. He argues that the inception of Northern Ireland was to undermine the future independent 26-County State and allow Britain to maintain a toehold on the Island. He points to the incorporation of the two Catholic-majority counties of Tyrone and Fermanagh to ensure the viability of the new entity as proving how Britain was not a benign broker between communities. Allen, of course, points to the deeply sectarian nature of the institutions in Northern Ireland that ensured the avoidance of nationalist majorities through gerrymandering and revoking the right of constituents who did not own property to vote that, along with the systemic discrimination against Catholics in housing as well as jobs, ensured the loss of the franchise as well. Westminster governments tolerated this institutional and conscious sectarianism for the majority of the twentieth century.
The lay observer of Northern Irish politics may be aware of all this but this is often not common knowledge on mainland Britain and indicates its value as a book for providing vital background. It is also rare to see criticism of the Good Friday Agreement and power sharing as potentially ossifying the divide the Northern Irish voter base into two sectarian blocs of Nationalists and Unionists. He contrasts this with material questions of how Northern Ireland is one of the most deprived areas within the UK and how reduced importance in both manufacturing and strategic importance suggests the weakening of any enthusiasm in Britain for retaining it beyond a heritage of peace-making prestige. The Northern Irish labour force is still a good source of low-wage insecure labour for multinational companies and both Sinn Féin and DUP have moved to a kind nepotistic approach to encouraging Foreign Direct Investment through informal and non-transparent negotiations. He also points out the changing demographics of the electorate away from a mere Catholic/Nationalist and Unionist/Protestant divide to one that is becoming more ethnically diverse or identify with neither position.
He also states that material issues in the Republic Of Ireland also may put the brakes on enthusiasm for possible reunification in Northern Ireland with residents asked to swap the NHS for Ireland's two-tier health system of the HSE. There is also the deeply punitive direct provision system in the Republic that keeps asylum seekers in states of indignity and squalor. Such experiences of asylum detention are a common feature across an EU that marks out the exclusionary character of its freedom of movement policies for its citizens and shows that Britain is not alone in unjust border policies.
Allen cites few sociologists prominently outside of applied research to help inform arguments. His treatment of the Orange tradition as a sectarian phenomenon may unsettle those who favour a parity of esteem between nationalist and unionist traditions. Sometime Allen does not focus enough on the challenges for integrating a Unionist community in a future polity of United Ireland. His volume would be best read in conjunction with other recent publications such as McKay's series of interviews with Northern Protestants (McKay, 2021) who, while not a sociologist, provides a clear example of the anomie (Durkheim, 2002) that exists for this community post-Brexit. Another good volume is a new series of essays also looking at the post Good Friday Agreement generation from Nationalist, Unionist traditions and those who fit in neither (Coulter et al., 2021).
Overall, Allen offers plenty of disquieting questions for the emerging enthusiasm for reunification. He warns against a neoliberal-led initiative with no thought to the material inequalities that still exist in Northern Ireland and the Republic. Hope is found in 21st century cross-border social movements in Ireland, such as those for gay marriage and reproductive rights. He also points out how environmental movements and the COVID outbreak may increase cross-border consciousness in Irish and Northern Irish youth and make the partition seem increasingly anachronistic. The author could have spent more time on how the wider political left outside of Sinn Fein can shape the direction of the emerging discourse on reunification. It still valuable reading for any observer, particularly of a socialist and/or Republican leaning, that negates simple dichotomies and unquestioning utopianism.
