Call For the Union of an Independent Scotland and Ireland

I believe a case could be made for a form of union between the republic, an independent Northern Ireland and an independent Scotland, a union which could be of benefit to the approximately 12 million people concerned. - Retired Colonel Dorcha Lee

A thought provoking and perhaps seminal article on the future of the Irish and Scottish nations is the subject of an opinion piece published on the website “Herald Scotland”.  Under the title “Agenda – Should an Independent Scotland and Ireland Consider a Union”, the author speculates on the impact of geo-political forces unleashed by Brexit and the continuing moves toward Scottish Independence.

The author is retired Colonel Dorcha Lee, a graduate of the Irish Military College and former Irish Defense Forces Provost Marshall and Director of Military Police. Colonel Lee has held various posts representing Ireland in the European Union and is billed by the websites editors as an occasional contributor on Irish and Scottish defence issues.

Citing the address by Irish President Michael Higgins during his June 2016 visit to Scotland when Higgins praised the “warmth and elegance” of the close kinship between the Gaelic nations and pointed to “future cooperation”, Colonel Lee took it a few steps further. “…if Scotland were to achieve independence, it would open up a whole range of options on future cooperation between our countries. Nor should it stop there. Post Brexit, I believe a case could be made for a form of union between the republic, an independent Northern Ireland and an independent Scotland, a union which could be of benefit to the approximately 12 million people concerned. If such a union were to come about, the Isle of Man, a crown dependency denied the right to vote in the recent EU referendum, might also be interested in an association.”

Colonel Lee then delivers a step by step approach: “The union I am suggesting would initially be cultural. It would preserve and protect the heritage of our Q-Celtic languages, Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx, without stuffing them down the throats of our English-speaking peoples. It would promote tourism as one geographic area. It would be a union that slowly evolves in consensus, not just of its respective governments, but of its peoples. Progress towards this union should never threaten the separate national interests of our respective states.”

The Original Article is linked below:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14749081.Agenda__Should_an_indepen...