Oh no, not that again

‘Steven’ says : ‘The flaw in Mr. Hitchens's analysis of the Irish question is that he consistently speaks of "Northern Ireland" as if it were a viable political entity worthy of preservation. In reality, it is a wholly artificial statelet created on the basis of a sectarian head-count designed to manufacture a Protestant majority and ensure the latter's political supremacy. As Mr. Hitchens grudgingly acknowledged, it doesn't even correspond to the historical province of Ulster. Is that not a crucial fact?’

 

Oh dear. I think I have dealt with this wholly erroneous claim more than twice before, but let’s try again in the hope that it will stick this time. If he would make the small mental effort to understand what I mean by ‘[enlightened] direct rule’, and what I mean by my repeated statements that I would never have set up the Stormont Parliament, regard it as a mistake and would have wanted to dispense with it, then he will see that ‘Northern Ireland’, under my (now, alas, wholly fanciful and anachronistic) plan would not have made any pretence to being a viable political entity. It would have been a wholly absorbed part of Great Britain, which until recently was a viable entity (alas it is so no more).

 

Of course, this idea pre-dates the current accelerating break-up of Great Britain, created largely by the EU’s desire to Balkanise and demoralise its vassals and the Blairite error of combating Scottish and Welsh Nationalism by feeding it. It also assumes the reassertion of British national integrity by leaving the EU.

 

As I said clearly, the only local government in such a Northern Ireland would have been at County (and city and borough) level. In all respects, it would have been governed from Westminster just as much as Derbyshire or Lancashire or Devon are.

 

Some people even seem to have utterly misunderstood my liking for enlightened direct rule of Northern Ireland as a proposal for re-annexing the 26-counties of the Irish Republic. I have no such proposals, though of course I would be delighted if at any time the Republic chose of its own will to return to the British Crown, instead of subjecting itself to the EU empire, which has no sympathy with Ireland’s character and history.  No, my idea was for Northern Ireland only, or the ‘Six Counties’ or whatever he wants to call it.

 

My statement that Ulster has nine counties was not an ‘acknowledgement’. I need nobody to tell me what I already know. Nor was it ‘grudging’.

 

It is a simple fact which everyone should know. Likewise, any wise person should know that the term ‘Ulster’ is often used in normal discourse to refer to Northern Ireland, and that to fuss too much about it denotes pedantry. Sometimes, it is true, persons use this in ignorance of the difficulty, and it is permissible gently to correct them. But I am obviously not such a person, and it is just silly to write as ‘Steven’ does. If he wants to demonstrate that he knows more than I do about this (which he may well do, as it is a huge and difficult subject) I am sure he can find a better way of doing so.

 

P.S. Anyone who thinks I am a supporter of the free market plainly has no idea of what I think or say. Do please try to pay attention, at the back.