Opinion

Letter: Once mighty empire now can’t afford to build a pitch

Unionists have to face the fact that as Britain begins to divest itself of unviable products, our turn will come

A map of the British Empire in 1897 after Queen Victoria was on the throne for 60 years
A map of the British Empire in 1897 after Queen Victoria was on the throne for 60 years
By Letters to the Editor

The once-mighty British empire, upon which the sun never set, can’t afford a football field. As an Irishman, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. All that is left of the empire are the stately homes built on the backs of the slaves of India and Africa.

Ireland is going to have to go to UEFA and say that Northern Ireland can’t have a game because Britain hadn’t the money to build a pitch. I don’t know if there is any irony in all this, but somehow I imagine that the Germans and French will be reflecting on the stupidity of Brexit.

For us in Northern Ireland, this humiliation of our colonial masters should send shivers down our spines.

Britain is two things – arrogant and broke. Arrogant because it is too proud to admit that it made a boob by leaving Europe, and broke because Britain never really had any money. All its wealth came from pillaging. Poor Starmer has finally gotten a look at the coffers and the coffers are empty.

The problem for us is that as Starmer begins to bring the budget into some sort of balance, who is going to get hit? Well, so far, the score is 1-0 to Northern Ireland.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn leaving after meeting First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Caste
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Secretary of State Hilary Benn leave after meeting First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Caste (Niall Carson/PA)

If you added in the condition of our roads, health service and schools, we are really well ahead. Over the next few years our world is about to change radically.

In truth, you can’t blame Britain, or the people of Britain: they have a duty to look after their own first. But where will that leave us?

Unionists have to face the fact that as Britain begins to divest itself of unviable products, our turn will come. We should prepare for this.

Since all of Ireland is now a ‘de facto’ part of the EU, we should prepare for the day when Britain lets us go. Why not approach Europe now and ask that Ireland, north and south, use the Euro, that Northern Ireland be a full member of the trading agreements, and that all EU food rules, employment rights, grants, education policies etc apply to us.

We could get some sort of agreement, to appease die-hard unionists, that Northern Ireland be left part of the UK. We need to get ourselves ready, psychologically and financially, for Irish unity when the time comes.

Turlough Quinn

Portglenone, Co Antrim

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