The GoodFriday, The St Andrew's Agreement and theU.K.Constitution

The Good Friday, The Saint Andrew’s Agreement and the U.K. Constitution

After the Saint Andrew’s Agreement the Partitionist Bertie Ahern is on record as claiming in the partitionist Dail Eireann that in N. Ireland the constitution is now off the table. In doing so he was conceding that the 1801 Act of Union is valid in Ireland. This was sweet music to the ears of Ian Paisley and an agreement between Left Wing Republicanism and Right Wing Union Jack Unionism followed. Late Sinn Fein completed the validation of the 1801 Act of Union by taking seats at Stormont. So partition and sectarianism in Ireland is copper fastened as never before.

But the people of the six counties know that the constitutional issue is far from settled and is still at the centre of the table. As noted in a previous article in the Derry Journal in the north there are two heads of state involved, two outside governments involved, two national flags being flown, two national anthems being sung and two conflicting passports being travelled on giving two conflicting national identities. As noted previously a state thus constituted is unstable, subject to discord and communal strife. This is observable in kerbstones being painted red white and blue on the one hand and green white and orange on the other. The instability is also observable in the peace walls that disfigure Belfast. In Stormont there is deep-seated agro between the two main parties. As long as peace walls are necessary there is no genuine peace.

The Good Friday and the Saint Andrew’s Agreement are underpinned by the fallacy that in the settlement the politicians in the six counties should deal with bread and butter politics only and forget about everything else. The constitutional issue was brushed under the carpet out of sight and the people of the six counties were advised top think about their bellies and about nothing else. At this juncture one should recall that not by bread alone does man live. This means there is an order higher than bodily existence. This could be paraphrased into, not by bread alone does the state live which can be taken to mean that there is an order in the state higher than bread and butter politics and the creation economic wealth. The higher order is the constitution and through that – peace. For the constitution to be democratic and valid it must have the overwhelming support if the people. This does not hold in the six counties.

It is the central thesis of Federal Unionism – Early Sinn Fein that a unified stable peaceful Ireland can only be realised in a written democratic NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND ACT and this will give the highest state order of all to Ireland, which is peace in a Federal Kingdom. This will be free of peace walls anywhere on a unified island and the peace will be genuine. What goes by the name of peace in the six counties currently is farcical. When a genuinely democratic constitution is in place on the island bread and butter politics and the creation of economic wealth will fall into place.


Michael Gillespie Federal Unionist – Early Sinn Fein