IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING Distributed by the Irish National Caucus Today’s Irish News of Belfast carries the front page article , “Downing Street raises fears of hard Border.” See below in black print. This article raises initial fears, and calls to mind the first statement I made about Brexit back on in July 2016. See the red print. —Fr. Sean Mc Manus. Not looking forward to seeing that damn border

Posted By: February 06, 2018

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING

Distributed by the Irish National Caucus

Today’s Irish News of Belfast carries the front page article, “Downing Street raises fears of hard Border.” See below in black print.

This article raises initial fears and calls to mind the first statement I made about Brexit back on in July 2016. See the red print.

—Fr. Sean Mc Manus.

Irish News (Belfast). Wednesday, July 6, 2016

My first reaction to the vote to leave the EU is having to see again the visible manifestations of the British-imposed border that partitions Ireland.

That is one inevitable consequence of the UK voting to leave the EU.

I come from Co Fermanagh. Not only is my country divided but my historic parish of Kinawley is also arbitrarily and arrogantly divided by that damn border.

While the UK was in the EU, and with the coming of the peace process, I had the joy of driving seamlessly home each summer from Dublin and not seeing one British army manned border fortress. Now I dread not being able to ignore that damn British border again.

I know full well there has been a measure of denial in all of this. I knew, of course, the damn border still existed, but one’s eyes – not to mention one’s blood pressure – did not have to be grossly affected by it. A bit like having something ugly in one’s home that cannot be got rid of for the time being so one hides it from sight.

Although I have strongly supported the Irish peace process and the Good Friday Agreement, I always had the worry – based on Perfidious Albion’s record – ‘what if some future British government comes along, and, as always, does something in its own interest without a thought for the ground it is occupying in Ireland?’

However, without trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear one can gain some comfort with the thought that since Northern Ireland itself voted to remain in the EU, this now means that the vast majority of Irish people side with the EU rather than with England.

And Scotland overwhelmingly voted to Remain in the EU. Maybe, therefore, it can be said that the unionist cause is getting weaker and weaker. Time for Scotland and all of Ireland’s 32 counties to secede from the ‘union’ (with England) that has never really cared for them.” —Fr Sean McManusPresident, Irish National Caucus, Washington, DC.

Downing Street raises fears of hard Border

Claire Simpson. Irish News. Belfast. Tuesday, February 6, 2018
NATIONALIST politicians have expressed fears that a hard border is inevitable after Downing Street insisted the UK will not remain part of a European customs union.

Following talks with Brexit Secretary David Davis in London yesterday, the European Commission’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier also warned that leaving the customs union will result in barriers to trade.

He insisted the EU needs clarity about what the British government wants its relationship with the bloc to be.

Mr Davis said Britain wants a free trade deal with the EU and the freedom to make deals with other countries.

But Mr Barnier said that “without a customs union and outside the single market”, barriers to trade in goods and services “are unavoidable”.

While the DUP welcomed the British government’s “categorical” rejection of a customs union, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Alliance warned that a hard border will have devastating political and economic consequences for the north.

SDLP MLA Claire Hanna said remaining part of the single market and customs union was the only way to prevent a hard border.

“It is the only way to protect the significant amount of trade we do, both with the EU and with Britain,” she said.

“Putting all of that in jeopardy would be economically and political dangerous.”

Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard said the British government had made a “reckless” decision.

“The freedom and rights of Irish citizens to travel, work and study on their island home has been jeopardised once more by British government intransigence,” he said.

Alliance MLA Stephen Farry said a hard border could only be avoided if the UK or the north alone had the same customs arrangement as the EU.

“This decision also goes completely against the advice of the business community UK-wide and ignores the implications of the government’s own economic analysis,” he said.