Book Review

Impressive study on what a united Ireland might look like

Professor Brendan O’Leary’s book is big on intellectual firepower, but it can feel a little too technical on a matter that is often highly emotional for unionists and nationalists alike

Brendan O’Leary: believes that Irish partition was ‘an avoidable mistake’, but his focus in Making Sense of a United Ireland is less on historic arguments and more on ensuring a brighter future

Irish unity can be a hard subject to debate rationally. At a mass meeting of the civic nationalist group Ireland’s Future in Dublin’s 3Arena earlier this month, Leo Varadkar suggested that one way of appeasing unionists within a 32-county republic might be to keep a devolved Stormont parliament. Unfortunately, some audience members didn’t have to think about the notion for very long before deciding to loudly boo it.

Professor Brendan O’Leary must have been disappointed. ...