Whoever wrote this tweet needs to go back to school.

Seeing the fada brigade wincing with middle-class cringe for fear that NI will be embarrassed in the eyes of the world by "those great unwashed & poorly-educated loyalists & their frightful bands" marching at the *checks notes* BRITISH Open, is like an episode of Black Mirror 🤯.

. having a knee jerk reaction to anything that has a whiff of Irishness about it. I think we all know there are dominant voices on both sides that won't be keen on any change.

. It's entirely up to RoI as to whether they want to continue to avoid recognising their citizens in NI. Likewise it's also up to unionism whether they can let symbolic stuff like this slip past them knowing their flexibility and confidence helps the union rather than. 4/.

. that want that constitutional change which unionism should feel comfortable about. Many countries allow their citizens outside the state to vote in elections at embassies and consultants. This should t be the potential controversy that some will undoubtedly make it. 3/.

. proportion of the NI population want to be active Irish Citizens. It will either be a success for nationalism as all shades will take the opportunity to vote in a less contentious election than one dominated by SF. Or it will highlight that usual 30-odd % of NIs population. 2/.

I say let it happen. If you've an Irish passport (having exercised your right to Irish citizenship) then you're eligible. An Coimisiún Toghcháin can throw a few bob at the NI Electoral Commission to set up polling stations (with RoI monitors obviously) and we can see what . 1/.

Weren't we all educated recently that the £ subvention to NI was actually much less & therefore a u.Ireland is not a great economic risk? Oul' Schrödinger's Occupied Six, hey?! It's not economically viable but at the same time economically viable enough to integrate seamlessly 🤷.

. already been failed & put at risk for years is not the way to go. A working class community behing exposed for years to an industrial hazard is the issue. The clamour to use this to stop a bonfire while ignoring the real negligence at play speaks to certain peoples motivation.

Shit take, Robin. There's a school & open playground as close to the asbestos site as the bonfire is. The issue here is not simple people endangering their children on this one night, it's an environmental & public protection failure. Speaking down to locals that have. 1/.

. every door around there, it wasn't raised once as an issue, suggesting the locals weren't aware it was there. Working class communities had to deal with the impact of industry when it was there, now they've to deal with the legacy and the hazards it's left behind. Disgraceful.

If these locations are correct then there is a school playground as close to that asbestos 365 days of the year as there is a bonfire for one night. The scandal here is industrial waste left (whether contained/covered) or not in a working class area. Having canvassed. 1/.

If nationalism has sense they'll hold Jarlath for a few presidential elections & deploy him wisely. His approach to a UI, where all that it means to be Irish is negotiable, is the kind of nationalism that many unionists will struggle to counter in appealing to the 'middle' of NI.

Funniest bit of the Kneecap shit storm is Gen z'ers on Tiktok having an amti-imperialist meltdown over the press reporting someone's legal name. Who else hoped the peace process would gradually shrink the chips on people's shoulders? Bores the balls off me.

Really interesting comparison between EU countries & some non-EU inc. UK. Surprised tbh that there's only €100-odd of a difference between UK and Ireland in PPP. Genuinely expected it to be more.

RT @News_Letter: A letter from Stephen McCarthy:.

As it's behind the paywall.

Have a wee letter in the Newsletter today on Irish Language signs and why unionism should take a smarter approach to the language.

Vile. Utterly vile.

Watched the video & thought, "Well this is reasonable. As always witty, incisive. Really does capture the breadth of public feeling as diplomatically as possible." Then I got that feeling of doom - "he's going to get dragged through hell for trying to being reasonable on this.".