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I was up in Derry last week with my class. We did a module this semester on Reconciliation in the Aftermath of Conflict and we were meeting a few groups to see what was being tried up North. Bar a tourist trip to the Giant's Causeway and a Pavarotti concert in Belfast it was my first time spending an extended amount of time in Northern Ireland and the first time actually talking to local people. Over the 3 days we met up with representatives from both sides, Apprentice Boys, The Pat Finucan Group, former UVF, INLA, IRA and British army forces, as well as getting a tour of the city walls, the Bog-Side murals and Bloody Sunday site and a British Army base.

I have to admit I was pretty nervous at first; I will be the first to admit that I know very little about the situation in Northern Ireland but I think everyone got something of the trip. There were people like me who just had a Secondary School understanding, foreign students who knew nothing, and then people who had done PhDs and thesis' on the subject. One of the most disconcerting moments was when one of the former-UVF guys, who after 15 years in prison is now a peace-activist, just explained to us in a complete dead-pan voice how when he was 16 he went to a Catholic man's house and shot him dead in his sitting room. I have never met a murderer before. He was very interesting for other reasons though. For the first time I heard about how Unionist see themselves. He considers himself British, he is not fanatical about it, apparently he is a fan of Irish music these days and even taking Irish classes but the fact remains he was born in the UK, has a British passport and considered himself a fully British person. He said it in such a matter-of-fact way that you can sort-of see their point. There has never been a united nation of Ireland, it has always been a collection of different kingdoms and he just happened to be born into one of the more recent ones.

Another interesting point was raised during a Questions & Answers session we had with a panel of ex-paramilitaries from both sides and British Army officers when we asked about the issue of a United Ireland. One thing they were kind-of all in agreement was that it will not be just a demographic decision, i.e. a Catholics majority will mean it will become a reality. The former INLA guy made the point that a lot of catholics in the North are not nationalist and that economically it would be bad for them to join the Republic. Apparently 25% of the North's GDP comes from the British government, through civil service jobs and the like. If it was to become part of Ireland, then there would be huge amounts of jobs lost and we would become responsible for it. It seems like a good idea in principle but after talking to them, I just don't see it happening anytime in the near future.