Actors Sir Patrick Stewart, left, and Brent Spiner debate the morality of political violence in their roles as Cpt Picard and Lt Commander Data in a 'Star Trek' episode that first aired in 1990. The episode was not shown unedited on UK television until 2007. Paramount Television
Actors Sir Patrick Stewart, left, and Brent Spiner debate the morality of political violence in their roles as Cpt Picard and Lt Commander Data in a 'Star Trek' episode that first aired in 1990. The episode was not shown unedited on UK television until 2007. Paramount Television
Actors Sir Patrick Stewart, left, and Brent Spiner debate the morality of political violence in their roles as Cpt Picard and Lt Commander Data in a 'Star Trek' episode that first aired in 1990. The episode was not shown unedited on UK television until 2007. Paramount Television
Actors Sir Patrick Stewart, left, and Brent Spiner debate the morality of political violence in their roles as Cpt Picard and Lt Commander Data in a 'Star Trek' episode that first aired in 1990. The e


A united Ireland isn't approaching at warp speed but it's far from being a fantasy


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December 27, 2023

One of the most interesting predictions for 2024 wasn’t made by some polished TV pundit this month, but rather a fictional TV character in the 24th century. Or more accurately, I suppose, by the screenwriters who scripted his lines more than three decades ago.

In The High Ground, a 1990 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the captain of the starship Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard, debates with Lt Commander Data, a hyper-intelligent android, the merits of using violence to achieve political aims.

During the brief discussion, Data gives Cpt Picard a list of successful armed rebellions in ages past, including “the Irish unification of 2024”. This prospect – debated between an entirely fictitious robot and a spaceship captain – was deemed by the BBC to be so objectionable that the episode was not broadcast unedited on UK television until September 2007, nearly a decade after the signing of the Good Friday peace agreement that largely ended the 30-year conflict known as the Northern Ireland Troubles.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this idiosyncratic prediction of an imminent united Ireland has resurfaced online as 2024 looms, giving quite a few people a wry smile. Despite Data’s fictitious future-history being just a niche moment in popular culture, it is worth examining where the prospect of a united Ireland stands in the real world on the cusp of 2024. The country, north and south, has been through a lot and many of the certainties that formed the backdrop to Star Trek’s brief foray into Irish history and politics have changed.

When the Good Friday deal was struck in 1998 after many difficult years of talks, Ireland and the UK were both in the EU. This shared membership of the European bloc was an important ingredient in the diplomatic and constitutional mix that resulted in the historic compromise between Irish nationalists – who wanted to see the island united and independent of British rule – and unionists who wanted to keep Northern Ireland in the UK. This joint involvement in the EU was upended following the Brexit referendum of 2016 when majorities in England and Wales chose to leave the bloc, taking Northern Ireland with them.

The tortuous outworkings of that decision have destabilised Northern Ireland’s already imperfect and volatile political institutions. At the time of writing, the region’s government – intended to be an exercise in power sharing between nationalists and unionists – remains in deep freeze amid wrangling over post-Brexit economic and trade arrangements that many unionists regard as isolating them from the rest of the UK.

Ireland has been through a lot and many of the certainties that formed the backdrop to Star Trek’s brief foray into its history and politics have changed

Many in Northern Ireland are exasperated at this seemingly unending cycle of inconclusive talks that are followed by yet more political stasis. This drama plays out amid more day-to-day concerns, such as a cost-of-living crisis and the future of the region’s health service. This inertia has led an increasing number of people to wonder aloud if this post-Brexit malaise and palpable sense that Northern Ireland just doesn’t work requires a more radical solution: a united Ireland.

But is a coming together of the island really on the cards? According to the Good Friday deal, a united Ireland can only come about when a majority of people in Northern Ireland want it. When Ireland was partitioned in 1921, the north had its borders drawn in such a way as to guarantee a unionist majority but the demographic and political picture in 2023 is much changed. Now it is more accurate to talk of three minorities in Northern Ireland: a bloc of unionists, a bloc of nationalists and a third group who are often referred to as undecideds – those who, for various reasons, are open to persuasion either way.

In this context, opinion polls still do not indicate an imminent majority in the north in favour of uniting with the Republic of Ireland. An Irish Times/ARINS poll published at the start of December revealed that just over half – 51 per cent – of all northern voters would reject unity in the event of a referendum. Nevertheless, the same polling showed a solid majority in the south still in favour of a united Ireland. This will be good news for the Irish republicans of Sinn Fein, the largest party north of the border and one that seems set to play a leading role in the Republic after the next general election there, due to be held before March 2025.

Although a united Ireland may not be around the corner just yet, it is figuring in the political conversation in a way that many who drew up the Good Friday agreement might be surprised at. Aside from regular opinion polling on the topic, there has been an increase in serious academic research into the economic aspects of uniting the two jurisdictions. Civic groups such as Ireland’s Future are bringing together a range of people in politics and beyond for exploratory conversations about what a united Ireland may look like. The persistence of a united Ireland as an option for the future has been recognised by the Irish state. It established a Shared Island Initiative in October 2020, which has since made €500 million in capital funding available for investment in “collaborative North/South projects”.

One of the tacit understandings underpinning the 1998 agreement’s constructive ambiguity was that the issue of a united Ireland would be parked for a generation or more as the two parts of Ireland tried to move on from the violence of the Troubles and find a way of co-existing. Brexit, changing demographics and the emergence of more nuanced attitudes on identity and politics have revived interest in a united Ireland. So, although Star Trek’s prediction of Irish unification in 2024 can be looked upon as a cultural oddity, such a development taking place peacefully 10 or 20 years from now is far from the stuff of science fiction or speculative fantasies.

Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

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Updated: December 27, 2023, 2:00 PM`