March 10, 2026, 7:34 am | Readers 2990 John Taylor’s interview with Alex Kane in the Irish News last week is still causing ripples, particularly his claim that Irish unity is probably inevitable, and that unionists should prepare for it. On Twitter last week I posted a message stating that for John Taylor to make these comments was noteworthy. For any unionist over the age of 60, John Taylor was a significant figure. None of the responses from unionists was positive. For those too young to remember, John Taylor was a minister in the old Stormont administration. He was Minister for Home Affairs in 1972 when he was shot in the face, neck and jaw by the IRA. He recovered and continued to be a significant figure throughout the Troubles and played a part in negotiating the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. To my parent’s generation, Taylor was something of a hero, to my generation he was one of the ‘old guard’ who failed to rise to the challenge of the Civil Rights movement and who allowed N. Ireland to slide into unnecessary conflict. William Crawley on BBC Talkback did a good job of summarising what John Taylor said: A united Ireland is inevitable Unionism must prepare for unity instead of denying it Unionism has repeatedly failed to prepare for political change The DUP are the best promoters of Irish nationalism Unionists have failed to reach out to Nationalists over the years Britain has never been committed to N. Ireland’s place in the UK Unionists have failed to build broad political coalitions, eg with migrants and new voters who will be significant He flags up the worry of unionists responding with violence because they are not emotionally prepared for unity. A UI will need accommodation for unionists, probably the continuance of Stormont. Unionists must accept we are minority on this island. On point (1) above, John Taylor and I disagree, I do not believe that Irish unity is inevitable, but that does not mean Irish unity is impossible either. I think we are all prone to wishful thinking. Unionists want to believe we will remain British forever; Nationalists want to believe Irish Unity is just round the corner, so one group or other are going to be very disappointed. Therein lies a danger that John Taylor points to (8), the risk that disappointment turns to anger and then violence. Before any nationalist accuses me of burying my head in the sand, can I point out that James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland said much the same as John Taylor 88 years ago. The future is hard to predict. What If..? An interesting question is why many Unionists of a particular age seem to be coming around to the idea of Irish Unity. I was a 9-year-old when Paisley was telling us the union was in danger, and now 56 years later, it seems to still be in danger. I suspect if anyone over 50 casts their minds back over all that has been sacrificed in their lifetime to protect the union and sees that the Union is still not safe, the question ‘What If…’ seems worth considering. What I think we can all agree upon is that the current direction of change is towards Irish Unity, but very, very slowly. (Voting seems to be stuck around Unionist 40%, Nationalist 40% and Other 20%) Brexit gave this glacial change some impetus for a while, but the world is a scary place at the moment and most people crave stability, rather than change. There is no clear plan for Irish Unity at the moment and nationalism mistakenly seems to believe that waiting is all that is required, rather than persuading the undecided or the softer unionists. This seems a poor strategy to me. If you want to persuade softer unionists you need to know that Nationality is not a logical choice that people make. We grow up believing we belong to our nationality, we believe common narratives about our nation. If we give up being British and accept our place in the Irish nation, most unionists are keenly aware that in the Irish national story, we are the villains. I hope you can see why this is not a role we feel like embracing. Can we agree a new narrative? 10 Points – What do you think? If I went through the list above, I find I agree with Taylor on points 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10. So, what about points 2 and 9. I think it is unreasonable to expect any active unionist party member (2) to enter discussions on Irish Unity – it would end their career. But that does not mean that unionists and nationalists cannot meet informally to have such discussions. (I have no inside knowledge, but I would be very surprised if John Taylor has not already been invited for a chat.) As for (9) the retention of Stormont seems problematic to me; it might entrench divisions and distract from the potential benefit of integrating the people. It could perpetuate battles for control between former unionists and republicans, and in the long-term unionists would lose out again. Also, how would we respond if it were suggested that Stormont should be a 9-county Ulster Assembly? If you are a unionist, which of John Taylor’s points do you agree with? If you are a nationalist, do you really think Irish unity is inevitable?