A campaign to stop Belfast’s first Irish-language preschool shows how dysfunctional unionist politics has become
The hard men of Ulster loyalism are adept at spotting Trojan horses. Belfast’s first Irish-language preschool, planned to open in September, wouldn’t get past them without a fight. This weekend, as the school announced it would look for another location, they celebrated victory over Irish republican insurgents disguised as tiny two- and three-year-old children. After the incursion was abandoned, one of the leaders of the rout addressed “the loyal residents” of the area via a social media post: “STAY STRONG AND PROUD … THE DAYS OF LOYALISTS QUIETLY ROLLING OVER, FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE AT ANY PRICE … ARE OVER.” It was, in reality, a disgraceful episode of intimidation led by a few paranoid and sectarian individuals against a lovely, educational and life-enhancing project for 16 preschool children.
It is a mark of the current dysfunctional volatility within unionist politics in Northern Ireland that this crazed campaign gained enough traction to convince those behind the project to look for premises elsewhere. These situations can escalate. In 2001 loyalists in another part of Belfast hurled abuse and bags of urine at small children and their parents on their way into school during what became known as the Holy Cross dispute. The cause? The alleged taking down of a flag.