There are times when I – and I’m unapologetically pro-union – struggle to fathom why elements of unionism and loyalism seem to hate Irish culture, heritage and language so much.

I’ve mentioned before that my Dad, born when Ireland was united, albeit within the UK of Great Britain and Ireland, could both read and speak Irish.

The language was part of his upbringing and his parents, Protestant and pro-British, had no difficulty in acknowledging that the Irish language was part of the joint heritage of everyone who lived on the island.

That joint heritage was also recognised at the 1892 Ulster Unionist Convention, where pictures show ‘Erin Go Bragh’ displayed alongside ‘God Save The Queen’, and in murals in parts of Belfast and elsewhere. As it should have been.

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It was also recognised through the Anglo-Irish identity that played such a fundamental role in Irish history.

For unionists to deny the Irish side of their identity is to deny a key part of their greater self.

To understand unionists requires........

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