YOU’VE got to admire the prescience of the men behind Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant. They could certainly see into the future.

Campaigning against Home Rule, they warned that “it would be disastrous to the material well-being of Ulster”, and predicted the subversion of “civil and religious freedom”.

When they were gifted their own parliament, their words came to pass. Ulster was torn apart, with three counties cut asunder and devastating consequences for people living along the newly-created border.

As for the subversion of civil and religious freedom, the new entity, which became known as Northern Ireland, provided a model for apartheid – unionist success in suppressing the nationalist community was an inspiration to the whites of Rhodesia and South Africa.

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Sad to say, fellow Irishmen south of the corrupted new border turned a blind eye until turning a blind eye became impossible.

© The Irish News