British MP Andrew Rosindell, of the Conservative Party, said in the House of Commons on Thursday, March 27 that St. Patrick's Day should be a UK holiday as St. Patrick is also the patron saint of Northern Ireland.
Rosindell, who represents London's Romford constituency, overall spoke warmly of the Irish - British relationship on Thursday during a debate on St Patrick’s Day and Northern Irish Affairs.
After noting that "St Patrick’s Day is a great feast day when we come together as one Great British family to celebrate Saint Patrick, the patron saint of the island of Ireland—he is shared by Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland," Rosindell suggested St. Patrick's Day become a bank holiday in the UK.
He said: "There are many things that we as a nation could do to mark this important day and give it the gravitas it deserves.
"I strongly submit that St Patrick’s Day should be a national bank holiday, alongside all the other feast days of our kingdom’s patron saints—St George’s day on 23 April, St David’s day on 1 March and St Andrew’s day on 30 November.
"Not only would that be firmly in line with the position of Anglicanism as the unchallenged state religion, but it would reinforce the importance of all four corners of our nation."
St. Patrick's Day is already a bank holiday in Northern Ireland, but not the wider UK.
He later added: "The feast day of St Patrick is not just about dressing in green, donning shamrocks and drinking Guinness; feast days are about how we value the native people of these islands, and their heritage, traditions and culture. That must be reflected in all our Great British traditions under one King and one flag.
"Indeed, it is my view that the Irish, Ulster-Scots, and Anglo-Irish are very much part of our family within the great British Isles.
"All the people of these islands are deeply intertwined in every area of life. From blood and history to literature and music—and, of course, sport—we are fundamentally inseparable and should not only embrace our historical connection, but enhance it now and in future."
Ireland joins the Commonwealth?
Rosindell's remarks, however, did take a strange turn at one point.
"The Republic of Ireland is our friend, but we can be much closer and fully realise that we are, in all spheres of national operation, one family who share a unique group of islands," he said.
"Indeed, Ireland could do much more work, alongside her British brother and loyal northern neighbour, in recognising that shared heritage and advancing the shared values and goals on the global stage, and emulating countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
"I hope that one day, perhaps soon, the people of the Republic of Ireland might choose to take their rightful place in the family of the Commonwealth of Nations, taking our deep neighbourly relations to the next level, to the benefit of both partners—and, I believe, having a bounteous benefit for global politics."
The Commonwealth is comprised of the UK and a number of its former dependencies who have chosen to maintain ties of friendship and practical cooperation. Any country can join - today, 56 countries are members. The symbolic head of the Commonwealth is King Charles III.
While the debate was, overall, warm towards Ireland, the Irish-British relationship, and the Irish diaspora, MP Jim Allister, of Northern Ireland's Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) Party, spoke with a markedly different attitude.
He acknowledged that it was a "pretty poor situation" that he was the only Member present who represents a Northern Ireland constituency.
Allister said: "I do find it a little rich in irony that St Patrick, being a Brit, is celebrated with such enthusiasm by the Irish."
He went on to lament Ireland's neutrality during WWII and Ireland's aid of "the brutal IRA terrorist campaign of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s."
He also took aim at Ireland's role in Brexit, claiming: "Sadly, it was Taoiseach [Leo] Varadkar who saw the opportunity of partitioning the United Kingdom and who insisted on the border being pushed to the Irish sea, where the IRA could never push it in its 30 years of terror.
"It was the Dublin Government that made those irrational demands and repudiated the very thing that made that unnecessary: namely, mutual enforcement."
Comments