In this month’s ARINS podcast, host Rory Montgomery chat to Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride about their recent ARINS publication: For and Against a United Ireland.
The prospect of Irish unification is now stronger than at any point since partition in 1921. Voters on both sides of the Irish border may soon have to confront for themselves what the answer to a referendum question would mean - for themselves, for their neighbours, and for their society.
Journalists Fintan O'Toole and Sam McBride examine the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland. What do the words 'united Ireland' even mean? Would it be better for Northern Ireland? Would it improve lives in the Republic of Ireland? And could it be brought about without bloodshed?
O’Toole and McBride each argue the case for and against unity, questioning received wisdom and bringing fresh thinking to one of Ireland’s most intractable questions. With cartoons by Fergus Boylan.
The book has been shortlisted for An Post Book Award 2025 - BEST IRISH-PUBLISHED BOOK OF THE YEAR. See shortlist
Book tickets to see the authors debate the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland in The Lyric Theatre, Belfast and The National Concert Hall, Dublin in November 2025!
---
This is episode 47 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south.
Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research.
ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com
ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.
All content for The Royal Irish Academy is the property of The Royal Irish Academy and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
In this month’s ARINS podcast, host Rory Montgomery chat to Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride about their recent ARINS publication: For and Against a United Ireland.
The prospect of Irish unification is now stronger than at any point since partition in 1921. Voters on both sides of the Irish border may soon have to confront for themselves what the answer to a referendum question would mean - for themselves, for their neighbours, and for their society.
Journalists Fintan O'Toole and Sam McBride examine the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland. What do the words 'united Ireland' even mean? Would it be better for Northern Ireland? Would it improve lives in the Republic of Ireland? And could it be brought about without bloodshed?
O’Toole and McBride each argue the case for and against unity, questioning received wisdom and bringing fresh thinking to one of Ireland’s most intractable questions. With cartoons by Fergus Boylan.
The book has been shortlisted for An Post Book Award 2025 - BEST IRISH-PUBLISHED BOOK OF THE YEAR. See shortlist
Book tickets to see the authors debate the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland in The Lyric Theatre, Belfast and The National Concert Hall, Dublin in November 2025!
---
This is episode 47 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south.
Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research.
ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com
ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.
In this episode of ‘My Identity’ Professor Colin Graham (Maynooth) is in conversation with Leo Varadkar.
Leo Varadkar was Taoiseach of Ireland from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024. During the thirteen years he spent in cabinet, he held many positions across the Ministries of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Social Protection, and Health.
After stepping down from political life in late 2024, he was appointed as a Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, a Board Member of Brussels based Care4Everybody and writes a column for the Sunday Times Ireland.
In this episode he discusses, among other things, national identity, religion, family and his book: Speaking My Mind.
About the Series
My Identity is hosted by Professor Colin Graham, Maynooth. In this series, Colin is in conversation with a range of people whose ideas, work and life experiences shed light on the topic of identity on the Island of Ireland. My Identity is part of the ARINS project.
Colin Graham is Professor English and formerly Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Maynooth University. His books include Northern Ireland: Thirty Years of Photography, Deconstructing Ireland and Ideologies of Epic. He was editor of The Irish Review from 2004 to 2020. During the Brexit negotiations he created the Twitter account @borderirish and wrote the book I am the Border, so I am, published by HarperCollins.
ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com
ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.
My Identity is hosted by Professor Colin Graham. Podcast management and production by Dr Susie Deedigan.
The Royal Irish Academy
In this month’s ARINS podcast, host Rory Montgomery chat to Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride about their recent ARINS publication: For and Against a United Ireland.
The prospect of Irish unification is now stronger than at any point since partition in 1921. Voters on both sides of the Irish border may soon have to confront for themselves what the answer to a referendum question would mean - for themselves, for their neighbours, and for their society.
Journalists Fintan O'Toole and Sam McBride examine the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland. What do the words 'united Ireland' even mean? Would it be better for Northern Ireland? Would it improve lives in the Republic of Ireland? And could it be brought about without bloodshed?
O’Toole and McBride each argue the case for and against unity, questioning received wisdom and bringing fresh thinking to one of Ireland’s most intractable questions. With cartoons by Fergus Boylan.
The book has been shortlisted for An Post Book Award 2025 - BEST IRISH-PUBLISHED BOOK OF THE YEAR. See shortlist
Book tickets to see the authors debate the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland in The Lyric Theatre, Belfast and The National Concert Hall, Dublin in November 2025!
---
This is episode 47 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south.
Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research.
ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com
ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.
