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Ireland Doesn't Stop At Dundalk

It's one of those rare happenings that makes you wonder if you might actually be asleep. Many unionist bloggers have said repeatedly that Ireland is greater than the Republic and that neither nationalists nor the Southern state should not enjoy a monopoly on the definition of Ireland or Irishness.
Chekov (who, as ever, puts his point across much more eloquently than myself) has spotted that Barry McElduff has, rather uncharacteristically, done something vaguely sensible in recent days. Apparently the West Tyrone MLA has written to all the Republic's TDs and Senators to challenge "this notion that the 26 counties constitutes Ireland".
Follow up:
I suppose I am doing it to challenge partitionism – this notion that the 26 counties [Republic of Ireland] constitutes Ireland. I find it very offensive.
Even in the EU I hear people talk about Ireland and Northern Ireland. Sometimes they talk about the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
I’d call it geopolitical speak.
Barry McElduff, MLA (Sinn Fein)
Leaving aside the comedy value of McElduff referring to the six counties and 26 counties then complaining about "geopolitical speak" (baring in mind his party colleagues insist their ministries refer to Northern Ireland as "here" or "the North"), his "challenge" is either aimed more at personal publicity than affecting serious change, or he has gone about this very badly.
If he really does wants to change something, what would send a more powerful message than a united call from all the local parties for the Republic's government to recognise that Ireland is bigger than the Southern state? After all, nationalists want unionists to recognise that we're all Irish and there are a number of Unionists out there who would point out that being Irish doesn't necessarily imply the anti-British, tricolour-waving, GAA playing capers so intrinsic to separatist Irish nationalism. Of course that might mean forgoing the romantic nonsense about "challenging partitionism" and evocative swipes at the Southern parties, and that would never do.
The British government must bare some of the blame for this, having failed to challenge the Republic's admittance to the EU and UN under the erroneous name of "Ireland" and therefore implying jurisdiction over part of the United Kingdom.
Whatever, it'll take a serious effort to change a mindset as engrained as this one is in the Republic, so a few proposals off the top of my head:
- Sinn Fein stop pretending the border doesn't exist, thus re-enforcing said mindset.
- A public statement from all our parties that they will stop referring to the "Irish" government and call on the British government to do the same (and to reverse the growing trend of referring to the South simply as Ireland).
- A concerted effort to challenge the BBC (and anyone else?) every time they refer to "Ireland" when they mean the Republic.
I suppose it's too much to hope that Barry will follow through with any measure of consistency and declare that the Northern Ireland football team is just as Irish as the Republic's and therefore there is no reason for nationalist players to defect, so any other ideas?
