This is the third year I have attended the debate and discussion element of the festival, and I am only speaking to this part, though anecdotally, people to whom I have spoken overall have found the community events to have been successful. Last year, I attended an event discussing the timing and rationale for a border poll. There, I asked, in my view, a perfectly reasonable question. I started by saying that the road map as laid out by each panellist had no more credibility than Long John Silver’s Road map in Treasure Island, and the panellists were gaslighting the electorate about the complexity and costs of unification. In effect, selling an economic and political utopia. I was booed by the audience with no pushback from the panel. After experiencing that, an event which felt more like an evangelical get-together, I was unsure if I should venture back this year. I live, eat, sleep, dream and write about politics every day, so as a masochist, I attended 3 events at this year’s Féile.
The first was Nick Hayward’s testimony of the work he was doing in Gaza as a surgeon. This was powerful, poignant, painful and an inspiration to listen to. Powerful, because he spoke vividly and with authority about his work at Nasser Hospital and the current genocide going on in Gaza. Poignant because it was moving. Painful because of the images of starvation, the human carnage, and the story of the execution of two of his medical colleagues. Also, he told the story about the deaths of children who could not get formula milk. He asked colleagues coming to Gaza to bring baby food, which they all did, but at the Israeli border, the only thing removed from their luggage by Israeli border guards was the baby food. Inspirational, because Nick has a wife and family in England, and he has been coming to Gaza for years, a slaughterhouse in which 1400 medics have been systematically killed by the IDF. The depth of Nick’s fearlessness and his humanity is unfathomable; if that is not inspirational, what the hell is?
The next event was a discussion about a report from Professor John Doyle about the subvention, chaired by Mike Tomlinson, a panel of two people singing from the proverbial same hymn sheet. Mike was not a chair but an advocate for Mr Doyle, a panel that did not include a different voice or a counter-narrative/analysis to challenge what I describe as a politically naive report. I also criticised the German unification analogy drawn by Doyle. I pointed out that the East Germans (a one-party authoritarian state) would have accepted any deal because they were in a political, economic, and social meltdown due to the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall. Northern Ireland is a political and economic basket case, but it is nothing like East Germany. Bottom line: poor chair and no counter-narrative or analysis, a classic Ireland’s Future strategy, the Mushroom Strategy. Marks out of 10, 5.
The next event was hosted by the Border Poll Group, and it focused on how culture wars could impact a border poll result, specifically in terms of people not voting for unification. There was a chair and 3 panellists: the Editor of the Andersonstown News, the UK Editor of the Irish Times, and a UK-based writer on all-Ireland issues. First, they failed to define or understand the difference between culture and tradition. The Andersonstown News editor went off on a tangent about human rights, and the rest of the debate descended into a discussion about migration, housing, and its impact on host communities. Migration is an important global issue, but not for this event. Migration is steeped in issues of global income and wealth inequality, political unrest, civil wars, the plundering of resources and rare earth minerals by Western nations and corporations, and the full impact yet to come of the climate crisis.Finally, the chairing of the event was poor; he used his time not to chair but as if he were on Hyde Park Corner. All in all, neither heat nor light. Marks out of 10, 3.
Finally, this was the evening debate on Palestine Day, chaired by Patricia McKeown, Trade Union Friends of Palestine and two panellists, Dr. Shahd Hammouri Palestinian/Jordanian international lawyer who recently acted as a legal consultant on the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. Saleh Hijazi, member of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC). He co-authored Amnesty International’s seminal report “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity.” The thrust of the session was to sanction Israel now; in principle, a position that is hard to disagree with.
Shahd took up much of the airtime explaining the issues about how Israel had broken international humanitarian law, numerous UN conventions, and how both Netanyahu and Galant have been indicted by the ICC as war criminals. This was probably over the heads of many in the audience and should have focused on the genocide and the acts of the Israeli government and the complicity of Western nations, local authoritarian Arab neighbours and is their solution, two states or otherwise. Saleh was clear on the role of the BDS, and they needed to work with the broader society and leverage their humanity to force governments to act against Israel in the form of sanctions. Sadly, there was little opportunity for serious questions. People took the opportunity to rant and lay out personal manifestos. The two speakers spoke with passion and knew their stuff, but again, no time for a proper engagement. The chairing was not great, and let us be honest, chairing is a bit of a skill. Marks out of 10, because it is an issue on everyone’s mind, mark out of 10,6.
Sadly, a discussion that should have featured and was overlooked in the debate and discussion programme was a debate about the scenes in Ballymena and what we need to do as a society to bring our diverse communities together. Maybe this issue is not an important part of Ireland’s Future agenda, or do they think racism only resides in one part of the ethnic majority community? It comes as more of a surprise considering what is going on in the 26 counties. There was no discussion about the single biggest issue affecting all members of our society, particularly those who can ill afford private healthcare, that is, our crumbling healthcare system. No discussion about its long-term sustainability and the reimagining of a public health and social care system, in a world of changing demographics, pressure on government budgets, and the ineptitude of our governing class. Also worth noting, we have 3.5 working people per retiree today; within 15 years, that will be 2.5:1.
Finally, as I walked through the North entrance door into the college, there was an art display of crafts and paintings highlighting local talent across the province. However, there were two large paintings prominently displayed of Martin Maguiness and Gerry Adams, which struck me. St Mary’s College is an academic institution that should be seen as a safe and neutral place where people from all backgrounds can exchange views robustly on the basis that you can disagree agreeably. The images of Maguiness and Adams, when you enter the college, do not portray this and would have been a hindrance to those wanting to attend the college from the so-called other side of the community. It would be equally unacceptable if a similar event at Queen’s had portraits of Gusty Spence and Billy Hutchison displayed prominently.
To clarify, my significant other has painted and sold a portrait of the “Chuckle Brothers,” so I am not opposed to political portraits per se. However, it would have looked better if, alongside Gerry and Martin, you had included a portrait of David and David. The very last thing I have to say is that all the political debates were devoid of the phrase ‘working class,’ not enough emphasis on the working class, and a tad too much emphasis on unification. The historical and political narrative from 1921 in this place has been that working-class Billy and working-class Seamus have nothing in common; this is a myth that can no longer be allowed to continue.
Finally, as someone from the private sector, it may be useful to do a survey and get feedback from a wide spectrum of the local community on how to enhance and make the offer even more engaging. When I mean spectrum, I mean all ages, socio-economic backgrounds, all traditions, and most importantly, those offering insurgent voices and thinking.
Suneil Sharma
17th August 2025
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