A view of the south of Ireland - political, social, geographical -
through the eyes of a liberal northern protestant being asked to rejoin
it. 'A pleasure to read, forensically and wittily observed, incisively
mixing memoir, reportage and analysis' Daily Mail
'He has a light touch, a way of glancing off things and leaving our
perception of them changed. He can dazzle. He tells a good story' Irish
Times
The reunification of Ireland, which seemed in 1998 to have been pushed
over the far horizon as an aspiration, has returned with a vengeance.
Brexit calls into question the British commitment to Northern Ireland
and threatens its economy. There has been a surge in support for Sinn
Fein south of the border. This is a dangerous and divisive issue, and
will become more so if Sinn Fein enters the government of the Republic,
as seems inevitable in the next couple of years. They are pushing
relentlessly, as only that cult-like party knows how, for a poll on the
future of the border.
In The Last Irish Question Glenn Patterson views the south through the
eyes of a liberal northern protestant, travelling the entire country and
looking at this place he is being asked to join and which his people
have spent a very long time shunning. Most of the south is terra
incognita to them (as it is to many people who live in Dublin).
There have been countless books describing and travelling through
Ulster, but never a book like this that turns its gaze the other way: a
journey of discovery through the south by a sceptical northerner. The
attitudes Patterson exposes in those rural and small town areas outside
Dublin will probably come as a shock to many Irish readers. Patterson is
a witty, brilliant observer and this will be a highly enjoyable as well
as alarmingly topical book.