Catalonia and Northern Ireland: Battling over tribal past in a new world

THE Catalan separatists may be too busy preparing to defend their assertion of independence in the Spanish courts — despite the absence of their leader, Carles Puigdemont — to look to Northern Ireland for lessons from that never-ending danse macabre of relentless conflict as tactic.

Yesterday, NI secretary of state James Brokenshire said that there is still time to save power-sharing in Stormont, insisting that only minor differences between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists, mainly around Irish language rights and culture, remain unresolved.

What he did not say, what he or any other politician could not say, is that the issues are utterly contrived and represent today’s expression of a deep, tribal hatred that persists despite the clearly declared wishes of the vast majority of people on this island to live in harmony. Both parties to the Stormont impasse — the latest in a litany — contribute to this near medieval stand-off.