UK election has huge relevance for Ireland

It is not necessary to be a pessimist much less a fatalist to feel we are living through a moment of great change, a moment of great reversal. It is impossible not to think we are witnesses to hard-won ground being lost to forces and ideas long thought consigned to history. It is also difficult, but important, to remain engaged, not to be cowed by stridency or a feeling of powerlessness.

Brexit and the lines of dominoes it tumbles regardless of consequences is one source of dismay, the Trump presidency another. The fractured, deeply divided nature of British politics, still far more relevant to us than we might care to admit, another. So too is the nature and consequences of Britain’s election — just five weeks away.