Irish Examiner View: Samuel Beckett’s iconic play echoes in Northern Ireland

Even an election is not seen as a potential fresh beginning for Northern Ireland.

Johnny Murphy and Barry McGovern in the Gate's production of Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot'. Picture: Anthony Woods

Describing the events of recent days in Northern Ireland could be accomplished with a quick adaptation of the old description of Waiting For Godot.

Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece was memorably described as a play in which nothing happens — twice. Unfortunately, the impasse in Northern Ireland seems to be so long-lived that, in political terms, nothing happens.

Yesterday brought yet another missed opportunity in the long-running stand-off in Stormont. MLAs failed to appoint a speaker, pushing Northern secretary Chris Heaton-Harris ever closer to calling an election.

So entrenched is the situation that even an election — the traditional starting point for renewing a political scene — is not seen as a fresh beginning for Northern Ireland. 

The Democratic Unionist Party’s problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol, and consequent refusal to enter power-sharing, are not about to be assuaged by poll results.

Even if sympathy for the DUP is in short supply, it is worth remembering that this mess is yet another result of the Brexit fiasco in the UK.

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What began as a stroke to quell Conservative Party infighting with a Brexit referendum in 2016 has resulted in chaos in many sectors of the UK economy.

However, only on the island of Ireland is the legacy of that vote a genuine threat to political stability and peace in Northern Ireland, which was achieved after decades of death and turmoil.

It is a particularly toxic byproduct, and one for which an antidote remains elusive.