‘Simple question – complex answer’

A large turnout of Jesuits, colleagues and invited guests, attended the launch of a special edition of Studies, the Irish Jesuit Quarterly, in the Mansion House in Dublin, on Monday 31 March 2025. The spring issue, focusing on Irish partition and the question of Irish unity, was launched by the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.

Reflecting on the fraught legacy of Ireland’s partition and the current conversation around national unification, the Minister warned against the tendency toward simplification in discussions on borders and unification. “Every simple, big question has a long and complex answer”, he cautioned, saying it is necessary to recognise “the importance of nuance” and “the danger of simple claims”, as insights that are “essential to the health of democracies”. Minister Donohoe went on to say that Studies is a “quiet but persistent advocate of this approach. For that we owe it, its editor Dermot Roantree, those who support him and all who have done before, our sincere thanks.”

The Minister also mentioned how the book review section of Studies was his favourite part. “I was delighted to read a wonderful contemplation on what sounds like a majestic work, The Matter with Things by Ian McGilchrist, by a devoted reader and student, Patrick Nolan,” he said, adding, “1600 pages of philosophy are lovingly considered. Where else but in Studies would the general reader find such a wonderful essay?”

Dr Dermot Roantree is the first lay editor of the journal in its 112-year history. Speaking at the launch Dr Roantree noted that the founders of Studies in 1912 intended it “to help traverse the space which tends to open up between specialist knowledge – academically or experientially specialist – and the broader reading public”, so as to add texture and depth to Irish public discourse. “It has kept true to this goal for over a century now,” he remarked, which makes it a considerable gift from the Jesuit province to the country.

This special issue of Studies, titled ‘Visions of Ireland, North and South’, marks the centenary of the Irish Boundary Commission, whose 1925 failure left the 26/6 county partition of Ireland unchanged – a decision with deep and lasting consequences. The issue gathers voices from across the political and academic spectrum to reflect on both the historical moment and its continuing legacy today.

The opening essay is by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who outlines the goals of the Shared Island initiative, aimed at building consensus around a shared future on the island of Ireland grounded in the Good Friday Agreement. In his own essay, Minister Donohoe explores Ireland’s enduring relationship with Europe, highlighting the historical depth and contemporary significance of its European commitments.

Other essays in this collection examine the history of the Boundary Commission, the historical dimensions of Ireland’s relationship with the empire, and the thorny social, economic, and identity issues that have a critical bearing on the prospect of national unification.

Contributors include Jane Ohlmeyer, John FitzGerald, John Coakley, Jennifer Todd, Joseph Ruane, Brian Feeney, and Alex Kane.

Founded and in continuous publication since 1912, Studies has frequently played a significant role in Irish public discourse, mostly on matters of public policy, economics, religion and culture.

Notable contributors down the years include John Maynard Keynes, T.K. Whitaker, Seán Lemass, Patrick Kavanagh, Conor Cruise O’Brien, Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Garret FitzGerald, R. Dudley Edwards, Eavan Boland, and John Bruton.

Quotes from Studies: ‘Visions of Ireland, North and South’

‘I have always believed that reconciliation between the different traditions on this island is our best pathway to peace and prosperity, and I am deeply committed to it. But I realised long ago that talk about this issue is cheap, and that sloganeering is easy. As the broadcaster Patrick Kielty memorably put it, “It’s easier to sing rebel songs about a United Ireland and not have it, than not sing them and have it”.’ — An Taoiseach Micheál Martin

‘Ireland, deeply integrated into this European project, stands to benefit from a Union that remains outward-looking, dynamic, and principled. The European Union has saved us from the worst in our history. I am convinced that it is still our best hope for the future.’ — Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe

‘The prospects for Irish unity are real, though this is not likely to come about through demographic change or public opinion shift. One of the starkest features of contemporary geopolitics – rarely acknowledged in respect of Northern Ireland – is that the UK government, as an actor that, like other governments, seeks to advance its own interests, may well eventually choose to divest itself of its troublesome Irish region.’ — Professor John Coakley, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University College Dublin

‘Without major changes in Northern Ireland to enhance its productivity and provide better opportunities for children of all backgrounds, unification would be very costly for people in the Republic. Thus, wooing a southern electorate and persuading them to merge with a much poorer Northern Ireland, which would require continuing large-scale support from the Republic over many decades, would be a hard ask.’ — Professor John FitzGerald, Adjunct Professor of Economics, Trinity College Dublin

‘Discussions of Irish engagement in empire, especially the British one, quickly become toxic. Many in Ireland have either conveniently forgotten our imperial past or are simply oblivious to it. Ignorance of Ireland’s engagement with empire has enabled extreme nationalists to manipulate the past.’ — Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History, Trinity College Dublin

‘The Good Friday Agreement comprehensively overturned the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, and the 1998 Northern Ireland Act became the North’s constitution. Mainstream Republicans regard it in the same way as Michael Collins looked upon the treaty: ‘the freedom to archive freedom’. The North was no longer a unionist state.’ — Brian Feeney, author, historian and political columnist

‘The darkest shadow on the unionist horizon is the prospect of the Border Poll foreshadowed in the 1998 agreement. No specific terms or conditions have been outlined for the calling of that poll, but I do know, from many conversations within and across unionism and loyalism that, like so many other prospects in the past, it’s an issue which spooks them.’ — Alex Kane, freelance columnist and former Director of Communications for the Ulster Unionist Party

‘It is widely accepted that the different identities and traditions on the island should be accommodated in any future political system. But much of the current discussion fails to recognise the problems of misrecognition of those identities and traditions.’ — Professor Joseph Ruane, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at University College Cork, and Professor Jennifer Todd, Emeritus Professor in Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin

‘Visions of Ireland, North and South’, the spring 2025 issue of Studies, is available now through the Studies website » and in select bookstores.