As the dust has settled on Alec Salmond's 2014 independence referendum it is clear that we shall be held in colonial servitude for at least one more generation. Under the constitution of Unitedkingdomland a generation can be as long as they want it to be. It is time to re-appraise our strengths and weaknesses. A time to mull over historical episodes from our collective past and see if they might help us towards a future.
On the road between Turriff and Banff there is a small village called King Edward. This was once a strategically important area. Robert Bruce captured and destroyed a Comyn castle in the vicinity. Edward Bruce was Robert's stronger and healthier brother. He claimed to be King of Ireland as part of a proxy war with the imperial power on our doorstep. Edward Bruce died in Ireland and Robert's daughter Margaret founded the Stewart dynasty. King Edward is a memorial to a man who could have been King of Scots.
By MyChevalier - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98554076
Scottish diplomacy has been involved in Ireland in the past; it may be that Ireland is the stepping-stone to the survival of one of Europe's oldest nations. It is our clearly expressed collective will to have a closed trading relationship with the European Union. Any diplomatic and economic moves that strengthen our relationship with Dublin will be to our advantage. If we could contribute to un-doing some of the imperial mischiefs in Northern Ireland we would have achieved something worthwhile.
By a happy coincidence, the collective will of the people of Northern Ireland is to have a closer trading relationship with the European Union. Much of Scotland's seafood exports go to the Spanish market, via France. If they could be re-routed through Ireland they would enjoy a less congested road network. Many other products might also find that the advantages of a Celtic route justified the cost of an extra sea crossing.
It might also be possible for a confederal union between Scotland and Northern Ireland to work jointly towards an independence based on the 1689 Claim of Right. That is a single state under Scottish constitutional law. This might seem to be anathema to Dublin but the diplomacy is in the detail.
For it to work such a regulatory union between Scotland and Northern Ireland would have to address the thorny problem of Irish unity. Scotland did have a try at being an imperial power but we were not greedy enough for that. Any extension of Scottish sovereignty into Ireland would need to be in a context that recognised the good sense and inevitability of Irish unity. Whether it takes 70 or 700 years the important thing would be to do the job to the best of our ability.
It would not be unthinkable for the Scots to allow Stormont representatives to sit in a re-constituted 1706 Parliament. The Holyrood annex of the English House of Peasants might find it more difficult to gain permission from their imperial masters for such a move. If we are to have a future, the cul-de-sac of devolunion will have to be abandoned, at a time of our choosing. I would imagine that the Dahl, in Dublin, would be favourable to allowing Stormont representatives to take seats in their independent assembly.
There is a possible scenario where Scotland and Northern Ireland move jointly towards a closer integration with the European Union; fully supported by the Republic of Ireland. The first steps would be to try to replicate as much of the Norwegian arrangement as we can.
If we are to re-establish our sovereignty in our land we need to build alliances and cultivate friendships. We should be trying to enfranchise those Scots who are currently in exile for economic reasons. We also need to plan for a fully independent Head of State.
Edward Bruce will not come back again.
"But we can still rise now
And be a nation again"
