Scotland, by default, has become an attractive place to many people post-Brexit. Outward-looking, welcoming and progressive, we find ourselves considered a beacon on the British Isles which, as a shy and modest people (no tittering at the back), makes us slightly uncomfortable but mostly quite pleased.
It is with great pleasure, therefore, that we learn of Rathlin Island’s desire to become part of Scotland within the European Union. Any country would be proud to have Rathlin, and to be chosen by them is a special honour. For sure, there will be ancient claims, territorial sovereignty, diplomacy and other tedious flim-flam to be considered first. But we can all fall off these bridges when we come to them.
The proposal has been made “half jokingly”, which alas means the same as “half seriously”. Brexit has discombobulated the islanders, who already feel a kinship to Scotland. Rathlin (population 145 and located off County Antrim’s coast) is just a 12-mile stone’s throw from the Mull of Kintyre.
The cave where Robert the Bruce saw his persevering spider is thought to be located on Rathlin, and the usual clan massacres have taken place there.
But there are webs within webs to be unwoven here. For, as Britain tries to unravel itself from the EU, independence supporters here are still trying to extricate Scotland from the United Kingdom (still far from a foregone conclusion), and Rathlin’s departure would surely be viewed with dismay by its present countrymen in Northern Ireland.
In 1617, Rathlin’s designation as Scottish or Irish was decided by a dead snake. It was alive when unleashed on the island but soon expired, proving Rathlin was Irish as no serpents could survive in Ireland after St Patrick told them to leg it.
Animal welfare concerns would prevent a rematch. For the time being, therefore, we might content ourselves with waving to each other across the sea – until everything unravels.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel