1. Timely that we're having the #unity conversation now because we're going through the biggest constitutional change in a generation, said @moneillsf @IrelandsFuture
2. We're in a period of massive change, we have a chance to grab it and make something better said @moneillsf @irlelandsfuture
@moneillsf 3. We have to be mature and respectful enough to have the conversation about change, said @moneillsf. After a century of division there is nothing for nationalists to celebrate. But I accept those of unionist identity come at this from very different viewpoint @IrelandsFuture
4. I don't want to build an Ireland for one side of the community or the other. Let's set a date for the vote. Irish gov must hold a citizens assembly said @moneillsf @IrelandsFuture
5. I grew up as a unionist in south Belfast and in the earlier years it never occurred to me there was any other way of life - I was in a unionist bubble, said @TrevorLunnLV. Says father was committed Orangeman but didn't ask any of his sons to join Orange Order @IrelandsFuture
6. Independent MLA @trevorlunn says he joined Alliance party but left - although not because of his nationalist leanings but other differences. @IrelandsFuture
7. If the deal was right, if the conditions were right I would support a united Ireland says @TrevorLunnLV who says his background is soft unionist. @IrelandsFuture
8. A citizens' assembly is all prepation for a border poll which I think is inevitable says @TrevorLunnLV. Says 46 years since last border poll and we can't last much longer without a border poll - we need to be prepared for for it @IrelandsFuture
9. @TrevorLunnLV says politicians will never do the deal it needs to be informed citizens in a citizens' assembly dealing with the big questions eg pensions, regional assemblies @IrelandsFuture
10. We in @IrelandsFuture are guided by the values of the #GoodFriday Agreement says Niall Murphy of @KRWLaw who is secretary of civic nationalism group. Change needs to be managed responsibly and respectfully, he says.
11. Niall Murphy @KRWLaw says this new #Ireland needs to be planned properly and done right because it will be forever @IrelandsFuture
12. Citizens with affection for Britain need to be convinced they will be valued+their identity respected and cherished. Niall Murphy Of @KRWLaw says important to spread message that unionist tradition is wanted + will be integral part of an all-Ireland society @IrelandsFuture
13. We can't put our head in the sand - change is in the air, said Niall Murphy @KRWLaw. The perpetual unionist majority is gone forever. But there is an opportunity for the North to remain in the EU through separation from Britain. @IrelandsFuture
14. There is an obligation to offer a persuasive and cohesive view of what will happen in the event of unity and preparations must start now. Irish gov needs to act now, says Niall Murphy of @KRWLaw @IrelandsFuture
15. We live on this island together. The future is collectively ours. It is an opportunity to build something better than what went before, says Niall Murphy of @KRWLaw @IrelandsFuture
17. Progress has been made since #goodfridayagreement eg moving away from segregated education in Belfast schools, youth groups cooperating on a North-South basis, and sport, arts and academia doing likewise, says @EmmandJDeSouza @IrelandsFuture
18. There is a clear need to establish an all-island citizens' assembly to build North-South links. Such an assembly is an essential resource to bridge gaps between citizens and political representatives, says @EmmandJDeSouza @IrelandsFuture
19. The task of tackling the sheer volume of tackling the work for creating a new constitution for a new country would require a number of separate citizens' assemblies, says @EmmandJDeSouza @IrelandsFuture
20. Both parts of the island would gain from unity, says @EmmandJDeSouza. NI would have 20pc representation in the Dáil, while there is potential for all-island healthcare and for unlocking of the island's true economic potential. @IrelandsFuture
21. It's important to have conversations like this about the future: what it might look like and how we can get there, says @patsymcglone @IrelandsFuture
22. New systems in a new #Ireland should be the best possible and not compromised in advance to entice others, says @patsymcglone @IrelandsFuture
23. We have to be generous and open, and prove we are genuinely sincere when we say we want to build a new Ireland that respects unionist identity says @patsymcglone @IrelandsFuture
24. A majority for a unity Ireland isn't palpable and doesn't exist now, says @patsymcglone. Not enough people in the North would vote for unity. They remain to be persuaded. The people who fit neither unionist nor nationalist categories will be the deciders. @IrelandsFuture
25. We have had peace but not the opposite of war, says @patsymcglone . War has been pursued by other means he warns. Says it can be difficult to be civilised especially in the political arena. @IrelandsFuture
26. Nationalists+unionists are cultural cousins says @patsymcglone. Many people arrived here during plantation without English - spoke Gallic. Says we have more in common than divides us and this has been ignored deliberately by some sections of society @IrelandsFuture
27. I aspire to a reconciled Ireland says @patsymcglone. Those of us who aspire to a united Ireland must persuade others it is a destination worth reaching. Let's get there together united and peaceful. @IrelandsFuture
28. We in @sinnfeinireland want to see #borderpoll in five years says @moneillsf. Says the date needs to be set to focus minds of others not engaging currently. Urges preparation and citizens' assembly @IrelandsFuture
29. Timetables can work negatively says @patsymcglone. Urges instead we do all the preparatory work eg citizens' assembly and including the new Irish in the conversation @IrelandsFuture
30. If Scotland holds 2nd border poll + votes to leave it's the end of UK says @TrevorLunnLV. Possible dates for Irish border poll he suggests: 2025 is 50th anniversary of last vote or 2028 is 20th anniv of @BelfastAgmt. Says 4-year timespan is enough to prepare. @IrelandsFuture
31. I have no interest in suppressing anyone's culture, says Niall Murphy @KRWLaw. But we need conversations: it's not for me to 2nd guess what a person of British identity wants in new constition. We need to understand what that new Ireland looks like can't create it in a vacuum
32. "You have to iron your your mind" when you come around after a life-threatening illness, says Niall Murphy of @KRWLaw, who was in intensive care after contracting #COVID19 early in the pandemic.@IrelandsFuture
33. Tories have created a mythology around the NHS, a context where you cannot criticise the NHS because you criticise front-line workers - this needs to be decoupled, says Niall Murphy @KRWLaw @IrelandsFuture
34. Re ICU beds the Irish Republic has 10 for every two in the North, says Niall Murphy of @KRWLaw. The #NHS has been mythologised. But there are staff shortages - and without nurses, hospital beds are just furniture, he says @IrelandsFuture
35. Education needs to be improved says @EmmandJDeSouza. In North, nationalist schools teach Troubles but state schools teach earlier periods. Says they are being taught 2 different versions of our history. In the Republic,@BelfastAgmt is very lightly touched on. @IrelandsFuture
36. I asked a senior unionist representative one day to define his Britishness and that person said the Orange Order and the British army, says @patsymcglone. Said he'd like to hear more definitions of what Britishness or Ulster-Scots means to people @IrelandsFuture
37. Enhancing the status of one community doesn't diminish the status of the other, says @patsymcglone. @IrelandsFuture
38. We need to drill down deeper and get clear answers about British or Ulster-Scots identity - we won't be able to arrive at a durable accommodation without them says @patsymcglone. Says it's a challenge but an exciting one. @IrelandsFuture
39. We want to be leading in government across this island says @moneillsf. Says real border poll progress will only be made when an Irish government has a conversation with the British government @IrelandsFuture
40. Some people will come at the #unity conversation from an ideological point of view and others from a practical point of view eg health and education, says @moneillsf @IrelandsFuture
41. It seems sensible that a provincial system of regional assemblies should be put in place, says @TrevorLunnLV I'm in favour instinctively of regional assemblies he tells the #Armagh @IrelandsFuture discussion
42. If sovereignty moves to Dublin let's not forget the unionist voters in the North would be a substantial powerbroker or power bloc and would shape the new assembly says @patsymcglone. Unionists won't be voiceless he says @IrelandsFuture
43. We need to consider the next generation, the Good Friday Agreement generation, who have different priorities and are not basing choices and aspirations on the past. Key issues for them: housing healthcare education and human rights, says @EmmandJDeSouza @IrelandsFuture
44. The 1st step to reconciliation is to understand we all have different narratives+perspectives says @moneillsf. Yes look to the future, build something better+ensure the past is not repeated. But urges that we heal the wounds, pain+trauma caused over many years @IrelandsFuture
45. We should have a border poll when the research is done and people know what they are voting for - but that research needs to happen now, says Niall Murphy of @KRWLaw @IrelandsFuture
46. How do we all get to know each other on the island asks a member of the public. @EmmandJDeSouza cites the Encounters programme run by @NWCI which brings together women from the two sides of Ireland to talk about their priorities and building North-South links @IrelandsFuture
47. Political representation at Westminster is less than 3pc but could be as high as 20pc in the #Dáil says Niall Murphy @KRWLaw. Ideologies may settle down following #unity and we might have a true Right and Left politically, he says. @IrelandsFuture
48. #Unity is another opportunity to address exclusionary legislation for migrants and changes will be required says @EmmandJDeSouza @IrelandsFuture
@EmmandJDeSouza @IrelandsFuture 49. Reunification is a golden opportunity and there'd be financial support from EU and US says @TrevorLunnLV @IrelandsFuture. Says the subvention figure is disputed.
50. Issue of re-entering #EU is a huge one for many of our young people who will form the basis of the new society says @patsymcglone @IrelandsFuture
51. And it's over and out. Good work @AmandaFBelfast for her expert chairing of the @IrelandsFuture #armagh #unity discussion. This was the latest event held by the grassroots civic society organisation. More events to follow.
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