A Relic of the Past?

The Solemn League and Covenant of Ulster.




Many, many families across Northern Ireland will have this document, either proudly on display, locked away safely, or in the attic, gathering dust and long forgotten.  This year is the 100th year of the signing of the Covenant, many who signed it, (including members of this Numenorian Exile), marched to Belfast City Hall, (and other places across Ulster, including those counties that now form part of the Republic of Ireland), and signed it with their blood. It was the turning point in Irish history and as every good schoolboy knows it was the Unionist reaction to the Home Rule Crisis. The document itself is a fantastic statement for the reader, it mixes political ideology, religious language, and economic worries.


Is it now however a relic of the past? I personally think that it is, given the current situation or rather, (as it is popularly called these days in political circles) the "Northern Ireland Project", 100 years on and we are still part of the Union, the link has been retained, so in that respect the Covenant has been fulfilled. It is interesting to note that it is called a "covenant", when one thinks of covenant our minds instantly return to the Hebrew Bible, God and Noah, Abraham and God etc.. this was the point, this covenant when signed (in blood or ink), was to be treated in the same manner, it was a sacred bond between the signer and his maker, hence the emotive religious language used within it.


As the link has remained unbroken that means that the Covenant has been fulfilled? Does that mean that perhaps it is time for a new Covenant? A Covenant for the Northern Ireland Project as it were?


That would be rather interesting, a new Covenant, perhaps along the lines of, "Being convinced that we are all good people we shall henceforth live in peace with each other, regardless of class, colour and creed". In saying that I doubt it would have many signers.