7 - The Minority Rights Implications of Irish Unification

Summary

In this chapter I explore how Irish unification may affect the attitude of the Irish courts towards minority rights adjudication. First I examine minority rights protection under the current Constitution of Ireland. I show that the Irish judiciary have not developed an understanding that their constitutional function includes a particular role in ensuring the rights of minorities specifically are protected against attack. I then consider how unification, and the incorporation into the Irish constitutional order of a large and politically significant minority - the Ulster Scots/Ulster British population of Northern Ireland – could affect judicial attitudes towards minority rights. I ground this analysis on comparative constitutional research, particularly of American and Canadian jurisprudence. In this, building on the contribution of Doyle, Kenny, and McCrudden in this volume, I also consider how maintaining consociationalism for what is presently Northern Ireland upon unification may also inform the judiciary’s understanding of their role in adjudicating upon minority rights claims.