In this month’s ARINS podcast, host Rory Montgomery chat to Fintan O’Toole and Sam McBride about their recent ARINS publication: For and Against a United Ireland.  

The prospect of Irish unification is now stronger than at any point since partition in 1921. Voters on both sides of the Irish border may soon have to confront for themselves what the answer to a referendum question would mean - for themselves, for their neighbours, and for their society. 

Journalists Fintan O'Toole and Sam McBride examine the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland. What do the words 'united Ireland' even mean? Would it be better for Northern Ireland? Would it improve lives in the Republic of Ireland? And could it be brought about without bloodshed? 

O’Toole and McBride each argue the case for and against unity, questioning received wisdom and bringing fresh thinking to one of Ireland’s most intractable questions. With cartoons by Fergus Boylan. 

The book has been shortlisted for An Post Book Award 2025 - BEST IRISH-PUBLISHED BOOK OF THE YEAR. See shortlist 

Book tickets to see the authors debate the strongest arguments for and against a united Ireland in The Lyric Theatre, Belfast and The National Concert Hall, Dublin in November 2025! 

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This is episode 47 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. 

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. 

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com 

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.  

In this month’s ARINS podcast, host Rory Montgomery discusses the recent Irish Studies in International Affairs article, A Review of Employment Law in Ireland, North and South, with its authors Esther McGuinness (Ulster University), Desmond Ryan (Trinity College Dublin) and Rory O'Connell(Ulster University).  

The article explores the evolution and current state of employment law across the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, a century after the 1920 Government of Ireland Act. It  examines how partition and constitutional changes have affected shared legal origins and  analyses collective and individual labour law, including health and safety, through the lens of historical and contemporary influences, such as Brexit and the Windsor Framework.  

The article is available open access, as are all ARINS publications, and can be read here:  

https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/423/article/962917 

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This is episode 46 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. 

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. 

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com 

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs. 

In this month’s ARINS podcast, host Rory Montgomery discusses the recent Irish Studies in International Affairs article, European Perceptions of Scottish Independence Before and After Brexit, with its authors Paul Anderson (Liverpool John Moore) and Coree Brown Swan (Stirling University). 

The article examines European perceptions of Scottish independence before and after Brexit, focusing on the responses of EU institutions and member states. It explores how the EU’s position evolved across three key periods: the pre-Brexit years (2012–2015), the Brexit negotiation era (2016–2020) and the post-Brexit recalibration (2020–2024). It considers the implications for Scotland’s ongoing independence movement and its future relationship with the EU. 

 The article is available open access, as are all ARINS publications, and can be read here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/423/article/960079 

This is episode 45 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. 

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. 

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com 

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs. 

ARINS: Reform of Stormont, Options for Discussion 

In this month’s ARINS podcast, host Rory Montgomery discusses the recent UCL Constitution Unit report ‘Reform of Stormont: Options for Discussion’ with its authors, Conor Kelly, Alan Renwick and Alan Whysall. 

This is episode 44 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. 

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. 

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com 

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs. 

In this month’s ARINS podcast, former Deputy First Minister and leader of the SDLP, Mark Durkan discusses his political career with host Rory Montgomery. The conversation focuses on the recent book by Professor Graham Spencer, The SDLP, Politics and Peace: the Mark Durkan interviews which was published in 2024 by Peter Lang. 

This is episode 43 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. 

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. 

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com 

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs. 

In this month’s ARINS podcast, Professor Brendan O’Leary (UPenn), Professor John McGarry (QUB), Dr Dawn Walsh (UCD) and Dr James Pow (QUB) together with host Rory Montgomery discuss the recently published results of surveys conducted in 2024.

The discussion covers opinions on membership of NATO and the Commonwealth, attitudes towards immigration, the role of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and emotional responses to potential constitutional change.

More information on the surveys, including links to all recent publications and booking links for upcoming public discussions (Dublin 10 March, Belfast 13 March) can be found here: https://www.ria.ie/research-programmes/arins/arins-the-irish-times-north-and-south-surveys-2024-results/ 

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This is episode 42 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. 

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. 

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com 

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.

In this month’s ARINS podcast, Dr Ida Milne and Dr Ian d’Alton, with host Rory Montgomery, discuss the lives of Southern Irish Protestants, including their own experiences. The conversation focuses on their 2019 co-edited collection of essays, Protestant and Irish: The minority’s search for place in independent Ireland https://bit.ly/3Cous3i and Ian d’Alton’s 2024, Southern Irish Protestants: Histories, Lives and Literatures. Reviewed recently in the Irish Times: https://bit.ly/3EqdrX2 

This is episode 41 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. 

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. 

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com 

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs. 

In this month's ARINS podcast Stephen Roulston and Martin Brown, with host Rory Montgomery, discuss education systems in Ireland. Their recent paper is 'A Century of Growing Apart and Challenges of Coming Together: Education Across the Island of Ireland'. Read the article in full here: https://bit.ly/3BCCZyX

This is episode 40 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south.

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at ⁠⁠www.arinsproject.com⁠⁠.

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.

Religion has played a huge role in the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland. There has been little comparative analysis, however, of the legal elements of this topic. Prof Oran Doyle,

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research.
ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com.

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.

This episode, Birnie Esmond, Senior Economist in the Ulster University Business School discusses his recent paper 'Trading Places: Continuity and Change in Northern Ireland's Trading Relationships' with John FitzGerald, Adjunct Professor of the Department of Economics Trinity College Dublin, and host Rory Montgomery. The paper is available to read here: https://bit.ly/3NSWCFE

This is episode 38 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south.

Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research.ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at ⁠⁠www.arinsproject.com⁠⁠. ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.