February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
As a 10-year-old, the future Social Democratic and Labor Party leader witnessed a nationalist demonstration near where his family lived in Derry. Hume’s father, unemployed at the time, told his son never to get caught up in such patriotic fervor. When asked why not, Hume Sr. replied, “Because you can’t eat a flag.”
The vignette teaches an important lesson about the need for “bread and butter” politics to take precedence over facile sloganeering. It came to mind once again this week with the news that U.S. tech corporation Oracle is to set up business in Northern Ireland.
Oracle’s move marks the latest in a string of successes for Northern Ireland in its efforts to attract investment — both Microsoft and Citigroup have established operations in Belfast in recent months. These boosts have been particularly welcome at a time when the peace process has veered into parlous territory.
Even in some parallel reality where the Troubles had never happened, Northern Ireland would probably have gone through difficult economic times in the last four decades. In terms of its commercial and demographic makeup, for example, Belfast has much more in common with British cities like Liverpool and Glasgow than with the new boomtowns of the Republic.
Like its British counterparts, it was hit hard by the decline of industries upon which it traditionally depended.
The conflict, of course, gave Northern Ireland another huge problem to overcome.
Its recent economic progress is heartening to witness. Every person of Irish heritage will hope that it continues in the years ahead.