Christopher Hitchens was a committed supporter of a united Ireland - VIDEO
By: Patrick Roberts | Published Friday, December 16, 2011, 10:00 AM | Updated Friday, December 16, 2011, 10:00 AM
Christopher Hitchens
The late Christopher Hitchens who died yesterday was an avid supporter of a United Ireland.
Rare for British writers, Hitchens was a committed Republican, in favor of ending the monarchy in Britain.
He became embroiled in many arguments on Northern Ireland which he often compared to Cyprus, and stated that partition in both cases was the root of all the problems that the country experienced.
Ironically he often clashed with his brother, Peter, an unabashed royalist and Christian conservative, and a columnist with the Daily Mail who took a very dim view of Irish nationalism.
Peter Hitchens once pursued Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams across the United States asking him hostile questions at every opportunity,
Hitchens views on partition were informed by his first wife, Eleni Meleagrou, a Greek Cypriot, he married in 1981.
Most irish people I know either dont want a united Ireland or dont really care either way.
keynyata-Northern Ireland is beautiful and full of fantastic people.
Keynyata | Dec 17, 2011, 11:03 AM EST
There will never be an united Ireland,thankfully.
Northern Ireland is a savage place.
Rebelforce | Dec 16, 2011, 12:01 PM EST
I heard Christopher Hitchens speak many times and only once did I hear him mention (in passing) that he could support a united Ireland. What he really seemed to be enthusiastic about was getting the US involved in the disastrous Iraq War. He was one of the media's favorite neo-Con chickenhawk cheerleaders for the bloody Iraq War that wound up killing so many hundreds of thousands of people including 4,800 US troops dead and 30,000 US troops injured (many of them amputees). It is ironic that he should die just as that inglorious chapter in US history is ending.
IrelandNorth | Dec 16, 2011, 08:35 AM EST
Regret to hear of his passing. Admired his incisive intellect, and wasn't aware he was a United Irelander, which raises him even higher in my esteem. As that exceptionally rare breed of English republican, I wish his spirit well wherever it may be.
eiriamach | Dec 16, 2011, 08:29 AM EST
I'm sorry to hear of Hitchens' death. His lively style helped usher in a new era, just gaining impetus now, of debate about religion, human destiny and spirit. One of his colleagues, Terry Eagleton, included Hitchens as a major voice in the debate: "Why are the most unlikely people, including myself, suddenly talking about God? Who would have expected theology to rear its head once more in the technocratic twenty-first century, almost as surprisingly as some mass revival of Zoroastrianism? Why is it that my local bookshop has suddenly sprouted a section labeled 'Atheism,' hosting anti-God manifestos by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others? . . . Why, just as we were confidently moving into a post-theological, post-metaphysical, even post-historical era, has the God question broken out anew?" --from "Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate" (2009), excerpted in 'Commonweal' online. As a passionate advocate of freedom, Hitchens wanted us to free ourselves from God, the "celestial totalitarian," as well as from mundane political masters like the British. Golly, political freedom would be enough for me.
sirpeter | Dec 16, 2011, 07:48 AM EST
I always liked Christopher Hitchens.He always stated the obvious simple truth to those who had their own self-serving agenda.
alkil29 | Dec 16, 2011, 07:35 AM EST
Yeah and it's almost as if this argument couldn't work the other way also Jonno99, ha ha
jonno99 | Dec 16, 2011, 06:41 AM EST
Christopher was obviously the intellectual and far better informed of the facts regarding Ireland. His brother more than likely adopted diametrically opposed positions in order to convince himself he was his brothers intellectual equal. Classic self delusion!
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.ciaradexy | Dec 19, 2011, 12:37 PM EST
Most irish people I know either dont want a united Ireland or dont really care either way. keynyata-Northern Ireland is beautiful and full of fantastic people.
Keynyata | Dec 17, 2011, 11:03 AM EST
There will never be an united Ireland,thankfully. Northern Ireland is a savage place.
Rebelforce | Dec 16, 2011, 12:01 PM EST
I heard Christopher Hitchens speak many times and only once did I hear him mention (in passing) that he could support a united Ireland. What he really seemed to be enthusiastic about was getting the US involved in the disastrous Iraq War. He was one of the media's favorite neo-Con chickenhawk cheerleaders for the bloody Iraq War that wound up killing so many hundreds of thousands of people including 4,800 US troops dead and 30,000 US troops injured (many of them amputees). It is ironic that he should die just as that inglorious chapter in US history is ending.
IrelandNorth | Dec 16, 2011, 08:35 AM EST
Regret to hear of his passing. Admired his incisive intellect, and wasn't aware he was a United Irelander, which raises him even higher in my esteem. As that exceptionally rare breed of English republican, I wish his spirit well wherever it may be.
eiriamach | Dec 16, 2011, 08:29 AM EST
I'm sorry to hear of Hitchens' death. His lively style helped usher in a new era, just gaining impetus now, of debate about religion, human destiny and spirit. One of his colleagues, Terry Eagleton, included Hitchens as a major voice in the debate: "Why are the most unlikely people, including myself, suddenly talking about God? Who would have expected theology to rear its head once more in the technocratic twenty-first century, almost as surprisingly as some mass revival of Zoroastrianism? Why is it that my local bookshop has suddenly sprouted a section labeled 'Atheism,' hosting anti-God manifestos by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others? . . . Why, just as we were confidently moving into a post-theological, post-metaphysical, even post-historical era, has the God question broken out anew?" --from "Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate" (2009), excerpted in 'Commonweal' online. As a passionate advocate of freedom, Hitchens wanted us to free ourselves from God, the "celestial totalitarian," as well as from mundane political masters like the British. Golly, political freedom would be enough for me.
sirpeter | Dec 16, 2011, 07:48 AM EST
I always liked Christopher Hitchens.He always stated the obvious simple truth to those who had their own self-serving agenda.
alkil29 | Dec 16, 2011, 07:35 AM EST
Yeah and it's almost as if this argument couldn't work the other way also Jonno99, ha ha
jonno99 | Dec 16, 2011, 06:41 AM EST
Christopher was obviously the intellectual and far better informed of the facts regarding Ireland. His brother more than likely adopted diametrically opposed positions in order to convince himself he was his brothers intellectual equal. Classic self delusion!