Brexit is on the agenda for the European Council summit meeting taking place in Brussels from 28 to 29 June, but proposals to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland are unlikely to be agreed until later in the year. While agreement remains elusive, the prospect of a hard border, possibly accompanied by an economic downturn, looms large. In her address to the IIEA, Dr Mary C. Murphy drew on her recent book Europe and Northern Ireland’s Future: Negotiating Brexit’s Unique Case to analyse these developments. Mark Durkan, former Leader of the SDLP, provided a perspective on the negotiations from Northern Ireland.
About the Speaker:
Dr Mary C. Murphy holds a Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration and is a lecturer in politics with the Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork. She specialises in the study of the EU and Northern Ireland politics. Her latest book Europe and Northern Ireland’s Future: Negotiating Brexit’s Unique Case was published in April 2018. Mark Durkan was the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2001 to 2002, and the Leader of the SDLP from 2001 to 2010. He also served as the SDLP’s Member of Parliament for Foyle from May 2005 to May 2017.
