Mervyn Gibson on Ireland's Future: They will say 'we have Protestants involved' but vast majority of unionists want nothing to do with it

Rev Mervyn Gibson was speaking in the wake of the Ireland's Future event at the SEE Arena in Belfast (formerly the Odyssey) at the weekend – the latest one staged by the Dublin-based not-for-profit company.

Among the speakers were Jarlath Burns (president of the GAA), Michelle O'Neill (SF vice-president), and Leo Varadkar (the ex-taoiseach), but much of the event took the form of panel discussions.

One such discussion was titled "Protestant Perspectives" and featured the following:

Lord Alderdice (former leader of the Alliance Party);

Claire Mitchell (member of the Green Party);

Wallace Thompson (ex-DUP man who now believes Irish unity is inevitable);

And David Adams (a former UDA man who renounced paramilitarism and became an aid worker).

It was moderated by Rev Karen Sethuraman.

She is an LGBT+ advocate and is affiliated to the Anabaptist Mennonite Network, a fringe religious movement (according to the 2011 census there were a total of 13 Mennonites in Northern Ireland, then none all in the 2021 census, and no mention of Anabaptists).

Rev Gibson, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (there were 316,000 Presbyterians registered in the 2021 census), told the News Letter: "I find it strange that anyone who'd be a unionist would want to go and engage in a conversation that has a pre-determined outcome: that is, a united Ireland.

"People will put whatever spin they want on it, or view they want: they've got unionists, Protestants engaged in this. And I've no doubt they have, at one level.

"But the vast majority of unionism sees no point in talking about something we don't want to come about and don't think will take place in the foreseeable future."

He said those taking part in this debate were "not from mainstream unionist political parties or loyal orders" and concluded: "I wouldn't condemn those who took part because that is their individual prerogative.

"But I think the core of the whole issue is this is just a trundling vehicle to try and build up a head of steam that makes a united Ireland inevitable. We're not going to join that train."

The Orange Order has an estimated 80,000-plus members, with over 10,000 members of the Apprentice Boys and perhaps 30,000 in the Royal Black Preceptory (according to the CAIN internet archive).

A previous effort by Ireland's Future to stress the involvement of Protestant people in its conferences backfired massively when it put forward Andrew Clarke in 2022 as a speaker at one of its gatherings.

As the News Letter revealed at the time, this was despite the fact he had all DUP voters “c***s” and "bigots", the Orange Order a “putrid shower of dangers” (sic), and advocated throwing eggs at King Charles, among much else.

It is not known exactly how many people attended the SSE Arena event (though the Press Association reported it was “more than 2,000”).

In the seated style used during Saturday’s conference the venue can take 8,700 people, and a number of pictures show patches of empty seats, especially in the upper tiers.

Ireland’s Future has been asked for a headcount, and an answer is awaited.