The Reform Group

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The Reform Group
Formation	1998 (14 years ago)
Type	Advocacy group
Website	reform.org

The Reform Group is an organisation whose goal is to have the Republic of Ireland re-join the Commonwealth of Nations and to promote British culture throughout the island of Ireland.

The group was launched in 1998 shortly after the successful referendum ratifying the Good Friday Agreement and describing itself as a coalition of "new unionists for the new millennium".^[1] A number of its founders, such as Anne Holliday, had been a member of the anti-republican group, New Consensus.^[2] At its launch, the group called for:

• Support for the creation of the British–Irish Council as set out in the Good Friday Agreement.
• The extension of full British citizenship rights to those who wanted this in the Republic of Ireland.
• The appointment of a senior official in the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility for minority affairs.
• Legislative change so that five of the 11 Senators currently nominated by the Taoiseach would be drawn from minority groups in the Republic of Ireland.
• State support for Ulster Scots speakers in the Republic of Ireland.
• Increased resources for the Garda to help it tackle crime and terrorism.

The group claims to be a voice for "alternative viewpoints" of "Irishmen and Irishwomen who do not fit in the seamless definition" of nationalist or unionist,^[3] which it says has served to divide the diverse cultures of the island of Ireland into separate groups of Gaelic-Irish, Anglo-Irish and Scots-Irish.^{[citation needed]} It has previously voiced support for citizens of Ireland being given the right to apply for British passports. The group has also expressed views that are critical of the status of the Irish language.^[4]

It was described in The Phoenix magazine as a "ridiculous Unionist ginger group".^[5]

In May 2010, the group launched a book called, Ireland and the Commonwealth: Towards Membership. Speaking at the launch were independent Senator David Norris, writer Mary Kenny and Trinity College professor Robert Martin, all of whom stated their support for the Republic re-joining the Commonwealth.^[6]

References

1. ^ New Unionist Lobby Group set up in Republic, Irish Times, 26 May 1998
2. ^ Founder member of New Consensus peace group, Irish Times, 16 April 2011
3. ^ FAQ reform.org Archived April 2009
4. ^ Aims of The Reform Movement, Reform.org
5. ^ "Affairs of the Nation - Cruiser for the chop?". The Phoenix magazine. December 2, 2005. http://www.thephoenix.ie/phoenix/subscriber/library/volume-23/issue-23/page-02-05.pdf. Retrieved 13 July 2010. 
6. ^ "Republic of Ireland should rejoin Commonwealth, says senator". The Belfast Telegraph. 2010-05-21. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/ireland-should-join-commonwealth-senator-14814353.html?r=RSS. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 

External links

• Official website of The Reform Group

See also

• West Briton
• Irish Unionist Alliance