The Reform Group was an organisation based in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

that sought to have

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

rejoin the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

History

The group was launched in 1998 as The Reform Movement shortly after the successful referendum ratifying the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

and describing itself as a coalition of "new unionists for the new millennium". A number of its founders, such as Anne Holliday, had been members of the anti-

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

group, New Consensus. At its launch, the group called for: * support for the creation of the

British–Irish Council The British–Irish Council (BIC) ( ga, Comhairle na Breataine-na hÉireann) is an intergovernmental organisation that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transport, the environment, and energy. Its ...

as set out in the Good Friday Agreement * the extension of full British citizenship rights to those who sought it in Ireland * the appointment of a senior official in the

Department of the Taoiseach The Department of the Taoiseach ( ga, Roinn an Taoisigh) is the government department of the Taoiseach, the title in Ireland for the head of government.Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision re ...

with special responsibility for minority affairs * legislative change so that five of the 11 Senators currently nominated by the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

would be drawn from minority groups in Ireland * State support for Ulster Scots speakers * increased resources for the Garda Síochána 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 Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

or unionist. 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 Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. 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 Mary Kenny (born 4 April 1944) is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost feminists, often contributes columns to the ''Irish In ...

and Trinity College professor Robert Martin, all of whom stated their support for Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth. It was described in '' The Phoenix'' magazine as a "ridiculous Unionist ginger group".

Logo

At its inception and for some years afterwards, the "badge" or logo of The Reform Group was

Saint Patrick's Cross Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned "''argent, a saltire gules''". The Saint Patrick's Flag (''Bratach Naomh Pádraig'') is a flag comp ...

, a white flag with a red saltire. This was a controversial choice of symbol as the authenticity of the symbol as one representing Ireland has often been debated.The Reform Movement Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2004 wherein it states "Given all this evidence, it is not possible to dismiss the authenticity the Cross of Saint Patrick in 1783. No-one has ever produced definitive evidence either way and it is lightly the flag will continue to remain something of a mystery.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reform Group Unionism in Ireland Organizations established in 1998 1998 establishments in Ireland Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations