The decision by the British people to leave the E.U. had enormous implications for Northern Ireland. Despite warnings former former Prime Ministers John Major and Tony Blair the majority of British citizens did not take into account the impact on Northern Ireland.
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The citizens of Northern Ireland, however, took these warnings seriously and a majority voted to remain in the E.U. and voted 55.8 % to remain and 44.2% to Leave.
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What to do with Northern Ireland soon became the great challenge and headache for then Prime Minister Boris Johnson The AD HOC Committee was organized in February of 2019 to respond to this challenge and began the process of building a Green Wall in the United States to protect the Good Friday Agreement and the E.U. rights of citizens in Northern Ireland.
We cohosted several delegations from Northern Ireland led by Queens University Professor Katy Hayward to meet members of Congress. An expert on the Border, Professor Hayward would go on to become a leading voice in Northern Ireland seeking to prevent a Hard Border and maintain Northern Ireland’s relationship with the E.U.
Our efforts to build the Green Wall were immensely helped by a bipartisan coalition in Congress then led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee Richie Neal. Speaker Pelosi and Cong. Neal would lead a Congressional delegation to London, Belfast, Dublin, and the Border in April of 2018 to make it clear that the U.S. Congress would oppose any BREXIT initiative that would lead to a Hard Border across Ireland.
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Nancy Pelosi visits Irish Border between Donegal and Derry
The third part of the Green Wall was the election of Joe Biden to the White House in 2020, a long-time advocate of the GFA and the peace process. Prime Minister Johnson’s great hope of a favorable US/UK Trade deal to offset leaving the E.U. would be stymied again and again by opposition from the Congress and the White House.
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While the Biden White House would continue to work closely with Great Britain on national security matters including NATO, Ukraine, and China’s emerging threat in Asia, the British government would face a United States that was adamant in preventing a Hard Border.
The Ad Hoc Committee would meet with countless British representatives including several Northern Ireland Secretaries’ of State over the years to convey our opposition to a hard border and the need to conclude a positive Northern Ireland Protocol Agreement. The existence of the Green Wall would become a decisive factor for Prime Minister in agreeing to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
AdHocGFA.org 