The scenes at Drumcree in recent weeks revived memories of one of Northern Ireland’s most enduring disputes between unionist and nationalist communities.

But while the immediate controversy centred on a short stretch of road in Portadown, loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, who has spearheaded the campaign to secure a return of Orange Order members to the largely nationalist Garvaghy Road, believes the implications reach much further than a single parade.

On today’s podcast, Bryson tells Hugh that the unionist tradition has been “under siege” for decades and argues that it is time to “go on the offensive”.

“We’ve constantly been on the defensive and, in my view, that has emboldened an ever more aggressive nationalist push in terms of advancing their culture and their objectives,” he says.

Bryson has long been at the centre of debates over identity and culture in Northern Ireland. He came to prominence during the protests that followed Belfast City Council’s decision to limit the flying of the Union flag at City Hall, demonstrations that were marked by significant unrest.

More recently, he has been a vocal opponent of Irish-language policies and the introduction of dual-language street signs in parts of Belfast, which he argues have been imposed on unionist communities.

The Drumcree controversy, he says, reflects a broader struggle over culture and identity. “We’re going to do to you what you have done to us,” he says.

Bryson insists the ultimate objective is not dominance by either tradition. “Nationalists are not going to dominate unionists, and unionists are not going to dominate nationalists” he says.

“Eventually we will all come to the table once we’ve fought each other to exhaustion in a culture war”.

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Democracy rests on the promise that political institutions should reflect the people they serve. But in an era of growing social diversity, persistent inequalities and political polarisation, that promise is being contested.

On today’s podcast, Hugh heads to the Royal Irish Academy to speak to Pauline Cullen, Professor of Sociology at Maynooth University and Tània Verge Mestre, former Equalities Minister in the Catalan government in Spain.

Verge Mestre highlights the gender quota’s introduced in Spain in 2007 requiring political parties to have no less than 40% of either gender represented in its candidates.

Cullen said “we have some of the most imaginative forms of governance across Europe”.

“When we think about diversity in an Irish context and we think about gender equality, migrant integration, or traveller rights, we silo them in different government departments and we give them different funding streams” she added.

“We don’t create the conditions to think about these things in a joined up way”.

So how can politics be more representative? And why is Ireland lagging behind international comparisons?

Presented by Hugh Linehan. Produced by Andrew McNair and JJ Vernon.

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Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

• Thursday evening in Brussels saw much wrangling over the EU’s proposed €1.6tn budget. As holders of EU presidency, Ireland has a neutral dealmaker role to play - but as one of the net contributors to the pot, will Ireland benefit given the greater focus on security and defence spending?

• Budget 2027 reaction has been pretty much unanimous, with many experts pointing to the precarious nature of the current corporation tax bonanza. But wielding all that cash can be difficult if nobody is certain how much the tax receipts will add up to month-to-month.

• And two candidates have emerged ahead of next month’s Seanad byelection for the seat vacated by Fine Gael’s Seán Kyne. Academic and lawyer Maeve O’Rourke is planning to run as an independent, while former Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam will run as Fine Gael’s candidate. An electorate made up of TDs and senators will vote.

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