麻豆约拍

Like many among her generation who grew up during the Troubles, Andrea Catherwood chose a future outside of Northern Ireland. When Andrea left home, the IRA was still active and the talks which would lead to the Good Friday Belfast Agreement had yet to begin. Back then, the prospect of a united Ireland seemed remote and unionist parties enjoyed a comfortable majority at the polls.

Now, the combined unionist parties have lost their majority in the Stormont Assembly. The DUP and the UUP have had five new leaders between them in the last six months. Calls for a referendum on Irish unity are becoming increasingly amplified and its outcome could be determined by an increasing number of voters who no longer identify as unionist or nationalist. The creation of new Brexit trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK has been blamed for triggering loyalist violence and unionists say it threatens Northern Ireland's constitutional status within the UK. In this, Northern Ireland's centenary year, unionism may have reached a critical turning point.

Andrea Catherwood crosses the Irish Sea and goes back home to Northern Ireland to ask what unionism means now and explore some of the challenges it faces.

In programme one, Andrea meets one of the most articulate new voices emerging from Belfast's loyalist community. Nineteen year old Joel Keys was caught up in recent riots on Belfast's Sandy Row but has big ambitions for a career in politics. Andrea speaks with Joel at the site of a traditional '11th night' bonfire, where he explains his determination to help his community tackle the social problems it faces while defending its British identity at the edge of the union.

Producer: Conor Garrett