"Are they Protestant spuds, or are they Papish spuds?"

Believe it! At one time that was a question frequently asked around a dinner table when boiled potatoes were served and a defect discovered in one of them. On the surface an innocent looking potato, when sliced open, might conceal a rotten heart at its core. If so, it was roundly condemned as a Protestant spud if the diners were Catholic, or as a Papish spud if the diners were Protestant.

It was meant as a joke, but was symptomatic of the gap between two communities, the Taigs and the Prods.

The month of March, 2004, will go down in the history of Ulster, all nine counties of it, when potato farmers of both persuasions united in glorious harmony, in the town of Ballymoney, in County Antrim, to buy a chip factory threatened with closure, and thus save the jobs of the workers.

The event was unusual, and the setting more so. Ballymoney, "the buckle on the Bible Belt" of the Six Counties, was where the plant was located, and the event was hailed as a powerful symbol of the importance of cross-border co-operation.

As reported in the Irish Independent newspaper on March 13, 60 potato growers from Louth, Meath, Tyrone, Down and Donegal are hoping to process 30,000 tonnes of potatoes in the first year at the stg£2.5m (3.3m) plant. All the growers involved will be shareholders in the venture.

This is the second month in succession that good news has come out of Ireland, and in neither case was it due to politicians of any stripe. Scouts led the way (see previous article: Together we achieve), and now farmers are following in their path. Spuds are spuds, no matter which foot they are dug with or by whom they are mechanically harvested.

--30--