During the late Middle Ages all along the Scottish-English frontier lived the so-called ‘Border Reivers’. These raiders and cattle thieves took advantage of the porous border and the unrest of the age and the open moorland to harry and attack within a day’s ride of the dividing line between two great Kingdoms. 

My own family, now based in Ireland and at times in Continental Europe, has traced its lineage back to the Border Reivers, who were both romanticised and vilified depending on the time and their allegiance. While I don’t personally see myself stealing any cows or setting fire to any thatched cottages these days, their history and their imagery have never ceased to intrigue. Their mistrust of nation states and their willingness to contest borders has left something in my own DNA. 

This is not a blog about the historic Border Reivers however. Like most people from Ireland, my family history and my own story has involved taking advantage of loose borders, and at times attempting to break through hard ones. This is yes, a place to write from my own perspective and experience. 

I live in Europe –  a place where internal borders have all but disappeared, while external ones have hardened to the deadly detriment of most on the other side.

I work in the European Union – an institution that has arguably improved the lives and opportunities of hundreds of millions of people within its borders, while its economic and immigration policy has drained the futures of millions in the global south and closed its borders to those looking to reap the benefits of the EU’s creation. 

I am an activist against human-induced climate change – which continues to show itself as the greatest challenge to humankind. The social and political effects of this have already begun to take root. No where is this more obvious than on borders within and without Europe. 

It is through this prism that I would like to make use of this blog space – exploring borders with a critical eye, tackling false narratives and dangerous agendas particularly around climate change and social justice, and putting forward new perspectives and challenging accepted truths. 

– The Border Reiver