Celtic Alliance (1983: Doomsday)

Celtic Alliance:

Pre-Doomsday:
The Celtic Alliance includes the former Republic of Ireland (Eire) as well as the western remnants of the former United Kingdom & Northern Ireland including western Scotland the Isles of Scilly, Channel Islands and Isle of Man (Manx).

DD - The immediate effects of Doomsday has been the complete destruction of the majority of the major centres of population of the former British mainland especially the heavily populated areas of southern England and central Scotland with an additional missile attack on the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland (the only target on the island).

Post-Doomsday: The government of the Irish Republic declared immediate martial law and initiated emergency procedures for the anticipated thermo nuclear attack. This direct attack on the Republic never happened as the Soviet Union saw no threat coming from the Irish state, which had on occasion been a critic of NATO and the U.K. Nevertheless, with the attack on Belfast and the UK government having been perceived to have been wiped out, the Republic and Northern Ireland Counties agreed to combine their efforts to restore order and acted to assist refugees and the masses of injured in the greater Belfast area. Within several days it became clear that radiation clouds would be the greatest threat to Irelands survival, and for the next few weeks arctic winds drove the radiation across western Europe eastwards saving many lives in Ireland.

It was also clear by the 1st week that all communication with the main centre’s of the UK and the rest of the EEC had been lost.

Steps were taken to ration food stuffs, medical supplies and fuel, this was done with little civil disorder and resulted bringing local communities together in communes to enable to supply of goods to those most in need. The Church became a useful tool in maintining communication across the country. Nevertheless, the state in its first emergancy meeting suprisingly disestablshed its historical links with the Roman Catholic Church to ensure full freedom of religion in the North.

4 weeks after DD, initial contact was made with the Isle of Lewis on the western fringe of Scotland. Communication was via morse code, instructing the Irish republic that several Scottish Members of the UK parliament had been on a development meeting during the strike. The 5 members were all members of the Scottish National Party (pro-Scottish independence) even though, as their leader was a Privy Councillor, they were in fact the de-facto government of the UK as all other MP had been at Parliament during the attack on Doomsday, including MP’s from Northern Ireland.

Military personnel were dispatched to review the situation on Lewis and returned with the MP’s

Deaths: Inital reports across Ireland estimate that the 1st strike against Belfast had killed in excess of 550,000 people with casulties in the region of over 100,000. Refugees heading south and west to the republic number in excess of 200,000. The UK death estimates can only be guessed at around 48 million. The population of the Scottish Islands stands at 60,000 with the provisional capital being designated as Stornaway on the Isle of Lewis.

In additon, casulties from radiation fall out and longterm sickness have added considerable burden to the formative years of the Alliance. Each county or burgh reported continued deaths from radition with the population of Ireland alone falling from 3.5 million to just over 2 million through sickness and starvation.

Belfast as the main target on the island has seen the greatest destruction. The city was wiped of the map with huge numbers of casulties, nevertheless, like many cities and towns in the western UK notably in northern Ireland and Scotland the hilly geography reduced the over all impact on the wider countryside. This allowed large numbers of those in the suburbs of Belfast to escape, it aslo believed that large numbers in the perifery of the city of Glasgow due to its geography may have escaped though it was a prime target for over 3 missles, there is still doubt if all 3 reached their target due to the number of refugees from Glasgow reaching the Islands. Glasgow was the 3rd largets UK city and close to nuclear military facilities on the river Clyde. Consideration is being given to mounting an expedition to Glasgow when radiation levels drop to a palatable level.

Government
The Irish government after talks with the northern counties and remaining UK MP’s agreed to formal alliance to ensure effective democratic government of the remaining populated areas. The formal alliance was signed by the Irish President Patrick J Hillery, Mayors of the Northern Irish Counties and Gordon Wilson (SNP) MP Privy Councillor of the UK, formally establishing the Celtic Alliance as a democratic successor state to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (Eire). This was signed on the 20th March 1986 on the spring equinox symbolysing celtic rebirth and renewel.

The government suffers many set backs in its initial attempts to provide food and supplies for the general population, yet there is little civil unrest, the population seem fully aware of the monumental task facing the country as well as the alternative to government action. The principle concerns relate to contaminated supplies and the militaries ability to maintain supplies across the new alliance.

Limited local elections are held to appoint mayors (Ireland) and provosts (Scottish Islands) to the main areas of population to eanble some form of government and legal representation in each area. The catholic & protastant churches in both Ireland and Scotland unify to ensure community cohesion.

Since 1993 the president of the Alliance has been the former lawyer Mary Robinson and the Prime Minister is Andrew Welsh a former Scottish Nationalist MP

The initial provisional Alliance government from 1984 to 1986 was based on the Irish Republic model (as the Republic had the largest population numbers this was seen as only fair by the other participants. Nevertheless, in 1986 new elections to a new Parliament were held with smaller numbers of MP's. Each MP is also the county Mayors of Ireland and Island Provosts from Scotland, Manx (OTL Isle of Mann) though still having a provincial parliament appoints a commissioner to represent it in Dublin as does the Channel Islands.

The present Parliament or Oireachtas sits in Dublin with 46 MPs

Counties of Celtic Alliance Ireland -

1.Dublin 2.Wicklow  3.Wexford  4.Carlow 5.Kildare 6.Meath 7.Louth 8.Monaghan 9.Cavan 10.Longford 11.Westmeath 12.Offaly 13.Laois 14.Kilkenny 15.Waterford 16.Cork 17.Kerry 18.Limerick 19.Tipperary 20.Clare  21.Galway 22.Mayo 23.Roscommon 24.Sligo 25.Leitrim 26.Donegal 27. Antrim 28.Fermanagh 29.Tyrone 30.Derry 31.Down 32.Armagh 33.Dublin

Burghs (pronounced burruhs) of Alliance Scotland (OTL western Isle's and old royal burghs)

1.Kirkwall 2.Stromness 3.Greater Lewis 4.Zetland 5.Lerwick 6. Greater Skye 7. Uist 8. Greater Islay 9. Greater Mull 10. Greater Arran 11.Glasgow City

Manx, Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands

Represented by 1 commissioner each

Post DD the party political structure changed completely with Sinn Féin (OTL Irish Republican), SNP (OTL Scottish Nationalist) and the former Ulster Unionits (OTL British Unionists) mereging to form a northern block called the Dalriadic Party (OTL Dalriada former celtic kingdom crossing northern Ireland, Donegal and western Scotland circa 8th Century) to ensure adequate representation for Donegal, the Ulster counties and Scottish Islands

1983-1986
Further contact was established with the remnants of some Scottish western Islands as well as Orkney & Shetland. In addition expeditions on the fringes of the toxic UK mainland noted utter devastation and the complete breakdown of the rule of law. The western Scottish Islands began to form militia and with the assistance of the government in Dublin who agreed to military posts to protect the islands from sporadic raids by marauders from the mainland. In addition landings were made in Oban to build a refugee 1st stage camp. The camps role is to co-ordinate the releaf effort and ensure that those in dire need of medical attention receive at least basic pain relief as well as enablying healthy survivors to reach the Islands

Initial aerial reconnaissance over Liverpool and Glasgow found fortified groups of survivors in encampments in each city, contact has been limited to food and medical supply drops in the Liverpool area. Radio contact has been made with Glasgow, numbers of survivors is now estimated to be in the thousands. Due to the high levels of radiation in southern England the use of drones has been limited.

Fuel: Due to Scotland’s high oil reserves small oil platforms on its western fringes have been put into full production. Though smaller than those in the North Sea, which were destroyed they nonetheless are helping greatly in maintaining basic supplies to what is left of the population.

Food: Given Ireland & Scotland’s histories with famine, it has been of no surprise to the population for the need to cut back on food consumption. All arable land has been turned to cultivation of diverse crops with a marked reduction in meat production. Further to this the western fringes of Ireland and Scotland have once again become havens for the re-emerging fishing industry though much of the waters are heavily polluted.

Nevertheless, food production is limited and the general population has become increasingly concered about the raise in cases of starvation in the main centres of population. Fish production is stepped up as is the usage of the humble potatoe.

Glasgow 1984
It becomes clear that the three missiles that targeted the city did not all reach their target, with one missile reaching the nuclear base on the river Clyde, the western fringes of the city and towns notably Greenock, Clydebank and Dumbarton receive heavy damage. Nevertheless, the majorty of the city reamins intact. Contact with Dublin is restored and long supply lines are started via Oban as the lower clyde is contaminated. Glasgow formally appoints a new Lord Provost who will sit in the Dublin Parliament. The Lord Provost is Jim Sillers a well known trade unionist and Scottish Nationalist.

1992 - First Contact
Initial radiation patterns have reduced contact with the rest of the world to zero, with the Alliance considering that the majority of the globe having entered a period of complete social meltdown. Yet on the 21st January 1992 a radio signal is received from the Azores re-establishing contact with the outside world.

Further contact is established with Brazil and Australia. In the summer of 1993 the Nimitz is sighted of the coast of Ireland and berths at the principle port of Galway city, ladden with military & medical supplies. Formal relations are agreed upon and the Nimitz returns to Australia with the Alliance's 1st ambassador.

1993 - A shipping nation again
Galway becomes the principle staging post for missions to mainland Europe as well as the main ship building port of the alliance, many survivers from both Belfast and Glasgow the great shipping cities play a major part in rebuilding the alliances communication via shipping along its coast lines (in a twist of fate this was why the ancient celtic kingdoms where often called the sea kingdoms). Neverthelss, due to lack of supplies most of the limited numbers of ships are built from recycled materials and are used primerally to maintain contact between the main centres of population. It will take another 20 years before the Alliance in conjunction with the Nordic Alliance agree the terms of a European Navy that will assist the European states to reach further into mainland Europe with the necessary supplies for relief.

1993 - 1999
Substantial losses in life continue to effect the recovery of the new alliance, though population numbers stabalise around 2m. The state passes the "Abortion (Eire) Act" 1993 to deal with the amount of babies being born with profound deformaties caused by radiation and pollution, the act is contested in the supreme court but passes in to law making abortion legal in Ireland for the 1st time.