So, which is it? Britannia rules the waves or Britannia waves the rules.

It's a cliche, of course, but sometimes it's just too tasty to pass up.

Fenton, which is it for you?

Well, of course, it's a bit of both, isn't it?

I mean, if you think you rule the waves, you also imagine that that greatness

exempts you from the laws of

international treaties that apply to pretty much everybody else.

Mary?

Well, I suppose politicians are always

trying by hook by cook to get their way

and sometimes to square a circle.

And people do bend rules quite a lot.

My friend and colleague Charles Leicitt had a very interesting article yesterday in the Daily Telegraph,

in which he pointed out how Ireland had broken a treaty with Britain in the 1930s,

which Aiman Davilaire did, of course, during the economic war.

So people do bend treaties all the time, I would think, although another correspondent to the Irish

independent pointed out that the English had also broken a previous treaty in 1691, of course, the Treaty of Limerick.

So we're talking about previous form, I guess.

So this week on Red Lines, we're looking at the ongoing Brexit debate and focusing in particular on how it's seen very differently through the eyes of the British and the Irish media.

The two distinguished guests who've just got the ball rolling on the discussion will be no strangers to anyone.

I think it's fair to describe them both as veteran journalists with very particular perspectives on the subject.

And they are, of course, Finton O'Toole and Mary Kenny.

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