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Irish president talks of lasting reconciliation in historic speech Irish president talks of lasting reconciliation in historic speech
(about 3 hours later)
London and Dublin have a shared responsibility to ensure that the final steps are taken towards a "lasting and creative reconciliation" in Northern Ireland, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, declared in an historic speech to a joint session of parliament. London and Dublin have a shared responsibility to ensure that the final steps are taken towards a "lasting and creative reconciliation" in Northern Ireland, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, said in a historic speech to a joint session of parliament.
In the first address to the British parliament by an Irish president, Higgins hailed the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland as a "momentous" achievement that was a key milestone on the "road to today's warm, deep and enduring Irish-British friendship".In the first address to the British parliament by an Irish president, Higgins hailed the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland as a "momentous" achievement that was a key milestone on the "road to today's warm, deep and enduring Irish-British friendship".
Higgins added: "Our two countries can take immense pride in the progress of the cause of peace in Northern Ireland. But of course there is still a road to be travelled – the road of a lasting and creative reconciliation. Our two governments have a shared responsibility to encourage and support those who need to complete the journey of making peace permanent and constructive – enduring."Higgins added: "Our two countries can take immense pride in the progress of the cause of peace in Northern Ireland. But of course there is still a road to be travelled – the road of a lasting and creative reconciliation. Our two governments have a shared responsibility to encourage and support those who need to complete the journey of making peace permanent and constructive – enduring."
The dramatic progress in Northern Ireland, which saw the establishment of the first enduring power-sharing executive led by the DUP and Sinn Féin in 2007, was highlighted when the former IRA commander and Sinn Féin deputy first minister Martin McGuinness was due to attend a state banquet in honour of Higgins at Windsor Castle on Tuesday night.The dramatic progress in Northern Ireland, which saw the establishment of the first enduring power-sharing executive led by the DUP and Sinn Féin in 2007, was highlighted when the former IRA commander and Sinn Féin deputy first minister Martin McGuinness was due to attend a state banquet in honour of Higgins at Windsor Castle on Tuesday night.
Higgins made his own gesture when he bowed his head at the memorial brass in Westminster Abbey to Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Queen's second cousin, who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979.Higgins made his own gesture when he bowed his head at the memorial brass in Westminster Abbey to Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Queen's second cousin, who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979.
The president's visit followed the Queen's highly successful visit to the Irish Republic in 2011 in which she prompted the then Irish president Mary McAleese to exclaim "wow" when she opened her speech at a banquet at Dublin Castle in Irish. The Queen also bowed her head in respect for those who died fighting the British for Irish independence after laying a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin. The president's visit followed the Queen's highly successful visit to the Irish Republic in 2011 in which she prompted the then Irish president, Mary McAleese, to exclaim "wow" when she opened her speech at a banquet in Dublin Castle in Irish. The Queen also bowed her head in respect to those who died fighting the British for Irish independence after laying a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin.
Higgins, a poet and writer who served as minister for arts in the Labour-Fine Gael coalition between 1994-97, quoted poets and key figures in Anglo-Irish history as he hailed the normalisation in relations between London and Dublin, which has progressed from the "doubting eyes of estrangement to the trusting eyes of partnership". In his speech at Tuesday night's banquet, Higgins praised the Queen for choosing "not to shy away from the shadows of the past" when she acknowledged "some of the painful moments of our mutual history" during her visit to Dublin. The president added: "While the past must be respectfully recognised, it must not imperil the potential of the present or the possibilities of the future – ar feidireachtai gan teorainn – our endless possibilities working together."
But standing at the same spot in the Long Gallery, where Angela Merkel pleaded with Britain less than two months ago to remain in the EU, Higgins suggested that the reconciliation had been helped by the UK and the Irish Republic's joint membership of the EU. Higgins, a poet and writer who served as minister for arts in the Labour-Fine Gael coalition in 1994-97, quoted poets and key figures in Anglo-Irish history in his earlier speech to parliament as he hailed the normalisation in relations between London and Dublin, which has progressed from the "doubting eyes of estrangement to the trusting eyes of partnership".
In a sign of the nerves in Dublin, which joined the EEC on the same day as the UK in 1973, that Britain may leave the EU, the president said: "We recognise that it has been in that European context of mutuality and interdependence that we took the most significant steps towards each other." But standing at the same spot in the Long Gallery where Angela Merkel pleaded with Britain less than two months ago to remain in the EU, Higgins suggested that the reconciliation had been helped by the UK and the Irish Republic's joint membership of the EU.
The president highlighted the significance of Europe in underpinning the Anglo-Irish reconciliation as he quoted Tom Kettle, the Irish nationalist MP and poet who wrote of the Anglo-Irish destiny in Europe before his death on the western front in 1916. Higgins quoted Kettle as saying: "This tragedy of Europe may be and must be the prologue to the two reconciliations of which all statesman have dreamed – the reconciliation of Protestant Ulster with Ireland and the reconciliation of Ireland with Great Britain." In a sign of fears in Dublin, which joined the EEC on the same day as the UK in 1973, that Britain may leave the EU, the president said: "We recognise that it has been in that European context of mutuality and interdependence that we took the most significant steps towards each other."
The president added: "It is, I think, significant that Kettle refers to this tragedy of Europe. We must always remember that this brutal and tragic war lay the hand of death on every country in Europe. Kettle died as an Irish patriot, a British soldier and a true European. He understood that, to be authentically Irish, we must also embrace our European identity. It is an identification we proudly claim today, an identification we share with the UK with whom we have sat around the negotiating table in Europe for over 40 years." The president highlighted the significance of Europe in underpinning the Anglo-Irish reconciliation as he quoted Tom Kettle, the Irish nationalist MP and poet who wrote of the Anglo-Irish destiny in Europe before his death on the western front in 1916. Higgins quoted Kettle as saying: "This tragedy of Europe may be and must be the prologue to the two reconciliations of which all statesmen have dreamed – the reconciliation of Protestant Ulster with Ireland and the reconciliation of Ireland with Great Britain."
Higgins said that Britain and Ireland will enter an era of important centenaries – the outbreak of the first world war this year and the Easter Rising against British rule in Dublin in 1916. He said: "As both our islands enter periods of important centenaries we can and must reflect on the ethical importance of respecting different but deeply interwoven narratives. Such reflection will offer us an opportunity to craft a bright future on the extensive common ground we share and where we differ in matters of interpretation to have respectful empathy for eachother's perspectives." The president added: "It is, I think, significant that Kettle refers to this tragedy of Europe. We must always remember that this brutal and tragic war laid the hand of death on every country in Europe. Kettle died as an Irish patriot, a British soldier and a true European. He understood that, to be authentically Irish, we must also embrace our European identity. It is an identification we proudly claim today, an identification we share with the UK with whom we have sat around the negotiating table in Europe for over 40 years."
The president's tribute to Kettle and other Irish nationalists who died in British uniforms highlighted the enormous steps taken in recent decades. It was not until 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of the second world war, that an Irish Taoiseach in the coalition that included Higgins attended a ceremony at the Islandbridge National War Memorial Gardens in Dublin. The gardens commemorate the thousands of Irish soldiers who died in British or allied uniforms during the first and second world wars. Higgins highlighted the centenaries of the outbreak of the first world war this year and the Easter Rising against British rule in Dublin in 2016. "As both our islands enter periods of important centenaries we can and must reflect on the ethical importance of respecting different but deeply interwoven narratives. Such reflection will offer us an opportunity to craft a bright future on the extensive common ground we share and where we differ in matters of interpretation to have respectful empathy for each other's perspectives."
The president's tribute to Kettle and other Irish nationalists who died in British uniforms highlighted the enormous steps taken in recent decades. It was not until 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of the second world war, that an Irish Taoiseach in the coalition that included Higgins attended a ceremony at the Islandbridge National War Memorial Gardens, which commemorate the thousands of Irish soldiers who died in British or allied uniforms during the first and second world wars.