“Ireland - Competing identities, Political compromises.”

Speech given at University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana 27th October 2023

At the outset I wish to refer to two people who played a significant role in the Northern Ireland Peace Process, both of whom passed away recently.?

The first is Chuck Feeney, a proud Irish American and major philanthropist who it is estimated gave away $8 billion over his lifetime. $2 billion of this was given in Ireland – much of it to Irish universities and social development projects. He was also active in persuading Sinn Fein/IRA to join the Peace Process.

The second is Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2008. Following the Good Friday Agreement, he supervised the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. Decommissioning was an essential element of the Peace Process. May they both rest in peace.

On a personal note, my home District is County Laois right in the centre of Ireland. I have represented Laois and neighbouring county Offaly in the Dail for over 30 years.?

In 1556 Laois and Offaly were England’s first colonies in Ireland. After a local rebellion the English crown confiscated the lands and decided to bring settlers from England to the areas. The confiscated lands were named Queen’s County and King’s County & they retained these names until Ireland achieved independence when the names were changed back to their original Gaelic names, Laois and Offaly.?

Remember that this early colony in Ireland was more than 50 years before the Jamestown colony in Virginia. This first English colony was only partially successful due to the relatively modest number of settlors. Of much more significance to the future of Irish history was the Plantation of Ulster at the beginning of the 17th century. By 1630 approximately 80,000 settlers had come to Ulster from the lowlands of Scotland and Northern England. They and their descendants became the main concentration of the British presence in Ireland. They dominated the nationalist Irish community in Ulster for more than 350 years and are still the primary political and economic community in Northern Ireland commonly known as Unionists.??

The Peace Process in Northern Ireland has essentially been about establishing a “parity of esteem” between the two communities – unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland.?

It hasn’t been easy for unionists to accept major change in their political status, and they have anxieties both real and imagined about their future on the island of Ireland.?

The big political task for Irish nationalism is to accept “parity of esteem” for unionism on the island of Ireland. This necessary debate within Irish nationalism has not even begun.? Currently nationalism is by a long stretch the dominant political outlook across the island of Ireland as evidenced by the electoral success of Nationalist parties Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Sinn Fein, Labour, etc in the South and Sinn Fein and to a lesser degree SDLP in the North. By Nationalist parties I mean parties who support the unification of Ireland. It is my view therefore? that there is a far greater onus and duty on nationalism as the dominant political ideology across the island to be more accommodating and generous when dealing with their Unionist counterparts. Nationalists need to learn to understand Unionists in a way that we currently don’t. We must be able to put ourselves in their shoes. We rarely do.?

Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries came to an end this year. We commemorated in a variety of ways major events of Irish history in the tumultuous period 1912 – 1923. These foundational events took place against the backdrop of World War 1 and its aftermath – fall of Empires, violent revolution, peace conferences, a flu pandemic and the emergence of new nation states across Europe.??

During that period, Ireland and its people were also caught up in the prevailing Zeitgeist of violence and destruction. Close to 50,000 Irish men were killed in World War 1. The 1916 Rising took place in the middle of the War and the brutal War of Independence followed. Then to our shame, when we achieved a large measure of freedom in 1922, we turned the guns on one another in a bloody civil war.?

When the guns fell silent in 1923 Ireland was partitioned and its people traumatised. Two competing ideologies, Irish nationalism and British unionism, reflecting the gap between the Catholic and Protestant? had managed to split the island and its people. In some respects, partition was a makeshift solution to an intractable problem. It did however inflict a deep jagged wound on Ireland – fracturing a country, a province, and many local communities on both sides of the border. It also created psychological and political scars that have never been healed. In fact, Northern Ireland remains to this day a deeply traumatised society with the open wounds of the troubles daily evident.?

The partition of Ireland involved a double abandonment. For more than 40 years the Irish nationalists within Northern Ireland were effectively abandoned by their fellow nationalists in the newly established Irish Free State which later became a Republic in 1948. They were left to be controlled by the dominant unionist party in what was in effect a one party devolved form of government.?

One of the many ironies of Irish History is that Ulster unionists who were the strongest opponents of Home Rule for Ireland settled for Home Rule for Northern Ireland. Ulster unionists also abandoned their fellow unionists in the rest of Ulster, the three counties of Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal and the rest of Ireland in favour of a new political entity – Northern Ireland.?

They did so in order to be the dominant political ideology in that part of Ireland where they could protect and maintain their majority.?

For decades after partition successive British governments recklessly neglected their obligation to ensure that the newly established Northern Ireland provided a fair & just administration for all. (Revert in Questions later)

In many respects, people of the unionist tradition in? what is now the Republic of Ireland? have been the forgotten people of Irish history. They numbered about 250,000 at the time of partition, were scattered throughout the country with a strong concentration in South County Dublin and in smaller concentrations in some other counties. Indeed, my county of Laois had a strong concentration of unionists as had my hometown of Mountmellick in particular.?

Relatively generous political provisions were made for Southern unionists in the early years of the Irish Free State. For example they were generously represented in the Irish Senate, whose first Chairman? Lord Glenavy, had been a leading Unionist politician.??

However, their political influence waned rapidly. The new Irish state pursued a strong nationalist political agenda and an extremely conservative Catholic social agenda. Many Southern unionists migrated to the UK and others over time reluctantly adjusted to the new political reality. Too scattered and too small a percentage of the population to demand or force political change they mainly kept their heads down and lived a sort of apartheid existence for several decades after Irish independence. They were largely urban middle class or fairly large farming background – from an economic perspective many, but not all, were better off than the majority of their nationalist neighbours.

For the first forty years of partition the political establishment North and South broadly accepted the bad faith aspects of the various deals done in the early 1920s. Both sides seemed content to speak to their own tribe and largely confined themselves to trading insults across the border.???

In contrast to Southern unionists the situation of nationalists in Northern Ireland was marked by discrimination and exclusion. In the late 1960s nationalists in Northern Ireland, strongly influenced by the American civil rights movement began to protest and campaign for change. Reform was resisted by the majority of the unionist establishment and nationalist protests were often met with state violence.

The early 70s? also saw the emergence of loyalist paramilitaries and republican paramilitaries began to re emerge from the shadows. The centre ground of politics in Northern Ireland was too weak and political extremists and paramilitaries began to exercise their malign influence. The British government failed to control the situation and events spun out of control and decades of violence followed.

In the 1970s the British government began to realise that the political complexities of Northern Ireland could only be managed with the help of the Irish government.??

This year is the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement, the first joint British/Irish attempt to manage the situation.? Sunningdale failed, bought down by unionist and loyalist opposition and a weak response from the British government lead by Harold Wilson. Violence escalated in the years that? followed.?

In the 1980s under some significant pressure from many prominent US politicians including President Reagan and Speaker Tip O’ Neill another attempt was made at finding solutions. The emergence of American political influence on the conflict in Northern Ireland has been an abiding and positive influence for the last forty years. I acknowledge the tireless work and support of President Biden on Brexit and Irish issues. Here on US soil, I say thanks and I hope the strong and very welcome US engagement in Northern Ireland continues into the future.

The 1985 Anglo Irish Agreement marked another major step in conflict resolution. Negotiated by Garret FitzGerald & his Dublin? Government? and the Thatcher government in London it was the first time that the British government agreed by way of an international treaty that the Irish government was entitled to have a direct say in managing the politics of Northern Ireland. This was institutionalised by way of an Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference supported by a joint British/Irish secretariat based in Belfast. While the 1985 Agreement failed to deliver fully on its promise? it was a very significant step on the long road to a peace. Relations between the British and Irish governments were placed? on a much sounder footing.?

The next major milestone was the Downing Street Declaration of 1993 – 30 years ago this year.?

A close working and warm relationship between Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and Prime Minister John Major set the tone for a new and intensive effort to make progress. In many respects, the Downing Street Declaration was the foundation stone for the 1998 Good Friday/Belfast Agreement. The Good Friday Agreement highlighted once again the importance of the Irish and British governments acting in tandem. The US government led by President Clinton and other senior American politicians played a central role. Senator George Mitchell was an inspired choice as chairperson of the negotiations. He showed exceptional negotiating skills, resilience, resourcefulness, patience and grace under pressure. Ireland owes Senator Mitchell a deep debt of gratitude for all his work. I pause to salute his contribution.?

The European Union provided encouragement and active political and economic support for the Irish Peace Process. Remember John Hume and Ian Paisley were both Members of the European Parliament. The development of the EU Single Market and the EU Customs Union ended the physical infrastructure of a trade border on the island of Ireland.

The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement delivered not all, but much of what was promised.? Above all it ended the violence – though some random acts of violence followed and the threat of paramilitary violence still continues.? It delivered a police service broadly acceptable to both communities. This was a major achievement – even though the PSNI is currently undergoing some organisational and management difficulties, in addition to a small number of paramilitary attacks.? It has also delivered a broad measure of “parity of esteem” between nationalists and unionists.?

Through the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday Agreement the British government also accepted that the future sovereignty of Northern Ireland is a matter for the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to decide.?

The GFA which was strongly facilitated by a personal and professional chemistry between British PM Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, gave parties a role in the Executive of Northern Ireland if they reached a certain level of support. The largest Unionist and Nationalist parties may however use a nuclear option by refusing to fill the First and Deputy First Minister positions, in effect bringing the institutions down as they are doing at present.??

In the years following the Agreement the two more moderate? parties the Ulster Unionist Party and the Nationalist SDLP were replaced by the more hardline DUP and Sinn Fein respectively. When this happened the internal politics of Northern Ireland became and has remained largely a zero-sum game. This was particularly evident over the passing of an Irish language act.??

Unfortunately, the parties in Northern Ireland could never agree a sustained political programme that would focus on making Northern Ireland the best place it can be for all its people.????

There has been failure, particularly from the British side, to fully work the British/Irish institutions which are part of the Agreement.?

And of course, when the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive don’t function the North/South institutions cannot operate. (We can revert to these issues at questions later.)??

There are other factors which have contributed to increased political instability in Northern Ireland. The Scottish Independence movement does impact to some extent on Northern Ireland politics. For historic reasons the relationship between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK is very much a Northern Ireland/Scottish relationship. There is no doubt the prospect of Scottish independence causes great anxiety in the Unionist community in Northern Ireland.

The most destabilising factor in recent years has been Brexit,? essentially? a product of English nationalism. Brexit has been a destabilising factor in internal British politics and caused major political and trade conflicts with the European Union.? Throughout the Brexit negotiations the European Union has stood firm with Ireland. Again, the United States has supported the search for viable solutions to the challenges posed by Brexit.?

There is no doubt that Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol as amended by the Windsor Framework has heightened worries in the Unionist community that they are being gradually detached from the rest of the UK. I am a committed European. I acknowledge the tremendous success of the European Union, built from the ashes of the second World War the overriding object of which is to bring people from different nations, cultures, language and political outlook together sharing common values. Brexit did the exact opposite as it was clearly designed to pull people apart!?

The other major factor contributing to political instability in Northern Ireland has been changing demographics within Northern Ireland and the growth in support for Sinn Fein in both jurisdictions.?

In the Assembly elections in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein is the largest party with the right to appoint the First Minister. Since partition in 1921? a Unionist party has been the largest party in Northern Ireland, and it always held the top political job. For many unionists it is a bitter pill to swallow to accept a Sinn Fein First Minister – even though legally the First Minister and Deputy First Minister have identical powers and required to act in concert.

Currently Sinn Fein is the most popular party in the Republic and has a realistic chance of being in government after the next election, probably next year.? A united Ireland is Sinn Fein’s No 1 political priority, and should they be in government after the next election they will undoubtedly begin? a big campaign to try and make that happen.

However, the Good Friday Agreement is clear that the constitutional future of Northern Ireland is for the people of Northern Ireland in the first instance to decide by way of referendum seeking a simple 50% plus 1 majority. The GFA is not explicit on the matter of a referendum in the Republic of Ireland but it is most likely the? people of the Republic will be asked to? agree to any such proposition, also by way of referendum. At the moment there is no evidence that the people of Northern Ireland would vote to leave the UK in order to become part of a united Ireland. In fact, all the polling evidence points in the opposite direction.?

There is a false assumption made by some commentators that people of a Catholic Irish background in Northern Ireland all support a United Ireland.? Not so; indeed many people of that tradition are conscious of the risks attached to such a major change. There is also the political point being made by many commentators that the Northern Ireland Protocol gives Northern Ireland the best of both worlds. If that is so, why would the people of Northern Ireland vote for change to their current status.

Opinion polls in the Republic Ireland show strong support for a United Ireland but support declines sharply when people are asked questions regarding what price they might be prepared to pay for a United Ireland. For many Irish people a United Ireland is still something of romantic ideal with little thought given to how it might be brought about and the consequences whether good or bad.?

Similarly, no discussion has been held around the institutional and constitutional arrangements of such an eventuality.

The most recent poll on behalf of the Arins project at the end of last year showed less than 30% in Northern Ireland in favour of a united Ireland – though there was a very high level of undecideds in that poll.?

I want to pay tribute to Arins (Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South), a joint initiative of the Keough Naughton Institute for Irish Studies here in Notre Dame and The Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. Its mission is to facilitate and promote authoritative and nonpartisan analysis and research on constitutional, institutional and policy options for Ireland North and South. It continues to do very valuable work.

Various polls have also shown that when people in the Republic are asked about concessions to the unionist identity – a new anthem, a new flag, joining the Commonwealth, joining NATO, even paying higher taxes - support falls quickly away. Nor indeed have we ever even considered the constitutional form and shape of a United Ireland.

Recently the acclaimed Belfast writer Eilis O’Hanlon who herself lived through The Troubles put it well when she said:?

“A united Ireland won’t simply be a bigger version of the 26 counties, after all. It won’t be the same house with an extension. It will be a wholly new house and it’s not entirely clear that the people in the Republic have taken on board that the people who’ll be living in it have very different plans on how to furnish and decorate that house. If we’re not compatible as a couple” O’Hanlon continues, “maybe it’s best to have that conversation now before moving in together, because there’s nothing more unhappy than a marriage both parties instantly regret but can’t escape”.

A factor sometimes overlooked in commentary on Ireland is how profoundly the Republic has changed over the past? 25 years. There has been a major demographic, economic, ethnic, social and cultural change. In 2000 Irelands population was 3.8 million, now it’s 5.3. That’s 40% increase, massive on any scale. We now have full employment and significant inward migration. We have welcomed 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing horrific war. Ireland is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, socially diverse society with high levels of personal freedom. In short there is no doubt that from a Northern perspective, Ireland is now a much more attractive place than it was in the 1990s.

I referred earlier to “parity of esteem” and its importance for unionists and nationalists. The bigger question is what “parity of esteem” between Irish nationalism and British unionism looks like in a United Ireland.

That is a political challenge that Irish nationalism has never adequately faced and certainly never answered. Partition was the consequence of conflict between these two clashing political identities.?

The two political giants were also infused with different religious traditions. When national identity and religious identity are combined, they make a pretty toxic brew!

So how can the current political stalemate be resolved? It is possible that the unionists will soon return to a power sharing arrangement and once again work the institutions of the GFA. DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has a difficult job maintaining party unity and too often he is beholden to the more inflexible? elements in his party.?

The likelihood is that a Labour government will be in office after the next British election, due next year. Last week’s UK by election results are the clearest indication yet that big change is coming. Labour leader Keir Starmer, has expressed a clear view that he will work to establish a closer trading and political partnership with the European Union. If that happens then many of the perceived difficulties of the Northern Ireland Protocol may no longer be an issue.

Micheal Martin, former Taoiseach, current and Minister for Foreign Affairs and leader of Fianna Fail has developed and actively promoted the concept of a Shared Island, rather than just talking about a border poll & United Ireland. The shared island fund is a billion euro pot ringfenced to enable the delivery of all island investment, commitments and objectives over a wide range of pursuits.? This is very much in the mould of late John Hume who frequently spoke of - “uniting the people of Ireland.” John Hume rarely if ever, talked about a United Ireland. I strongly? agree with this approach.

The Peace Process has delivered to a great extent at macro level. At local community level, just to remind you, there are still scores of fences, walls, gates, and barriers still dividing communities in Belfast – the so-called Peace Walls. Much work remains to be done although progress is being made. Before any constitutional construct for a United Ireland can be considered, Northern Ireland itself must function adequately & there’s a mountain to climb to make that a reality. Northern Ireland is still very much a wounded, traumatised society. Bodies like Cooperation Ireland, an all-island peace building organisation, of which I am a director, works to build a shared and cohesive society by addressing legacy issues of the conflict and collaborating to bring people together.?

As regards the North/South relationship civic society in the Republic has never committed to a prolonged and active project of “Hands across the Border” instead engagement has been piecemeal and sporadic. Despite being very much attached to the idea of a United Ireland there is an unspoken fear in the Republic that engaging too deeply with Northern Ireland might bring political instability to the whole island and might even see a return to violence.?

To quote one of the many memorable quotes of the late John Hume;?

“Difference is the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth, and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity. ”

In 1932 Albert Einstein asked Sigmund Freud how war might be prevented from a psychological perspective. In a long response Freud replied that there are two very strong drives in humans – the drive to preserve and unite and the drive to kill and destroy. We see these two drives manifesting themselves time and time again in human history. Freud went on to say in his reply that building human bonds, shared human emotions and shared affinities with our fellow humans is the most effective way to limit the drive to destruction.

At a time of great instability and danger we must never give up hope.? And hope as the writer David Orr said – “is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.”?

And here in Notre Dame – the famous Catholic University inspired by Christian values we can be encouraged by its very motto “Vita Dulcedo Spes” – “Life Sweetness Hope”.?

We also turn for inspiration to the words of The New Testament :??

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after Justice for they shall be satisfied” And??

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.”

?ENDS.