Two weeks ago Frankie Gallagher of the Ulster Political Research Group gave the keynote address at the Glencree Summer School in the magnificent former British Military Barracks built in 1798 high up in the Wicklow Mountains.
The panel included Sean Crowe, Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West, community activist and member of Sinn Féin's ard chomhairle. They addressed an international audience including unionists, nationalists, republicans, loyalists and others on 'How much has each party to sacrifice in order to win the peace?'
Frankie Gallagher spoke of sacrifices of UDA men like John Gregg and of the distance the UDA had travelled to contribute to the quietest summer since 1967. That he himself had travelled far was self-evident as he was sharing a panel with Sinn Féin.
Frankie also recognised that there were Irish Republicans present who meant him and his people no harm. He said we had to become guardians of each other's rights – a theme taken up by Sean Crowe who quoted Nelson Mandela, "To be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others". This, he said, suggested Republicans must respect the rights of the unionist community and had to reach out to unionists something that was also a collective responsibility.
Sean Crowe said the reaching out had to be set in the context of a "genuine process of national reconciliation". But the aspiration to national reconciliation assumes loyalists will come to see themselves as part of an Irish nation. This Frankie Gallagher rejected, arguing instead for 'national recognition' of loyalist traditions.
Frankie spoke passionately about the alienation and abandonment of working class loyalist communities whose cultural traditions had never been accorded respect.
Sean Crowe accepted that all parties had to change substantially and leaders had to take "bold and imaginative steps" and initiatives that might, in the short term, alienate their own grass roots. Alex Maskey, had had to "confront the prejudices" of his own community in seeking to realise his concept of Belfast as a "City of Equals". Sean looked towards the transformation of Irish society and accepted that real change could only come through "exclusively democratic and peaceful means". He knew many unionists doubted this because republicans had hurt them in the past and he accepted that disadvantage and deprivation existed in loyalist and unionist communities. He claimed Sinn Féin's emphasis on equality legislation was not for themselves alone but because they didn't want "to see anyone else discriminated against". In this context a police service acceptable to all is a necessity, while the removal of watch towers, police patrols and so on were necessary in a peaceful society. He didn't seem to realise that continuing terrorism, dissident or otherwise, makes the complete removal of security installations impossible if lives are to be protected.
It was vital, Sean said, that Sinn Féin try to see themselves as others see them but this is difficult when people refuse to talk with them. Without face-to-face dialogue it is impossible to break down the mistrust that festers. Frankie Gallagher told him that loyalists saw Republicans as the people who wanted rid of the Brits, "but I am the Brit!" They were also people who killed Protestants but the "one million British Ulster/ British Irish people" on this island would never buy into the "Republican dream".
I later told Sean Crowe that if unionists accepted what he had said it could initiate real progress. However, a member of the audience, with roots in the northern nationalist community told him: "You've talked the talk, now you must walk the walk". It is vital that Republicans live out the lofty sentiments that Sean Crowe outlined. Mixed messages had too often come from Republicans because of continuing activity by the IRA.
Republicans have admittedly taken risks and most unionists and loyalists know that putting the IRA finally to bed cannot be easy. But private armies cannot be part of a new, vibrant and peaceful society. I was struck by Sean Crowe's closing remarks that just as many of our views had been shaped by the conflict, so "we may also be changed by the peace process". This rightly implies that during the course of dialogue and negotiation we change and this makes new things possible. Surrender is not required here and the only victory needed is that of ordinary people who, at a deep level, wish only to live in peace with their neighbours. As Frankie Gallagher pointed out, the meeting represented a breakthrough in that he was sharing a panel with – though not sitting beside – a leading member of Sinn Féin for the first time. This is surely progress.
