A Letter from Ireland
a Chara,
Friday, April 10th marks the anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Twenty-eight years on, and Ireland, North and South, has been transformed.
The peace and progress that we now enjoy were by no means certain or guaranteed. It was not clear if the Agreement would pass referendums or if the institutions would be sustainable.
In advance of referendums on the Agreement, the Sinn Féin leadership set about a series of discussions within the party. I, like many other Sinn Féin members, assessed the Agreement in terms of the potential to deliver Irish Unity in the future and to redress inequality and repression in the present.
The Agreement included a pathway to Irish Unity through referendums in the North and the South. This was a huge challenge for us Irish Republicans who believed in a single all-island referendum. I had confidence that a new and united Ireland would be irresistible in a future referendum and that Sinn Féin’s activism could overcome British and Unionist intransigence.
The Agreement delivered prisoner releases, demilitarisation, a disbandment of the old police regime, equality measures, and power-sharing in Government. The referendums were passed in the North by 71% and in the South by 94%. The Agreement became the will of the people who shared the Island.
In 1998, I began working full-time with Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin. I remember thinking that this might last a couple of months or maybe a year or two, and I would return to my previous job.
Sinn Féin was committed to making it work and building towards Irish Unity. However, the Unionist parties were divided, and those in support were only tactically engaged; the British Government would never be impartial, and the Irish Government and the SDLP were more interested in managing partition than ending it.
Here we are today, with peace embedded and the discussion on Irish Unity thriving. Sinn Féin are leading the Government in the North and the opposition in the South. The generation that grew up in peace is looking to secure a new and united Ireland. The SDLP now advocates for Unity. The Unionists no longer enjoy an absolute majority, remain divided, and refuse to acknowledge the change. The Irish Government, led by Micheál Martin, is still seeking to manage partition and maintain the status quo at the cost of the truly transformational potential of Irish Unity.
The British continue to look after their own interests, and Brexit has diminished their international standing. A generation brought up in the Unionist community is now questioning whether their future lies in a recession-led, inward-looking Britain or in a prosperous, outward-facing united Ireland.
Much has changed since the Agreement was signed. Progress is never a straight or smooth line. We have faced many frustrations and detours. One constant is that the US and Canada have always acted as guarantors of the Agreement.
It is time to implement the promise of Irish Unity Referendums. Twenty-eight years on its time plan and prepare, have the discussion, and let the people decide.
In 1998, Ireland was a beacon of hope that no conflict was intractable and that peace, justice, and equality could win out. Today, the world needs another good news story. To secure and win Unity Referendums would send a signal that centuries-old colonial and constitutional disputes can be fully resolved in a peaceful and democratic means.
Have a great weekend,
