The Garvaghy Parade is one of only a very small number of contested marches, with thousands of others passing off without dispute. In some areas, residents have agreed to local accommodations. This week those residents made clear that forcing this march on the Garvaghy community would call into question other local agreements.
There are those who hope to drag us back to the days of Unionist superiority, of conflict and sectarianism. This weekend shows we are not going back to 1998; we are moving forward.
The British Secretary of State can ban this parade and end the threat against this community. The question he has to answer is: does he want to compound a bad decision by the Parades Commission, force a march through and keep the issue returning year after year or end it now by making clear that the Orange Order should take the alternative route and let the community of the Garvaghy Road live in peace?
Until the Secretary of State acts, we will continue to stand resolute and determined in defence of a small community, peace and progress.
In the early days of the peace process, US agencies hosted economic discussions on the investment potential of peace. They could do the same to examine the economic potential of a united Ireland.
All of these initiatives and others are possible and needed. Yet again, Irish Americans can deliver. Your voice has been heard on Capitol Hill, in the White House, and across State Assemblies.
We are now in the final quarter, and the ball is in your court. Let’s get Unity over the line. This weeks newsletter offers many opportunities to stay engaged, get informed, and get active. Together we can build a new and united Ireland.
The North of Ireland is in a different situation, as we have the right to vote and leave under the Good Friday Agreement.
The Taoiseach, rather bizarrely, and on brand, said that this alliance of Celtic nations would “set back” the cause of Irish Unity.
It is too early to tell the impact of this week’s events, but what is clear is that the Taoiseach is becoming more and more isolated in his opposition to Unity, and the British Government is in denial about the changes all around them.
We have a view beyond partition and the Assembly and it’s limited power and a budget set by London. We have a view on a new and United Ireland. A place where the budget is set by all the people who share the island and not in London. A government not bound by a faction’s vetoes and one that operates in the interest of all.
Until then, we will continue to operate in the Dáil and Assembly for the benefit of all our people, working for those in need today while we build for a United Ireland.
Prime Minister Burnham is an English unionist, viewing the North of Ireland as the same as Scotland and Wales, despite the relevant governments being led by pro-independence parties. The future constitutional position of Scotland and Wales rests with a predominantly English Government in Westminster. In Ireland, the right to self-determination is a matter of International Law and in the hands of the people.
It should not be a surprise or a shock to find out a British Prime Minister is a unionist. That is a political reality, and one we must recognise, challenge, and change. The reaction to his comments from across Ireland and the US moved their public position.
The strategic thinking developed after the hunger strike would meet new opportunities outside and inform Sinn Féin’s peace strategy. We have a generation at peace; Sinn Féin is the largest party across the island; and dysfunction in the Northern Assembly lays bare the failure of partition.
The past is never really the past; we are the product of all that came before us. From prison protests to escapes to the peace process. Irish Republicanism has been at its most popular since 1917; we have a peaceful, democratic pathway to Unity, and most parties are calling for planning and preparing for it.
Sinn Féin has led the call for unity referendums as agreed and endorsed in the Good Friday Agreement. But these objectives can only be delivered by a wider alliance of domestic and international parties, governments and civic groups. All have a role in securing and building a new and united Ireland. The only nationalist or Republican party outside of this consensus is Fianna Fáil under the leadership of Micheal Martin.
Campaign by campaign, the city has gradually become more shared. This change was not inevitable; it was won through sustained struggle. Sinn Féin became the largest party, while unionists lost their overall majority.
I spent the first hour walking through the crowds, taking it all in, and thinking of how far we have travelled. Belfast is now a shared city. Irish Republicans have never sought dominance over or the subjection of others; our experience as Irish citizens living in a British Unionist State knows that approach only leads to division and conflict.
The week ends back in Belfast for the Féile and the Fleadh. The Féile in West Belfast has been going since 1988. A festival established to provide a cultural and political programme to celebrate the community and promote dialogue and understanding. It is now the biggest community festival in Europe.
This is the first year that Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann has been held in Belfast. It is the world’s largest festival of Irish traditional music and culture. Hundreds of thousands will throng the streets of Ireland’s second city.
