Ceasefire Now; Wolfe Tone's Cordial Union:Pulse and Mickey Coleman

 Ceasefire Now

News from the Middle East continues to numb andoutrage and anger most people. But we cannot give up. We have a duty to thepeople of Palestine to stay focussed on the demands to Stop the War - SupportHumanitarian Initiatives - Start Peace Talks. The people of Israel andPalestine need the support of the international community. We are part ofthat community. Let us find ways to get our leaders to upholdinternational law. End the siege of Gaza. Free Palestine. 

 

WolfeTone’s Cordial Union 

Lastweek I attended an event in Parliament Buildings at Stormont, hosted by USSpecial Economic Envoy Joe Kennedy. There was a panel discussion on the impactof the Good Friday Agreement which involved myself, former DUP leader PeterRobinson; former Alliance Assembly Speaker Eileen Bell; Lady Daphne Trimble,President of the Ulster Unionist Party; and former SDLP leader Mark Durkan.First Minister designate Michelle O’Neill, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and UUPleader Doug Beattie were all present. 

Whilewe each brought our own narrative of that time to the conversation it wasnonetheless a positive and forward looking engagement. 

Theday before Jeffrey Donaldson said there would be no united Ireland in hislifetime and that a United Ireland cannot accommodate his Britishness. Idisagree. The fact is that political and demographic changes in recent decades;a growing disillusionment with the unionist parties; the Brexit debacle and thegrowth of Sinn Féin have contributed to increasing interest in Irish Unity. Itis also important to recall that over 70% of people in the North and over 90%in the South voted in May 1998 for an Agreement that provides for a unityreferendum and for a simple majority to determine the outcome. That providesthe democratic basis for future constitutional change.

Asfor the British identity in a United Ireland? Those of us who favour IrishUnity have repeatedly emphasised our commitment to respect the British identityof our neighbours and to accommodate that identity and its traditions in a newand shared Ireland. We are also committed to the safeguards and guarantees, containedin the Good Friday Agreement, being carried through into that newIreland. 

Thatis not just a rhetorical commitment aimed at winning unionist support for oracquiescence to Irish Unity. It is rooted in the principles and beliefs ofthose – mainly Presbyterians - who embraced Republicanism in the 18th century.

TheUnited Irish Society was founded in Belfast in October 1791. It was the firstdemocratic movement in Ireland and took its inspiration from the American andFrench Revolutions of that time. They sought solidarity between people of allreligious denominations, and political equality and Irish independence.

TheobaldWolfe Tone – who belonged to the Church of Ireland - embodied the new alliancebetween Protestants and Catholics. His writings remain relevant to thisgeneration and this time.

Tone,who served as secretary of the Catholic Committee, said his aim was: “Tounite the whole people of Ireland, to abolish the memory of all past dissensionand to substitute the common name of Irishman in place of the denominations ofProtestant, Catholic and Dissenter – these were my means.”

Infacing up to a succession of economic and political crises then created by theEnglish government Tone concluded that; “Ireland would never be eitherfree, prosperous, or happy, until she was independent, and that independencewas unattainable, whilst the connexion with England existed.”

Tobuild a new society Tone argued for a new relationship between the people ofIreland. He wrote: “the weight of English influencein the Government of this country is so great as to require a cordial unionamong all the people of Ireland, to maintain that balance which is essential tothe preservation of our liberties and the extension of our commerce.”

Asthe momentum toward a unity referendum grows and as more and more positive voicesare being heard from the unionist/British section of our people the objectiveof building a cordial union among the people of this island takes on a greatersignificance. British governments are not to be trusted in protecting therights of citizens or managing our economy. Agreements between Unionist leadersand British governments have been consistently dumped by British PrimeMinisters who time and time again have placed British self-interest abovecommitments given to unionists.

Thefuture provides an opportunity to build a new relationship between the peoplewho share this island. A new cordial union – founded on inclusion andreconciliation – on democratic agreements and respect. We are an island peoplein transition. A fundamental part of this transition must be a sustained effortto genuinely address the fears and concerns of northern unionists. As goodneighbours we must explore with them what they mean by their sense ofBritishness and how that sense of Britishness will be reflected in a new cordialunion between the people of this island. This is the future.

 

 

PULSE

Mickey Coleman , his wife Erin and their sonsMicheál and Riordan were in An Cultúrlann last week on Belfast’s Falls Road tolaunch Mickey’s new book PULSE. Peter Canavan was there also along with mé féin.I never thought I would be on a panel with Peter Canavan - one of myfootballing heroes and all Ireland champion with Tyrone. Twice. But there wewere telling yarns and sharing songs and funny stories. And a bunch of finesingers from Glassdrummond entertained us and moved everyone with theirrendition of The Brantry Boy. 

PULSE is a special book, written with DamianHarvey, and it tells Mickey’s story. Its a story of his family in Ardboe a weevillage in a beautiful part of rural Ireland beside Lough Neagh. It’s thestory  of an Irish  family of eight children, nurtured byTeresa and her husband Sean. It is a story of Mickey kicking ball on theGreen with his brothers and childhood mates and then with the localGaelic Athletic Club - O Donavon Rossa. The  heart of Ardboe.

It’s about schooldays, meeting Peter Canavanwhen he came to teach in Holy Trinity College in Cookstown. It’s about fishingon Lough Neagh with his father. About British troops. Visits to his fatherin Belfast Prison. It’s a book about music, song writing, guitar picking. Doinglocal gigs. Visiting the USA. Getting on to the county football panel.  It’sabout that brilliant first Tyrone team to win the Sam Maguire Cup. It’s aboutMickey Harte, legendary manager. It’s about Cormac Mac Anallen, oneof  Tyrone’s finest,  who died suddenly, aged just twentyfour. The Brantry Boy. 

It’s about New York. About Mickey knuckling downand working hard supported by others including Fay Devlin. About meeting ErinLoughran as she played the fiddle at a session. About Erin and Mickeymaking music together. Then making babies. 

Mickey’s business was going well. He was blessedwith a great family and friends. Immersed in the Gaeldom of New York.

Then on 29 March  2021, aged forty one,Mickey had a massive heart attack. That’s when his life ended. Thanks to Erin,his own resilience and self-awareness as he confronted his ‘widow maker’ andOrangetown police and other emergency workers, he survived. Montefiores NyackHospital did the rest and kept him alive. 

And then it was a long hard struggle for Mickey toget back to himself again. This book tells all this and much more. It isespecially poignant as Mickey recounts how he relearned what isimportant in life. It’s all here with wonderful clear and hopeful faith inlove, family, friendship, community, Ireland and humanity.  Mickey’sappeal to the reader is for us all to play our own music inappreciation of what we have - not just materially but more importantly - inour values. Because without those we have nothing. That is the essence ofPulse. Read it for yourself. I’m honoured that Mickey invited me to help launchhis story. Thank you. 

PULSE lets us know that Mickey and Erin havenever forgotten where they are from and who they are. I wish them both andtheir family the very best of good luck for the future.