On Monday, Martin McGuinness, myself, Rita O'Hare, Pat
Doherty and Lucilita Breatnach represented Sinn Féin at the funeral of former
Taoiseach Albert Reynolds in Dublin. All of us, along with others who couldn't
attend, had worked with Albert on the peace process. The State ceremony was a
fitting send off for a man who was crucial to the development of the peace
process.
There was poignancy in the fact that his funeral took
place just days before the 20th Anniversary of the historic and
groundbreaking IRA cessation of 1994.
That decision by the IRA leadership resulted in
enormous changes and had profound effects on politics in Ireland and on the
relationship between Ireland and Britain.
Much of the work to bring about that opportunity was
carried out away from the public eye and is often now forgotten.
People rightly remember the great political highs of
the past two decades, be it the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement, the
St. Andrews and Hillsborough Agreement, the decision of Ian Paisley to share
power or the decision by the IRA to leave the stage.
But none of these or the other fundamental, political,
social and constitutional changes during the peace process would have been
possible without the difficult and risk-laden work which was undertaken by
Albert Reynolds, Fathers Alec Reid and Des Wilson, John Hume, the Sinn Féin
leadership and others in the years before the 1994 cessation including brave
citizens from civic unionism, Protestant churches and the community sector.
The Ireland of the early 1990s was very different from
now. Armed conflict was part of everyday life. Political censorship and
exclusion was the norm. Successive Irish governments worked with British
governments in pursuing an entirely negative agenda which merely fed the cycle
of discrimination, resistance and conflict.
When Albert became Taoiseach he was briefed by the
former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey on discussions that had opened up between Sinn
Féin and Fianna Fáil. Martin Mansergh, senior political adviser was to be an
important bridge and Fr Alex Reid was to be the main conduit to Mr Reynolds. Fr
Reid persuaded the new Taoiseach of the possibilities which were being created
at that time.
So, Albert Reynolds brought a different approach. He
was persuaded of the potential which existed in my own dialogue with John Hume
and he was moved to offer support to this at a time when others deliberately
sought to undermine it.
Alongside this he struck up a dialogue of his own with
the then British Prime Minister John Major and despite significant political
opposition both inside and outside the British Parliament, the Downing Street
Declaration was secured. This declaration, of course was not sufficient and work
had to continue beyond that. But at least Sinn Féin was now dealing directly
with the Taoiseach and he came to realise that more was needed.
I regard my relationship with Albert Reynolds to be a
very good one. He was very open. He and his wife Kathleen welcomed me and others
into their home. They were welcoming, down to earth and straight forward. Albert
was also very direct. He was a doer. He wasn’t satisfied with dialogue
without aim, objective or concrete outcomes. Of course there were profound
differences between us but I always felt that in Albert Reynolds we
were dealing with someone who was serious about the task of building the peace
process and who represented a new departure from the Irish Government failures
which had marked previous decades. This in itself was important.
He was also prepared to listen. He came to the table
with a determination to succeed and also with an ability to take risks.
He also knew the North much better than he was given
credit for. Some of this goes back to the showband days and he had a very human
contact with people in the business community and right across the Six Counties.
It is a testament to Albert's ability to get things
done that although he was one of the shortest serving Taoisigh, he achieved so
much in so short a space of time. In my opinion a lot of this was possible
because he was an outsider. He wasn't part of the Fianna Fáil establishment or
the Irish establishment at that time. In fact many of them looked down their
noses at him. The establishment at that time was very partitionist. Some of the
policy makers remain so to this day. But it took someone from outside that
culture to turn the system around in the early days of his term as Taoiseach.
I suppose it is part of the nature of politics that
Albert Reynolds was removed from office well before the election of Tony Blair
in 1997 and the creation of the sort of inclusive, all-party negotiations which
he recognised were necessary but which the Major government failed to deliver in
the period after the 1994 cessation.
Given the time he had invested in helping to develop
the peace process there is little doubt that Albert would have brought his own
dynamic to those talks and helped put his own stamp on what would ultimately
emerge as the Good Friday Agreement.
After his retirement from public life Albert Reynolds
remained a firm supporter of the peace process. If there was a role that he was
asked to play it was done without fuss or without question. I was in contact
with him many times and he was a particular assistance in advising in how we
deal with the Irish Government of the day. He also developed a very warm
personal relationship with Martin McGuinness.
Under Fr Reid's guidance Albert also opened up dialogue
with loyalist paramilitaries and their representatives.
On occasions over the past 20 years I have heard
numerous people described as being architects of the Irish Peace Process. I have
to say on many of these occasions I raise my eyes in surprise. Such a
description however sits well with the contribution made by Albert
Reynolds.
Albert stepped forward to make peace when it was a
risky thing to do. When it was not popular with either the political or the
media establishments. He did the right thing. He acted on the North when
positive action was needed. As the political process faces into more
difficulties, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny would do well if he emulated the actions
of Albert Reynolds.
At this sad time I wish to extend my condolences to his
wife Kathleen, to their children and to the wider Reynolds family.
Kathleen was hugely supportive of Albert. At times Fr
Alec must have driven her to distraction but she was and remains a very sound
and solid woman.
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