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Tolerating of Differences
For those of us living in the north of Ireland the
English Queen Elizabeth has been omnipresent in our lives for a long
time. From our postage stamps, coins and bank notes to the
names of our public buildings.
In Belfast there are two bridges named after
English Queens. The Queens Bridge was opened in 1849 and is named after
Victoria. The Queen Elizabeth Bridge is named after the woman who has
just died. It was opened in 1966. Interestingly there was a row among
unionists in Belfast City Council who wanted to name it after Unionist leader
Edward Carson whose statue stands in front of Parliament Buildings at Stormont.
There is also Royal Avenue and the Royal
Victoria Hospital and countless other thoroughfares named after British Royals.
There is Queens University and the Albert Clock named after Victoria’s other
half.
Royal this and royal that.
Everywhere. And this is even before we get to the Crown Forces and
all their Royal Regiments or Her Majesty’s Prisons.
Dublin also has its royal remnants. For
example, for the almost ten years that I was a TD in the Dáil I parked each day
in the shadow of a statue to Prince Albert, the consort of the English Queen
Victoria.
Whether we reject or embrace this phenomenon is
immaterial. Because Elizabeth has been at the centre of it all for so long
she has become a constant in our lives. The current protracted and saturation
media coverage adds to this. But the responses to her death are complex and
diverse.
Royalists and supporters of the monarchy will
be personally affected by Elizabeth’s death. Those of us who don’t share
this view need to be aware of it and act accordingly and respectfully. We
will also be mindful that Elizabeth’s family have lost a much loved family
member. For them this is a heart wrenching moment. Most of us can
have empathy at a human level with that. I certainly can. Which is
why I sympathise with them.
At the same time I have no time for hierarchies,
aristocrats or royalty, whether they are political, religious, secular or
industrial. They are all about power for elites. No one should have an
entitlement to a life of privilege and wealth because they are deemed to be
divine rulers. No one should have the right to rule anyone else
unless they are democratically elected. I believe in equality. In community. In
solidarity. Citizenship. In self-determination. None of us
should ever be anyone’s subject. Working people should always be mindful
of our own class and of our own history, our values and
entitlements. If I was English I would be an English
republican. And a socialist. These are internationalist
beliefs. I’m also a democratic. I believe in self-determination.
But I’m Irish. An Irish republican and a socialist.
And we Irish should be aware of our own nation with our culture, language,
history and customs.
For many reasons we have our own special
experience of the English monarchy. It has been a tragic and costly
one. For centuries we have been denied our right to govern
ourselves. The Empire colonised us and many other people. Across the world and
in our own place. Countless crimes were committed globally in the name of the
crown. Military interventions into other peoples’ affairs
continue.
So those who support the monarchy should be
respectful towards those of us who don’t. Just as we should be
respectful of their views. We have a lot to learn from each other. Tolerance of
differences is a good basis for this.
Society must reflect and include the entirety of
its people, not part of them. Inclusivity is vital to the well being of
any community, whether a nation, the global village or a local populace.
I acknowledge the attachment that many within the
unionist section of our people have for the English royal family and their
genuine grief at the death of their Queen. That has rightly been reflected in
remarks by Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O Neill, and Alex Maskey and their
comments have been balanced, sincere and respectful.
Queen Elizabeth’s remarks and her important
gestures during her visit to the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin in May 2011
and her subsequent meetings with Martin McGuinness were helpful and
unprecedented. Although nowadays the willingness of the London
government to tear up agreements with and about Ireland - nothing new in this –
illustrates the need to go beyond symbolism in the search for new and genuine
rapprochement.
Martin McGuinness was firmly of the view that the
British royals were strong supporters of the Irish peace process. I agree. He
and I met with Charles in May 2015. At our first meeting Martin and I
acknowledged the hurt he and his family suffered by the actions of republicans.
We were conscious also of the sad loss of the Maxwell family whose son Paul was
also killed at Mullaghmore.
We and Charles also discussed the hurt inflicted on
my neighbours and my friends in Ballymurphy and Springhill by British crown
forces and the killings of Martin’s neighbours and friends in Derry on Bloody
Sunday by the regiment of which Charles is commander in chief. We talked
about all this and other related matters. Our conversations were
important. And genuine.
Charles is now the King of England. He has a
responsibility to act on his own words and on the words of his mother as he
adapts to his new role.
We are all living in a time of transition for the
people of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain. There are
huge challenges. They are multiple and immediate. These challenges must be
overcome. Just as Alex Maskey, a man who was denied his rights for most of
his life; a man who was interned without trial; a man whose homes shot up; a
man whose friend was killed in his living room; a man himself who was very
seriously wounded and whose wife Liz McKee was the first woman interned. Alex
rose to those challenges, to act on behalf of the Assembly in greeting King
Charles.
So challenges can be overcome and Charles in
fairness overcame his grief and one could say there is reconciliation despite
the suffering of the past between Irish republicans and at a personal level the
new King as there was before with his mother.
So there are other challenges and they include
bringing the current constitutional arrangements gently to an end as set out in
the Good Friday Agreement by building a new democratic alternative to the
dysfunctional union with Britain. That’s with way for us all to live
together in harmony and in respect for each other.
Colm’s Harps
I was very pleased to get an email from Colm Dawson from New York. Colm, who is originally from Belfast, read my article about Long Kesh handicrafts in The Irish Echo.
He writes ‘During internment my mother used to bake homemade soda farls and send them up to the Cages. In 1973, in recognition of her contribution, we received this lovely little harp. I believe it came from Conn McHugh, Owen Quigley and your good self.
It has been sitting in my living room in NY for over twenty years. And it’s in great shape. That wee harp sat on top of our TV in Belfast for decades. We had another one that my dad won in a raffle at the PD, also in 1973, that sat beside it. Both are now here with me.’
Margaret and Mickey Dawson, Colm’s parents, were outstanding supporters of the republican prisoners and champions of our struggle. Míle buiochas Colm. Anyone else with prison memorabilia stories get in touch.
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