Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin welcomes the debate today and the statements on the North, as this gives an opportunity for all parties in this House to set out what political action they have taken individually and what political action Members have taken collectively in recent times to help build the peace and to advance the full implementation and delivery of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements, of which both Governments are co-signatories.

In his earlier contribution, Deputy Adams outlined and catalogued the historical and political context to the partition of Ireland and the two conservative States that were created in both the Six Counties and the Twenty-six Counties as a result. In his remarks, the Taoiseach noted the significance of the decade of centenaries upon which I wish to spend some time reflecting and on how the events of the past 100 years have shaped both our country and the relationship between Ireland and Britain. Between 1913 and 1923, this country began a journey that still has huge contemporary political relevance today, most particularly in the continuing struggle for national independence, peace and sovereignty for all of Ireland. Last year we commemorated the historical landmark events of the 1913 Lockout, as well as the founding of the Irish Citizen Army and Óglaigh na hÉireann, the Irish Volunteers. This year we will commemorate the founding of Cumann na mBan in 1914, and before long there will be the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising itself, followed by that of the death of Thomas Ashe in 1917, who was the first of the 22 hunger strikers to die in the past century, and the centenaries of the First Dáil and the Democratic Programme of 1919 will follow soon after. As a Cork Deputy, the year 1920 is hugely significant for me in remembering our past, since that was the year in which the Black and Tans were introduced and in which the murder of Cork Lord Mayor Tomás Mac Curtain occurred in March and the death of Terence MacSwiney on hunger strike on 25 October. After the signing of the Treaty, the pro-Treaty Free State Army bombed former comrades out of the Four Courts and civil war ensued with devastating consequences, both during 1922-3 and for decades thereafter, which has left Irish society divided and embittered, as Members sadly know well. Terrible events occurred during this period, including the official and unofficial executions of more than 100 republicans by the Free State, 77 of whom were executed in prison.

This is not meant as a history lesson but merely is a brief reminder of what this country has gone through over the past century of conflict and struggle North and South. It also is the political and historical context for what emerged as the recent phase of conflict after 1969. The issue of conflict is a century old and no party in this House was born out of peace. Frank Aiken, a founder of Fianna Fáil, started out as a young IRA man in south Armagh. Only before Christmas, the leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Martin, was at his graveside there to pay his respects and to commemorate him. However, in the same graveyard, only a short distance away, lies a hunger striker from 1981, Raymond McCreesh. Is Deputy Martin telling me and everyone else in this Chamber that they, as republicans, are different? If so, he is a hypocrite. Republicans from every decade and generation fought and died for Irish freedom and unity and no amount of revisionist rhetoric from parties such as Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party will change this. To listen to some in this House, one would think this State came into existence through wishful thinking and the bluster of debate. The halls on the way into this Chamber are lined with portraits of men in the uniform of the IRA. Every party within this House, including Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party and the remnants of the Workers' Party, all have links back to militant republicanism. For more than 40 years this Parliament failed to protect Irish citizens in the North. It stood idly by while a sectarian State, ruled by oppression and governed by discrimination, was established and allowed to run roughshod over the rights of Northern Nationalists.

When the demand for peaceful and democratic change was voiced towards the end of the 1960s, the full brunt of the Northern State was brought to bear on the Nationalist community and some decided to fight back. When politics and democracy failed, an alternative was pursued by republicans and the IRA. That was a choice made by some and the longest phase of militant republicanism was born. Almost 30 years of violent conflict took place before the political path opened up and a peaceful and democratic alternative to achieve a united Ireland was negotiated. There are some who may prefer the analysis of republicans as the sole aggressors, but this does not hold up to historic scrutiny. The conflict was bloody and violent. The British Government was an actor in that conflict, yet there has been a disproportionate focus on the role of republicans. Many within this House and within the media have attempted to vilify and criminalise republicans engaged in armed struggle, but I for one will not allow that analysis to go unchallenged. As for the men and women who were volunteers of the IRA, they were ordinary people who found they were living in extraordinary times. They were not criminals; they were revolutionaries and freedom fighters of whom I, for one, am proud. The fact that in the past 40 years, Irish men and women were obliged to organise and fight an armed campaign at all to defend their families, friends and neighbours, as well as their dignity and rights, was an imposed reality and a manifestation of the failure of politics and they were entirely justified in taking up that fight. The volunteers of the IRA from the latest phase of struggle died for Ireland in order that this generation could live for Ireland and do so as first-class citizens North and South, winning the freedom while building the peace.

However, that was then, and the armed campaign is now over. The IRA rightly left the stage as new frontiers which had never before existed opened up and evolved into a successful peace process. Sinn Féin's peace strategy evolved over a period of ten years. It began with the production of two key documents, namely, A Scenario for Peace in 1987 and Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland in 1992. The IRA ceasefires in both 1994 and 1997, as well as the ending of the armed campaign in July 2005, formed a critical part of the process that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. As for its success thereafter, that peace process is considered to be one of the most successful contemporary peace processes in the world. Sinn Féin is proud of the pivotal role we played with others in forging agreement. Outstanding issues remain and republicans will not be found wanting in pursuing and working towards a shared solution with others. Such solutions will be based on parity of esteem and equality and one needs to look no further than the recent Haass talks to see the commitment and desire of republicans to address these outstanding issues. Sinn Féin entered those talks with a desire for an agreed outcome. Our commitment is to continue working with all other parties and sectors of society to achieve a successful outcome in this regard.

In conclusion, gone are the days of sectarian domination and political conflict in the North - that is, a century-old conflict. Things have changed and change will continue. Parity of esteem and equality will continue to be cemented and the outstanding issues of the Good Friday Agreement, including dealing with the past, truth recovery and reconciliation and an end to sectarian division, must be worked on to achieve success both in the immediate and longer term, despite our opponents or the naysayers, in whatever quarter they may be found.

We will not be found wanting in that. Republicans stand tall, we stand proud and we stand prepared to work with others to ensure conflict remains a thing of the past.

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