Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was listening today to Ronan Collins on Radio 1 who dug back into the archives to play a song by one of my neighbours from Keshcarrigan, County Leitrim, Eleanor Shanley, when she was with De Danann, called simply, "Mandela". He remarked that it was one of the earliest manifestations of the commitment that Irish people had at a time when Mandela was still in jail and, as Senator Mullins has said, along with the Dunnes Stores workers to highlight the inequities in the apartheid system. The Senator also referred to the film "Invictus". That was to be the main theme of my contribution in the short time available to us. I re-echo the comments made and thank the Leader for affording us this opportunity.

The legacy of Nelson Mandela has been mentioned. I suggest one of greatest legacies was the manner in which he used sport to unify a divided nation in the immediate aftermath of his release from prison and his election as President and the manner in which he was able to bring the indigenous native population of South Africa with him in a sport they absolutely hated. It is hard, at this remove, to understand the hatred the native South Africans had for rugby and the Springbok team which they saw as the epitome of white supremacy. In fact the rugby stadia were divided during the apartheid era when there were special reserved places for the African population and for the white population.

Irrespective of the opposition that the Springboks faced, the native population always cheered for the opposition. They did not care who they were, such was the hatred they had for the Springboks. While Nelson Mandela decided to use sport and rugby, which was the bastion of white domination in South Africa, as a tool to effect a form of reconciliation among the population of South Africa, he knew exactly what he was doing. He called on the then captain of the Springboks, Francois Pienaar, to get him on side and he encouraged him to learn the new South African anthem rather than the Springboks anthem which was identified with white supremacy and the apartheid era. It was a great tribute to the rugby team at that time that it learned the anthem and sang it at the World Cup in 1995. When Mandela appeared in the stadium wearing the Springboks cap and the Springboks jersey the impact on the native South African population was immediate and they were in a state of shock. He realised exactly what he was doing and he saw that sport could be a great unifying force. From that period on, when certain elements of the white population were arming themselves for an imminent civil war he used sport in such an effective way.

When we reflect on the contribution that we on this island can make to other countries in terms of the peace process I think of the contribution that Mandela made in the area of sport. For example, if we had a one island soccer team here, let us think of the unifying force that could be in the medium to long term in the same way as rugby. Practically all other individual and team sports here are on an all-island basis. It is sad that the Northern Ireland soccer team, in the main, is supported by one side of the community only. That will be a continuing obstacle to peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland while that pertains. I know that these are revolutionary words but it is not today or yesterday that I have advocated an all-island team. Why would the people of this island not come together and support a team dressed in a green jersey? It is done in rugby, cricket, golf and in all team and individual sports. It is done in boxing, which is a working class sport. One has only to think of the many great sporting heroes that have come out of Belfast from both sides of the community. If there was to be a recurring theme of the legacy of Nelson Mandela it would be the way in which he used sport as a unifying force. I wish that would happen here. Maybe, just maybe, that day will come and then, truly we could say that Manela's legacy has had a resonance in this country.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.