Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Congressman is very welcome. It is great to have him taking part in the meeting. I thank him for all his hard work on the Good Friday Agreement.

Senator Blaney and I are both Border people. I am from County Louth, which is at the opposite end of the Border to Senator's Blaney's county of Donegal. I remember the Good Friday Agreement being discussed in my school when I was a young girl of 16 years of age. I never thought it could come about. As I sat in that classroom, I thought there was no way they were going to agree. With the oversight and help of America and Europe, agreement was reached and diplomacy won out. It was a great day. It changed my life and it saved the lives of countless people. We will never know how many lives it has saved.

It has not always been the case that Ireland stood with America and Europe on its shoulders or behind it. If one goes back 100 years ago, before this State was even created, Irish representatives went to Paris and asked Woodrow Wilson for a meeting because they wanted Ireland to be recognised. They did not get a meeting. Look at what we, as a country, have done through 100 years of diplomacy and the good relationships we have built up. We now have Europe and America standing tall for us. That is helping us with Brexit negotiations and has helped through all the difficulties we have had in the past couple of years. Much of it is down to proud Irish-Americans standing tall and helping us out. I thank the Congressman in that regard.

To come back to the remarks of Senator Blaney, as a Border person, there is an imaginary line. Some people think it is sort of theoretical or academic but this is about our lives and communities. We do not see a Border. I used to have two different personas: one that I used while shopping in the North and another that I used while shopping in the South. It does not make any difference. It is just reality to us.

My one ask of the Congressman is to support us to ensure that we have a shared island and that we honour our flag - the green, the orange and the peace between them. We must always remember that our flag stands for peace between both traditions. We should stand tall for that. It is to be hoped that through the help of America and Europe we can do so and we can fulfil our shared island and united Ireland vision.