Reverend Daniel Kane:

One week on, we grieve with you over the loss of the ten precious lives at Creeslough. Our heartfelt sympathy and prayers are with the families and the community over these days of funerals.

I thank the committee for the invitation to meet it this morning. Miss Jardine and I are here as representatives of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. As an all-island denomination our Christian witness and involvement in local communities across our more than 500 congregations is part of the weft and weave of life on the island North and South. This involvement is also part and parcel of the public life in both jurisdictions as demonstrated, for example, by our moderators participation in July's annual national day of commemoration in Dublin and at last month's state funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in London.

While it may be broadly correct to assume that Presbyterians in Northern Ireland generally identify with a unionist perspective and those in the South are more sympathetic to a narrative of constitutional change it would be wrong to conclude there is a one-size-fits-all view on the constitutional future of the island of Ireland among our membership in either jurisdiction. At one end of the spectrum, some of our members are deeply suspicious, even feeling betrayed, that we are here this morning while others will be warmly supportive and welcoming of the fact we have come here. Therefore, we come in a posture of humble compassion and constructive engagement, given that Christianity was on this island long before any constitutional arrangements. We all have the same goal in mind, which is to create the conditions in which everyone has an opportunity to flourish and reach their full potential. Reconciliation, as the Reverend Dr. Hamilton reminded us, is primarily about people and not about land.