Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 25 May 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement

Engagement with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation

Ms Naoimh McNamee:

To add to that, as regards different groups or different types of dialogue we work with, there are different people in different frames of mind or different places on their journeys. One thing that was worrying or a bit depressing for us all in reminding us of the type of dialogue that Glencree used to run 25 years ago was the position post Brexit. I made a point earlier about the importance of this wide dialogue work and trust-building. We took our foot off the pedal a little after the signing of the agreement and in the years that followed, and those relationships and that strength were not there. There was therefore a need almost to bring some of that back and to try to develop it. We had some conversations to the effect that "God, that is a bit of a harrowing thought", but it is required and necessary.

As Mr. Hynes rightly said, some of the younger generation have very different mindsets and very different views. There is that intergenerational trauma and identity issues still coming down through generations, but it is quite a different dynamic. Where we see some interesting progress and some push is when we are able to blend some of those different views and generations together. It is fascinating. It is such a privilege to do this work and to engage in that, but it is quite tricky and delicate at times. Certainly, Brexit highlighted the reality of where relationships were or the absence of certain relationships or aspects of trust, north, south, east, west and within societies in the North. We have been working extensively. Mr. Hynes's team has doubled in recent years around that, so there is a huge demand for it.

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