Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this very important motion to the House. I come from the Fine Gael Party, which is known as the united Ireland party. I have my grandfather's witness statement from the Bureau of Military History. He was commander of the IRA in north Roscommon, was released on the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and was a Sinn Féin councillor. He was the first garda in An Garda Síochána. We are very proud of him. My other grandfather was Felix Feighan from Cullyhanna, south Armagh. He could not go back to Northern Ireland because of his involvement in the War of Independence. Nobody should lecture me, or any of us, about our republican and Fenian background.

I am going to read from my grandfather James Feely's witness statement from the Bureau of Military History:

I was brought up in the Fenian faith with a rebel outlook. In 1914, [...] the Irish Volunteers was formed in Boyle and I joined them.

At that time, there were 100,000 Ulster Volunteers marching and gearing up, as were the Irish Volunteers. He said that in 1914, 40 out of the 100 men joined the British Army and that when John Redmond came to Boyle, 48 men joined to fight for home rule. Of the 100 men, 88 joined the British Army. Some went for money and some went to fight for home rule, but they were forgotten about. One thing I have done in the last 15 years has been to try to commemorate those great Irishmen, patriots who were airbrushed out of our history. I think we have come an awful long way.

To me, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday Agreement have been game-changers. In 1949, it was Fine Gael that declared Ireland a Republic, which took us out of the Commonwealth. If we are going to have an agreed Ireland, there has to be a lot more generosity. We are going to have to talk about flags, Ireland, anthems and the Commonwealth, but nobody wants to talk about that. Unity is not a one-way street; it is a two-way street.

Until recently, I had never ever blocked anybody on Facebook, but in the last four weeks, I have blocked nearly 300 people because of sectarianism and racism. I will not engage with anybody who has a Tricolour or a Union Jack or "be kind" on their handle. Nobody can lecture me or my party on republicanism, Fenianism or an agreed Ireland. I want to have unity, but we have to ensure it includes the 1 million unionists and loyalists. It is not a one-way street.

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