Eoghan Harris (Independent)

If anything has eased the pain of the Troubles in the North, it is acts of empathy with the other side, walking in other people's shoes. I remember, in particular, when Mr. Alex Maskey of Sinn Féin moved towards the Protestant community in regard to the First World War and how deeply and profoundly it affected him. I am somewhat concerned that in our tributes to Lord Saville and Mr. David Cameron we forget that those who died in Derry were not the only ones who died. Mr. Tommie Gorman who showed all the power, empathy and emotional intelligence he has shown all his life, including during the Troubles, reminded us last night of what had happened at Teebane, Whiterock, on Bloody Friday and in the La Mon restaurant bombing.

I still remember the night I saw on the road the false teeth that belonged to a Protestant workman who was taken out of a van at Whiterock and gunned down. I ask Members to understand the feelings of the Protestant community when they look at what happened in Derry yesterday. It was a moving and wonderful occasion for the Nationalist people. However, everything is connected in this world — "only connect", said Shakespeare — and the Protestant community must have felt left out in a way. It would not be good for Seanad Éireann to convey the feeling that we are unaware of or are insensitive to the other tradition and what it suffered.