Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Following on from Senator Ned O'Sullivan's remarks regarding the stalemate in Northern Ireland, I suggest we have to look at these things from a positive point of view. We are in a much better place in the last 20 years because of the Good Friday Agreement, the Anglo-Irish Agreement and the Downing Street Declaration. I was privileged and honoured to have been in Enniskillen last Sunday with the Taoiseach for the commemoration of Remembrance Day. We were in St. Macartin's Cathedral, where there was a very dignified and solemn service. I remember that one of the preachers referred to "the sons and daughters of Ireland" and it was wonderful to see Monsignor O'Reilly come across the street from the catholic church to commemorate these fallen people. We have come an awful long way.

I want to point out that up to 30,000 of those young men - and it was mostly young men - came from the Twenty-six Counties. To take my own county of Roscommon, which is a county of only 50,000, up to 500 young men died. We must accept that we airbrushed them out of history, although we have come a long way. While I understand there are aspects of these symbols that are difficult, I think that to have the poppy symbol set on the background of the shamrock provides a certain atmosphere whereby we can recognise the sacrifices of those young men and also recognise the sacrifices of the men of 1916.We have come a very long way and can go further still. I hope things will work out in the coming weeks. I understand there has been much negotiation and hope for the sake of the people of Northern Ireland and the people of the Republic of Ireland that the Assembly at Stormont will get up and running again soon.

When we were in London last week there were many politicians of Irish extraction there. I would love to see Sinn Féin MPs take their seats at Westminster, although that is, of course, a matter for them to decide and perhaps we should not comment on it, but there are many politicians drawn from the Irish diaspora in Britain who are filling the vacuum and representing nationalism in Ireland. One such example is Mr. Conor McGinn, originally from south Armagh but now a Labour Party MP for St. Helen's North. He is doing considerable work with the all-party parliamentary group on the Irish in Britain. I understand the Sinn Féin MPs are working at Westminster, although they do not, in fact, take their seats in the chamber. I met Senator Paul Gavan there about a year ago and believe a lot of work is being done.

Next week, on 18 November, it will be 30 years since Gary Mackay scored that wonderful goal for Scotland against Bulgaria that sent the Republic of Ireland on its way to the 1988 European Championships in Germany. On 12 June next the Irish soccer team will be 30 years undefeated by England. We should remember that fact this evening.