Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was a great honour and privilege to be at Queen's University in Belfast last Tuesday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the Belfast Agreement.All of the major players were there - Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Bertie Ahern, David Trimble, Peter Robinson, Seamus Mallon, Deputy Adams and the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney. The event drew on what has happened in the past 20 years within a different space. We sometimes do not recognise the significance of the Good Friday Agreement on the island of Ireland or, indeed, on the two islands. Most people spoke but two certainly captured the imagination. The first was George Mitchell, who said the real heroes of the Good Friday Agreement were the people of Northern Ireland and the political leaders. We need those political leaders today more than ever. The second speaker who captured the imagination was Seamus Mallon. It really resonated with those in the hall when he said that nationalists must be able to persuade unionists that Irish unity is a good thing and that they should not fear constitutional change. He said that unionists are afraid and need space to breathe. He said it is the wrong time to call for a Border poll. He said unionists need to “feel part of this island, part of the land which they farm, part of the country they belong to. I don’t care what they call it, as long as it has one name: home." That is something we need to consistently say. If we want unity, one Ireland or an Ireland together, the people should be comfortable that it is known as home - not a united Ireland, not Ireland, but home. We need to do an awful lot more of that, as Irish nationalists and Members of the Oireachtas, and we are not doing enough of it.