Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom labhairt faoi thoscaireacht ón Seanad a bhí i mo chathair féin, Béal Feirste Cois Cuain, an tseachtain seo caite agus cé chomh dearfach agus fiúntach a bhí an toscaireacht sin. I want to reflect on last week's visit by a cross-party delegation of Senators to my home city of Belfast. It was a very positive and worthwhile engagement, building on a series of engagements between the Seanad, the first citizens of Belfast and, by extension, Belfast City Council. I thank and commend Senator Joe O'Reilly in particular for his eloquent and positive words to Lord Mayor John Finucane on our behalf during that visit to Belfast City Hall. Encouragingly, he extended an invitation to members of Belfast City Council to come back down the road to re-engage in a spirit of collaboration and positive and mutual co-operation moving forward. It is important at this time that we embed and sustain those positive links right across the entirety of our island. I want to reflect on the positive nature of that visit. We also visited the Somme Heritage Centre in Newtownards, run by Carol Walker, and the new James Connolly visitor centre on the Falls Road, where the manager, Séanna Walsh, looked after us. Both centres were very informative examples of our sometimes contested but shared past and experiences. That is also true of the last couple of days, during which the Leas-Cathaoirleach and I both attended the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, BIPA. It is important that we continue those dialogues, the process of reconciliation and the quiet and respectful conversations which are taking place despite some of the hot air and reflections elsewhere. As an institution, the Seanad must support and participate in those crucial and important conversations.