Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today is a very big day for the UK but also for the island of Ireland. No matter what happens today, I hope the island of Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland, will not be forgotten because it was forgotten about when the Brexit referendum took place. We are now working twice as hard to undo the difficulties that have occurred since the referendum. I attended that screening of "Lost Lives" last night. I thank Senator Marshall and the Tánaiste for attending. I became aware of the book "Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children Who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles" about two or three years ago through a newspaper article. I remember going into Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street to buy it. First of all, it was not on sale, although I see that it costs nearly €300 on Amazon. This book is a masterpiece by David McKittrick and four other authors. The film last night did huge justice to this masterpiece - a horrific masterpiece.

Of all the stories of horrific killings, of which there were over 3,700, one really touched me. It was the story of a man called Billy Giles, a UVF volunteer who abducted and shot a Catholic friend in 1982. He served time in prison and on his release weeks after the Good Friday Agreement, he hung himself. In his note, he said that he was a victim of the Troubles, that the environment in which he lived turned him into a killer and that he wanted new generations to know the regret and remorse he felt. I say this because when I went into the Oireachtas Library to get that book three years ago, it had been out on loan with a Member for four years so none of the 250 Deputies and Senators and research staff had looked for that book. This film will be broadcast on the BBC but it should be shown in every school, church and facility around this country. Senator Marshall is right. We turned our backs on the people of the North. It should be compulsory for any of these keyboard warriors who talk about this, that and the other to read this book because the lives of 3,700 people were taken and we need to look at that. During the discussion after the screening of the film, one of the contributors said that we need to love the people of the North much more. We need to show that we are interested. If we are to have an agreed Ireland, we must make huge sacrifices ourselves. It is not a one-way street. It is a two-way street and we need to dig deep and show that we care because sometimes talk or emotion will not solve it. We must be able to dig deep and show that we really care and really want to show the love to the people of the North, who are good people.