Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion. I agree with everything that Senators Blaney and McGreehan have said to date. Mention was made of the Decade of Centenaries in which we are engaged now. In 1923, the Irish Free State Government passed a Bill of indemnity stating that its own forces were completely exonerated from civil or criminal actions in respect of anything that had happened during our Civil War. A year later, a Farmers' Party Deputy put it up to the members of the Government that they should extend that principle to the people who had taken the republican side in the Civil War. It was rejected. Curiously, at 3.50 p.m. on 7 November 1924, someone sitting where the Cathaoirleach is now sitting said that the President of the Executive Council, W.T. Cosgrave had an announcement to make. He stood up and recited that the Executive Council, the Cabinet of the day, had passed a resolution stating that there to be no more criminal prosecutions taken against anybody on either side in the Civil War. A line was drawn across the criminal justice process prosecution of either side by that means. I mention that to point out that there are times when we should consider that, maybe, the people who were in this Chamber then understood what was needed to achieve reconciliation. They adopted that measure even though it must have been very painful for some in that House, some of whom had their houses burned and uncles, aunts and children killed by actions from the other side in the Civil War. Richard Mulcahy, who had resigned over the Army mutiny and was then a backbencher, praised Cosgrave and said that this was a very generous decision.

I want now to speak about Northern Ireland, particularly in regard to the amendment Senator Blaney said he is willing to accept. The legacy prosecutions can only go so far. People who advocate for a truth and reconciliation commission should be mindful of that there will never be full revelation of what happened in the past, no matter what is done. The South African model will not be applicable in Northern Ireland. The British security services will never reveal the truths that we fear lurk there and there are many people on the republican side who will never say exactly what happened in respect of a lot of things. Some say going back over former killings is necessary to vindicate the feelings of survivors and their families and victims' families. I query that. I query whether we are actually doing anything really significant in putting 70 year old men on trial for things that happened 40 or 50 years ago.I query whether there is any sense in that.

Like the previous two speakers, I classify myself an Irish republican. I believe strongly in the flag, as mentioned by Senator McGreehan, and in the vision of Thomas Davis and the inclusive ideal of republicanism. I agree with them that, unfortunately, in Northern Ireland, possibility due to the St. Andrews Agreement, the two largest parties are in a competitive struggle to achieve ownership of the First Minister position. In that political game, it makes sense to polarise rather than to reconcile, to maximise strength within one's own community rather than to look to the middle. As a society, we will have to look to what reconciliation actually means. For that reason, I welcome the terms of the motion as proposed. Every poll suggests that if a referendum on Irish unity was held tomorrow, it would be decisively rejected 60% or more to 40%. I have no objection to people demanding that those who favour Irish unity should articulate a version of it to be put before the people; that is fine, but constantly agitating for an early referendum in circumstances where there is not an immediate prospect of it being accepted and, therefore, the Good Friday Agreement prerequisite for it being held are not present, does not achieve anything in terms of reconciliation.

Senator Blaney mentioned Seán Lemass and his efforts for peace and reconciliation on this island and his efforts to break moulds. I refer to a photograph, which I found among family photographs recently, of Seán Lemass and two of my uncles, Niall MacNeill and Brian MacNeill on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the killing of Brian MacNeill by Free State forces on the top of Benbulben in a summary execution. There was reconciliation. I believe that in Northern Ireland we need the same spirit of reconciliation. We need to stop the funerals, marches, commemoration speeches and so on and look together to a shared future.