Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On 27 June 1995, a former Senator, Gordon Wilson, passed away. The anniversary of his death was yesterday. His message of forgiveness and imploring people to live peacefully and to rebuild severely fractured relationships is a lasting healing legacy and comes into sharp focus in the current political instability in Northern Ireland, especially with the marching season looming.In Enniskillen in 1987, at the very moment when people were standing in silence to pray for their dead, a bomb was detonated and 11 people were killed. Another person lost their life later, having been in a coma for many years. The late Gordon Wilson, was influenced by the last loving words uttered by his then 20-year-old daughter, Marie, who died as a result of that bombing. Clutching his hand tightly, Marie said to Gordon, "Daddy, I love you very much." Soon after, when speaking to the world's media, Gordon Wilson said that he bore no ill will and neither did his wife. His incredible words of forgiveness in the immediate aftermath of his unspeakable loss calmed down tensions in Enniskillen and further afield and many believed helped save lives, ensuring tensions did not spiral out of control. I urge community and political leaders, North and South, all public representatives North and South and all the people sharing this island to reflect and demand that there is never any going back and the only future is a shared future through mutual respect, dialogue, understanding and reconciliation.