Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery a man who has played a vital role in our peace process. Rev. Harold Good was one of the architects of the ceasefires. He worked closely with Fr. Alec Reid in the Clonard Monastery to bring people together and show them a new way forward. Rev. Good will forgive me if I misquote the Bible. I am sure he would be able to quote it much more accurately than I, but it does state that whoever saves one life, saves the world entire. Through his own actions and those of the people he worked with, Rev. Good managed to bring an end to the violence in Northern Ireland. For that, we are eternally grateful.

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the ratification of the Good Friday Agreement, which was tortuously negotiated by the parties in Northern Ireland. This agreement was only made possible, however, by Rev. Good having sat down with people on all sides to ensure peace came to Northern Ireland. This then allowed for the agreement to move forward. I also welcome his wife Clodagh to the Seanad. She is from the great city of Waterford and her father was from west Cork. We will not hold that against him. We thank them both so much for honouring the Seanad with their presence today. I again thank Rev. Good for all the work he did in Northern Ireland. We are very grateful for the 25 years of peace that has ensued and the Seanad is honoured to have Rev. Good here as one of the few people who started that process. We are delighted he came here today.