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“I was – in a very pointed, deliberate and symbolic way – offering the hand of friendship to unionists through the person of Queen Elizabeth for which many unionists have a deep affinity.”

The Mid-Ulster MP said the encounter was the result of decades of work constructing the Irish Peace Process, involving very many people in very many roles.

“And I wish to pay tribute to all of those – from Presidents to Taoisigh to Prime Ministers, from politicians to church and community leaders and ordinary people up and down Ireland – who placed building a new future ahead of fighting old battles.”

The deputy First Minister added:

“It is my intention that this week’s event becomes a key building block in that new relationship and that new beginning.”

Martin was accompanied by Sinn Féin MPs Michelle Gildernew, Pat Doherty, Conor Murphy and Paul Maskey, and Sinn Féin Dublin South Central TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh.

This is the full text of Martin McGuinness’s speech:

There have been many momentous and indeed historical moments which have marked my 40 years in struggle. Some have been highly political, others have been highly significant and some have been highly symbolic. Yesterday’s meeting with Queen Elizabeth in Belfast embraced all of these things.

It was a meeting which, although short in length, can, I believe, have much longer effects on defining a new relationship between Britain and Ireland and between the Irish people themselves.

It was not a meeting which came about as a result of a few weeks’ or a few months’ work. It came about as the result of decades of work constructing the Irish Peace Process, involving very many people in very many roles.

And I wish to pay tribute to all of those – from Presidents to Taoisigh to Prime Ministers, from politicians to church and community leaders and ordinary people up and down Ireland – who placed building a new future ahead of fighting old battles.

Britain’s involvement in Irish affairs has been marked by colonialism, plantation, division and partition. It has been bad for Ireland and her people and bad for Britain and her people. We have been left to deal with that legacy. It is a legacy which has contaminated normal politics and normal relations between our islands for generations.

It gave rise to the conditions which fostered inequality, division and conflict. Second-class citizenship for nationalists in the North was underwritten by successive British governments.

For 40 years my life has been about changing all of that.

Massive progress has been made. We have transformed society in the North. But that transformation has come at a heavy price on all sides. Over 3,000 people lost their lives in the course of the conflict. Many more suffered injury and loss. Every single violent act was evidence of a failure of politics and a failure of British policy in Ireland.

We are emerging from a conflict that resulted in lives being lost and families being devastated. I genuinely regret every single life that was lost during that conflict and today I want every family who lost a loved one to know that your pain is not being ignored and I am willing to work with others to finding a way to deal with our past so that we can complete our journey to true reconciliation.

I hear some commentators talk about the Good Friday Agreement being reached back in 1998 and following a successful completion of an Assembly mandate that the Peace Process has come to a conclusion. I do not share this view, it is wrong and it is a mistake. The task of building national reconciliation is as much a part of the Peace Process as anything that has gone before.

I am up for the challenge and I welcome the opportunity for us to have a public conversation about how we deal with our past. That conversation will be not easy and the challenges will be great. However, I believe that with dialogue and trust we can develop a process that all of us can support and accept.

Already we as a party have made a number of significant and important moves in recent months to develop such a process. Under the direction of our party chairperson, Declan Kearney, we have been involved in a series of outreach meetings with unionists. This has been a highly productive dialogue and I commend the two recent resolutions passed by the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches encouraging this work.

But national reconciliation will not be built on a shaky foundation of people questioning the legitimacy of positions adopted over the course of the conflict or by attempts to demean or denigrate those who were involved in it.

National reconciliation will be built on the firm foundation of mutual respect and decisive actions. That is the context within which I met Queen Elizabeth this week.

I was – in a very pointed, deliberate and symbolic way – offering the hand of friendship to unionists through the person of Queen Elizabeth for which many unionists have a deep affinity. It is an offer I hope many will accept in the same spirit it was offered.

Unfortunately, to date, the British state has refused to even acknowledge its role as a combatant in the conflict. That position is no longer tenable as we move forward. It is insulting to victims of events like Bloody Sunday in my own city, where 14 people were killed, and it is insulting to people’s intelligence. It is also excluding the British state from assisting a genuine process of national reconciliation in Ireland, a process which, though embryonic, is nevertheless underway.

There are issues that have not been brought to a conclusion, specifically the issue of the legacy of the conflict. The British Government has a big role to play in that.

Many people in the North who are big supporters of the Peace Process are hurt. Just last week, relatives of those killed in the Ballymurphy Massacre were told by British Secretary of State Owen Paterson that they would not have the type of inquiry that they were looking for, the kind of investigation that they wanted, into the deaths of their loved ones killed by the British Army. Likewise, the British commitment at Weston Park for an inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane has not been implemented. The government in London needs to stop obstructing these matters.

Indeed, in recent times this British government has made a series of stupid and unhelpful decisions, including the revocation of the licence of Marian Price and the continuing imprisonment of Martin Corey on the same basis. People may be shocked to discover that Peter Robinson and myself have met American President Barack Obama more times that we have met David Cameron in our role as First and deputy First Ministers. This lack of engagement by David Cameron is a serious mistake and may provide a rationale for some of the damaging decisions made by Owen Paterson during his tenure at the NIO.

I am absolutely committed to the achievement of a New Republic in Ireland. I believe that the Good Friday Agreement offers us a clear, democratic roadmap to get there.  Under that agreement the Government of Ireland Act was repealed and the British Government has committed to legislating for Irish unity in the event of a 50-plus-one result in a Border poll.

I also realise that the Ireland of 1922 is not the Ireland of 2012. But that does not mean that the current British Government does not have an obligation to deal with the legacy of previous governments’ failures with regard to Ireland. If you continue to ignore an inherited problem you become part of the problem itself.

I would argue that the British people and their elected representatives need to need to become persuaders for constitutional change in the future.

Because that is the real future for Ireland — a united country at peace with itself and at peace with Britain; a society based on respect and equality.

And leading a debate on the future of the Union in England will become a central part of the work being undertaken in the future by Sinn Féin MPs elected to Westminster.

As you know, Sinn Féin as a party has taken a decision to end the practice of double jobbing. In practice, that will mean me resigning my seat at Westminster. I have been deeply honoured to serve the people of Mid-Ulster since 1997.  It is a mandate which I have used to advance the Peace Process and cement a better future for all citizens. I will continue to represent the people of Mid-Ulster in the Assembly.

My other four colleagues – Michelle, Conor, Paul and Pat – will remain as active abstentionist MPs. Indeed, our MPs team will be bolstered by the end of the dual mandates and will assume additional responsibilities in the time ahead.

In addition to the normal constituency business this will include driving forward a positive, proactive united Ireland campaign in Britain. Our MPs will be more visible and more prominent than ever before, in Ireland, Britain and internationally.

And as we roll out our united Ireland agenda, my actions this week give unionists – and indeed others – a glimpse of how we as republican leaders would behave in such a united Ireland.

I respect unionists and I respect their identity. All I ask in return is respect for my Irishness and my Irish republican identity.

It is an entirely legitimate position to argue for Irish freedom and independence. Sinn Féin are absolutely committed to pursuing this objective through peaceful and democratic means. It is also an entirely legitimate position for people in England to actively support this position.

The problems between Ireland and Britain have not yet been resolved. But we now operate in a new context of compromise, agreement and peace. Dialogue has replaced conflict. Respect has replaced mistrust. What I want to see develop now and in the time ahead is a relationship based on equality and respect between our two islands for the first time in our history.

For that to happen we will need new thinking. We will need new ideas. We will need new political realities to dawn. That will not happen if the British Government continues to cling to old certainties born from a different era and a different time.

The partition of Ireland is an outdated relic of the past – a symbol of political failure. Is supporting partition really what a modern, forward-looking British Government should be doing in the year 2012? I don’t think so.

I have said before that the 1916 Easter Rising marked the beginning of the end of the British Empire and that the Good Friday Agreement marks the beginning of the end of the Union as we know it.

Now is a time for new, fresh approach to Irish-British relations. That is a challenge for everyone. It is a challenge for every one of you in this room.

It is also a challenge for the Irish Government. For too long, successive Irish governments have paid lip service to partition. They have tolerated the division of our country and our people which has resulted in Ireland as a nation not reaching our full potential. In future, ending partition and national reunification need to become Irish Government policy, not merely an aspirational goal.

Everything we do as political leaders must at all times be about underpinning the Peace Process. And that includes our approach to the summer months and the marching season. And even at this stage I would encourage the loyal orders to bear this in mind when they file for parades through areas they know they are not welcome.

I welcome the upcoming visit of the Orange Order to the Oireachtas but they need to end their position of refusing dialogue with Sinn Féin or nationalist residents. I would ask them to look at the events of the past week and seriously debate how they are going to step forward and make their contribution to a lasting peace in the coming weeks.

We have a complex and very difficult historical relationship between our two islands. The trick is to learn from it rather than be constrained by it. I am up for the big challenge of redefining that relationship in the wake of this week’s historic events. But in the same way as you cannot make peace on your own, you cannot build reconciliation without participation.

Over the next decade we will commemorate the centenaries of many of the seminal moments that have defined modern Anglo-Irish relations. It would be very easy for each of us to select our own versions of that history and celebrate and commemorate that with little regard to other events and other versions and indeed the legacy of that entire period.

We cannot make that mistake. These events will offer a unique opportunity to not just remember but to learn; not just to commemorate but to understand.

Our children, be they in Ireland or in Britain, deserve a better future than we have had a past, a future marked by respect and equality in place of conflict and suspicion.

I believe that we can get there. I believe that the future demands it.

It is my intention that this week’s event becomes a key building block in that new relationship and that new beginning.

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“I want to welcome today’s historic meeting in Belfast between the President of Ireland, the Queen of England, First and Deputy First Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness.
It brings our journey of relationship building within this island and between these islands onto a new plane.

“I would to think we will build upon that. When Queen Elizabeth visited here and made the positive remarks that she did, and visited the Garden of Remembrance, I said at that time that it needed to be built upon.

“That’s what Sinn Féin is trying to do in terms of this engagement but there are issues that have not been brought to a conclusion, specifically the issue of the legacy of the conflict. Both governments have a big role to play in that.

“I know that some people in the north – especially in my own home district of Ballymurphy – who are big supporters of the peace process are hurt. Just last week they were told by the British Secretary of State Owen Patterson that they would not have the type of inquiry that they were looking for, the kind of investigation that they wanted, into the deaths of their loved ones by the British Army.

“So, the government in London needs to stop obstructing these matters; and the government here needs to press them to do just that.

“But all in all it’s a good day for Ireland and a good day for the people of these islands.
The significance will be seen in how much we can build upon it.

“I think the vast majority of unionists will be pleased that this happened because they know it’s essentially a real gesture beyond the rhetoric towards their sense of identity and their sense of allegiance.

“Ireland is changing; its changing because of the peace process, it’s changing because of all the revelations of sleaze and scandals and corruption in this state and its changing because of the economic crisis. So people know we deserve a better society and republicans like everyone else who thinks about the future and thinks about Ireland want to be part of shaping that out and the unionists are a very essential part of that equation.”

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Whereas, Veterans For Peace is a national organization of men and women veterans of all eras and duty stations including from the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), World War II, the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf and Current Iraq/Afghanistan wars, as well as other conflicts, and

Whereas, Veterans For Peace New York City Chapter 34, having dutifully served our nation, affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. Furthermore, included in our Statement of Purpose, are the goals to seek justice for veterans and victims of war and to abolish war as an instrument of national policy, and

Whereas, the island nation of Ireland has been subjected to a long history of often violent conflict spanning more than eight centuries stemming from invasion, occupation, internal divisions, civil war – and finally partition by the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 into a southern 26-county Republic and a northern 6-county statelet of the United Kingdom, and

Whereas, this artificial division of the Irish Nation was designed to be a transitory solution to the conflicts of the past, and

Whereas, all major political parties in Ireland: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein have stated in their constitutions the goal ‘to secure in peace and agreement the unity of Ireland and its people, and
Whereas, the majority of all sides of this conflict: Republican, Nationalist, Unionist and Loyalist voted in a island-nationwide referendum in 1998 to support the peaceful end of hostilities in the north of Ireland with the passage of the Good Friday Agreement, and with the creation of All-Ireland institutions of governance, and

Whereas, the historic Good Friday Agreement, negotiated with American support, and ratified by the English and Irish governments, includes provisions for achieving a United Ireland through purely democratic and peaceful means;

Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Veterans For Peace New York City Chapter 34 joins in the continuation of this peace process toward full equality with political representation for all communities, and joins the state legislatures of four U.S. states (California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts) and numerous American cities, governmental bodies, individual officials, and trade union, human rights, and numerous diverse organizations calling for Irish Reunification by all electoral and diplomatic means necessary;

Be It Further Resolved that Veterans For Peace, Chapter 34, New York City, New York does hereby call on the English and Irish governments to take immediate steps necessary to bring to fullness the promises of the all-Ireland institutions called for and envisioned by the Good Friday Agreement, and respectfully requests the Irish government to formally study the implications of a United Ireland, outline steps fundamental to restore the Irish nation and publicly report their finding and plans; and respectfully suggests that the Irish government move without delay to further the peaceful healing of the Irish nation by granting duly elected Northern Members of Parliament “Speaking Rights” in the Irish parliament and by expanding the voting rights for the Irish president to the citizens of the six counties of the north of Ireland;

Be It Further Resolved, that a copy of this resolution will be sent by the San Francisco, California Chapter of Veterans For Peace to the City Council of Portland, Oregon (which passed a United Ireland resolution on March 17, 2011), and to the Friends of a United Ireland, the Irish American Unity Conference, and to all appropriate organizations, media outlets and to above-mentioned governmental bodies.

Signed,

New York City Veterans for Peace

Chapter 34

Bob Keilbach, Secretary

VETERANS FOR PEACE NEW YORK CITY

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The Denver Chapter of the Veterans for Peace have adopted the following resolution. This resolution may not represent the view of the national Veterans for Peace. The resolution is as follows:

The United Nation Charter reads:

By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right freely to determine, without external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter. Every State has the duty to promote, through joint and separate action, realization of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, and to render assistance to the United Nations in carrying out the responsibilities entrusted to it by the Charter regarding the implementation of the principle, in order:

(a)   To promote friendly relations and co-operation among States; and

(b)   (b) To bring a speedy end to colonialism, having due regard to the freely expressed will of           the peoples concerned.

The United Nations has been derelict in their duty towards Ireland. The subject of Irish self determination has never been addressed in the United Nations. But we’re Americans. We have a
higher purpose. We honor our own Constitution and Bill of Rights. We support the democratic process and value our freedoms that we have fought for.

We support the final reunification of the island of Ireland by all electoral and diplomatic means necessary. To let the people of Ireland, ALL PEOPLE of Ireland to pursue their own destiny and the form of free elections, achieving a united Ireland through democratic and peaceful means. With this said and the continuing support from across the nation including the States of California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania pending. Not to mention the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Massachusetts State Senate and Assembly, New Jersey State Senate, Rhode Island State Senate, California State Senate, Lewis and Clark County, Montana. The cities councils of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Portland, Oregon, Cleveland, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, New Bedford, Massachusetts, Bergen County, New Jersey, Portland, Oregon and Syracuse, New York. Organizations: Ancient Order of Hibernian’s, Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernian, Irish American Unity Conference Etc.

Whereas, Veterans For Peace Denver Chapter is an organization of men and women veterans of all eras and duty stations including from the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), World War II, the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf and Current Iraq/Afghanistan wars, as well as other conflicts; and

Whereas, Veterans For Peace Denver Chapter having honorably and dutifully served our nation, affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. Furthermore, included in our Statement of Purpose, are the goals to seek justice for veterans and victims of war and to abolish war as an instrument of national policy; and

-2-

Whereas, given the peaceful end of hostilities in the north of Ireland with the
Good Friday Agreement and the creation of All-Ireland institutions of governance, and

Whereas, The time has come to end all partition of Ireland in favor of a united sovereign nation that guarantees rights and equal opportunities for all its citizens; and

Now, Therefore be it Resolved, that the Veterans For Peace, Denver Chapter strongly supports a united Ireland resolution calling for Irish Reunification by all electoral and diplomatic means necessary; and

Be It Further Resolved, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the President pro Tempore of the Senate, and to the United States Secretary of State.

Signed,

All members of the Denver Chapter Veterans for Peace

William J May, Chapter President

VETERANS FOR PEACE – DENVER

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 I was born into a large working class northern Catholic family from the Falls Road in nationalist West Belfast. I grew up in a community burdened by the political weight of state repression, and treated as second class citizens inside gerrymandered electoral boundaries and subjected to the practice of structural discrimination in housing and in the workplace.  

 Today much has changed. As a Sinn Fein Councillor I belong to the largest political party in Belfast. In June 2008 I was elected Lord Mayor of Belfast, a position my parents would never have envisaged me reaching. I have witnessed and continue to witness the outworking of change in the civic, political and social spheres of the North. Change is in the air.  In the political domain the tempo of change is visible; in particular the relationship between North and South is in the process of radical transformation. 

 Change has brought its own agenda. Today in the North there is an emerging debate on the economic effects of living in a divided society, be it in education, health or in housing.  There is a growing awareness of the cost of division and recognition that we cannot afford separate development along religious or political lines.

If division is economically bad for the North then surely it is economically bad for the island of Ireland, in other words I believe that the people of Ireland cannot afford the economic consequences of partition. To me, Ireland with a population of six million and its two sets of infrastructure doesn’t make economic sense.  I believe that present efforts to harmonise the northern and southern economies represent a very early stage in the creation of one all island economy.

Moreover I believe that one economic entity has the potential to generate a politic which drives North and South in the direction of political unity. 

In March this year, Peter Robinson, the DUP First Minister in the Northern Assembly, chose to give a talk in Dublin on the 1912 Solemn League and Covenant.   Recently, John O’ Dowd, the Northern Minister of Education, launched a consultation for schools on both side of the border.  Tourism Ireland covers the international promotion of the whole island.  Edwin Poots, the DUP Minister for Health has suggested that Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, could service the population on both sides of the border.   Currently the Northern Executive is negotiating with the British Treasury to bring about the harmonisation of corporation tax between north and south.  All of this work is reflective of a North/South Ministerial Council whose aim is to progress co-operation and harmonisation in the areas of Agriculture, Education, Transport, Environment, Tourism, Fisheries, and Health. 

Much of this transformation can be traced back to the Good Friday Agreement. The Agreement was a milestone in the development of peace in the north of Ireland. It was a route out of conflict and into a new political dispensation where the pursuit of political objectives by exclusively peaceful means became possible. New equality legislation was its anchor; its effect was to radically change the structures of the northern state, including the reform of the police and legal institutions. One of the key provisions of the Agreement recognises the unfinished business at the very core of Irish politics, by affirming the right of voters in the North to exercise their right to bring about a united Ireland.

Hence, in light of these changes, it is important to recognise that the North isn’t as British as Finchley. This peripheral region of the British state is reminded regularly of its increasing links with the South, through the visits north, by Irish Government Ministers and the visits South by Northern Assembly Ministers. Today, there exists a natural flow of political and economic influence outwards from the Dáil to every corner of the North; the Irish Government is on a trajectory of substantial and growing involvement and influence in the affairs of the northern state. The beginning point for its involvement can be traced to the discussion paper ‘The Future of Northern Ireland’ released by the British Government in 1972; the paper suggested that any new arrangements for the North should as far as possible be acceptable to The Republic of Ireland. From this point on, the influence of the Irish Government has increased. Landmarks in this process were, the Sunningdale Agreement in December 1973, the Anglo Irish Agreement 1985, the Downing Street declaration 1993 and the Good Friday Agreement 1998.

Yet despite all of this cooperation, which I of course welcome, I remain acutely aware of a fault line in the politics of the island; partition. Since its imposition, two separate political entities have emerged, each with its own distinct politic, each creating its own distinct conditions; conditions which by their nature inhibit the erosion of the fault line. There are vested interests in the establishments, North and South, who benefit or perceive themselves to benefit from partition. They will continue in my view to oppose and undermine those of us who work to complete the nation building process.

A key battleground in all of this is language. In the North it has always been at the very centre of our contested politic; Derry / Londonderry is the best example of this. Contested language is reflected in how we use the word Ulster or the word mainland, nationalists have always challenged the term Northern Ireland; for nationalists, the struggle was about the achievement of political rights, for unionists it was about making political concessions. While in the north the battle lines around the use of language are still clear, use of language south of the border reflects worrying political trends.  As they look north, the language of many in the south indicates how partition is moving the southern political establishment beyond the historical narrative of what constitutes the Irish nation.  

Several weeks ago Eamon Gilmore, leader of the Irish Labour Party and Tánaiste or Deputy Leader in the Southern Government, gave his leadership address to his party conference. In his speech he referred to the formation of the Irish Labour Party one hundred years ago and to the role of James Connolly in that process. It was Connolly who referred to partition as ‘a carnival of reaction’. What would Connolly have thought of the following words from Gilmore, this is what he said  ‘A little over a year ago, the people of this country asked the Labour Party and Fine Gael to form a new national government’. There the quot ends. Gilmore was referring to the outcome of 2011 general election in the 26 counties. Do his words imply that the Southern state is the Irish Nation, does ‘the country’ equal the twenty six county state, and are ‘the Irish people’ those who live inside those 26 counties?    A language that equates the 26 counties as the nation and country flies in the face of the historical narrative which defined the nation and country as the 32 counties and its off-shore islands.

I was raised in a city that was a gateway of Republicanism into Ireland. On Belfast’s Cavehill, the Society of the United Irishmen was founded.  Belfast had its Young Irelanders, its Fenians and its Irish Republican Brotherhood. The memory of the Easter Rebellion and its personalities is a strong element of our historical memory. James Connolly lived on the Falls Road, Sean McDermott worked in Belfast, Winnie Carney, a Belfast trade union activist, had been Connolly’s secretary and one of the few women to enter the GPO on Easter Monday 1916 This history is a reminder to Belfast nationalists that their participation and contribution in the struggle for national independence was and remains an enduring strand inside the political life of their city and their country from the United Irish Rebellion onwards.  This Belfast republican experience sits inside an historical narrative which is based on the idea of an Irish nation, rooted in the concept of a self-conscious historical community, which in the face of its domination by English Governments, defined its claim to nationhood through its historical resistance to English Government. The concept of the nation was seen as the framework for a democratic resolution of the conflict between Ireland and Britain.

So, we are faced with a paradox. The growing involvement of the southern state in the affairs of the north reflects its historic right to represent all the people of the island of Ireland, but this involvement runs alongside a partitionist discourse that pushes the six northern counties beyond the historical narrative of the Irish nation. In essence, while partition is eroded by increased Southern influence, it is simultaneously strengthened by a Southern partitionist discourse.

Both of these positions should be utilised in a constructive way by those who seek the reunification of the island.

It is the responsibility of the Irish Government to bring forward a strategy to achieve national self-determination, Irish Reunification, political independence, sovereignty and national reconciliation. They should bring forward a Green paper which identifies the steps and measures which can promote a successful transition to a United Ireland and to develop a detailed plan for a new state and a new society in which all the people of the island can share.  As part of the transition process, the Irish Government should open up the institutions of the Southern state to full citizenship for Irish citizens in the North. 

The partitionist discourse allows for a debate with the southern populace on the nature of partitionist thinking and on their historic role in the completion of the national project.  The Irish Government need to instil in southern public opinion a sense of their historic responsibility in completing the nation building process.

“No man has a right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation. No man has a right to say to his country thus far shalt thou go and no further. We have never attempted to fix the ne plus ultra to the progress of Irelands nationhood and we never shall “ Charles Stewart Parnell

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It has been often said that the Easter Rising marked the end of the British Empire as it was known. The days of colonialism and domination had to end. Peoples’ right to national self determination and freedom would have to take preference to the economic needs of the colonial masters.

And I say that, not to be provocative or to engage in rhetoric but to simply mark out a significant landmark on the historical road which has led us to we are now. The years preceding and following the First World War were a time of great political and constitutional upheaval for the British State. And I firmly believe that we are now living through a similar period of massive change – obviously not as dramatic as 100 years ago, but significant change nonetheless.

In constitutional terms, whereas the Rising marked the beginning of the end of the Empire as people knew it, it is my belief that the Good Friday Agreement marked the end of the Union, as we know it.

This belief has been strengthened and confirmed not just by what is happening in Ireland, but also with events elsewhere, with the demand for Scottish Independence and indeed greater Welsh autonomy. The constitutional fabric of the British State has been changed and changed forever.

As an Irish Republican leader I am clearly unapologetic about my belief in Irish national self determination. I am also absolutely wedded to the political and peace process. I am proud to serve in the power sharing institutions.

That is the beauty of what we have created. There is absolutely no contradiction in me, an Irish republican, leading in government alongside the representatives of unionism, sharing power on the basis of equality – delivering results for all our citizens.

The role of the British Secretary of State continues to diminish, and rightly so, and in my view, it is time for a serious conversation whether there is need for the NIO and the Secretary of State job to exist at all.

As Ian Paisley said to me when during our first meeting, “Martin, we can rule ourselves, we do not need these direct rule ministers coming over here telling us what to do.” And I agree with him!

It is my view that the removal of the NIO and the Secretary of State position and the transfer of remaining powers would be a massive vote of confidence in our political institutions and the peace process, as well as a massive saving to the Exchequer.

Let me say a few words about the Peace Process.

We are privileged in the North of Ireland that we are at the helm of one of the most successful Peace Processes in the world today.

The Peace process in Ireland has been a long and, at times, difficult journey. It has taken courage and strong leadership from all sides to make progress and to secure the political institutions.

In 1988 Sinn Féin first published proposals for a peace process. At that time we were still in the midst of a bloody and deep conflict. Many people were sceptical of our intentions.

The Sinn Fein documents, Scenario for Peace and Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland, in 1992, had as their central tenet, a belief that the conflict could be ended and that it could only happen through a process of inclusive dialogue and negotiation.

These public contributions were an expression of Sinn Fein’s willingness to encourage the commencement of a peace process.

However, behind the scenes, discussions were under way.

Michael Oatley, a representative of the British government, who we understood to be representing British Intelligence, known in the media as the Mountain Climber, had begun talks with myself through a back channel which had not been used for some years. These talks took place with the full knowledge and support of both the Sinn Féin and IRA leaderships. As was later evidenced these talks were taking place with the full knowledge of the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Gerry Adams and Fr Alex Reid had begun a series of engagements with John Hume. This Hume/Adams dialogue, was another vital component of the early days of the peace process.

And at governmental level the government, led by John Major was engaged with Albert Reynolds in a process which would eventually lead to the publication of the Downing Street declaration and an important statement from the British government Secretary of State Peter Brooke that they had no ‘selfish or strategic interest’ in remaining in Ireland.

Republicans were clearly watching all of this very closely. I sensed that a real potential for a significant advance was taking shape. It was clear that a military solution was not possible, and the British government and Republicans recognised that the solution had to be built around political dialogue. We had to get to a point where all sides wanted a peace process, if we were to succeed.

I was not naive enough to believe that such negotiations either could take place, or more importantly succeed against a backdrop of ongoing violence.

There was also the difficultly that political unionism at that time had set itself entirely against the political process as it was shaping up.

So it was against this backdrop that we in the Sinn Féin leadership went to the IRA and set out our belief that there was the real possibility of a negotiated solution to the causes of the conflict.

The IRA responded with the August 1994 cessation. This remains in my view the single most important event in the entire process, which unlocked the potential for peace. At that time I was hopeful that we would see a proper response from the British and Irish governments, from loyalism and from political unionism.

Loyalism responded. The Irish government likewise. However the response from the then leader of unionism Jim Molyneaux was, incredibly, that the IRA cessation was the most destabilising event since partition. A weak John Major government, dependant on unionist votes in Westminster, retreated from the basis upon which we had argued for the peace process and failed to grasp the opportunity for peace. It is quite interesting that one of the main opponents within the Major government of a direct British Government/ Sinn Féin negotiation is now a key minister of the Cameron/Clegg coalition government .

There was a brief collapse in the IRA cessation, but I never gave up the belief that a negotiated way forward existed.

The impact of the Labour landslide in the 1997 General election cannot be under estimated in the efforts to rebuild the process.

Tony Blair’s government now had a massive parliamentary majority, and was indicating very clearly that inclusive, time framed, all party negotiations involving Sinn Féin would commence shortly after a new cessation.

Gone was the stalling of the previous years about permanence, about elections to talks, about decommissioning – it seemed to me that the offer was fairly clear – the preconditions had been swept away and a new opportunity was staring us in the face.

It was an opportunity that this republican leadership was determined not to squander.

Gerry Adams and I led the Sinn Féin delegation into Castle Buildings in late 1997. And within a few short months, under Senator Mitchell’s chairmanship we achieved the Good Friday Agreement.

One of the most significant conversations to take place in the week leading into the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement was between Tony Blair, Jonathan Powell, Gerry Adams and myself. In that conversation Tony Blair conceded that successive British governments were as responsible for the conflict in the north as anyone else. I felt that this was highly significant and indeed the first ever such admission by a British Prime Minister.

In terms of the overall peace process, the Castle Building negotiation was only a few short months, but the impact of those few short months are still being felt today.

And there is a lesson in that for other processes. The Easter deadline was in my opinion a crucial factor in the achievement of agreement. So it has to be said was the contribution of others including the then US President Bill Clinton, the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Secretary of State, the late Mo Mowlam.

But ultimately the Good Friday Agreement was an agreement made in Belfast and overwhelmingly endorsed by Irish people throughout the island.

It was a triumph of political skill and negotiation – but it was also a triumph of the underlining principles that the peace process teased out, away from the media, years before – inclusion, dialogue, commitment to peace and respect for political mandates.

And it should also be remembered that while the DUP sat outside the negotiation process at that time, they had never detached themselves from the political process as it developed. In fact in 1997 both myself and Peter Robinson led respective party delegations to South Africa at the request of the then President Nelson Mandela.

I always knew in the aftermath of the Agreement we would enter a new phase in the process. Achieving agreement was one thing, implementing agreement is an entirely different thing.

I never got the feeling that David Trimble and the UUP were entirely on board for the process. Indeed he failed in my opinion to embrace, fight for or implement the Good Friday Agreement. He managed to squander much of the goodwill generated and the mandate he achieved for implementation in the 1998 Assembly elections and referendum. Historians will debate and judge the reasons for this, however, from our perspective a unionist partner willing to move forward collectively was vital.

A peace process is much like a bicycle – it needs always to be moving forward, if it is allowed to stall as under John Major’s tenure, then it can quickly collapse on its side. I was determined that having achieved agreement that this would not be allowed to happen.

It was vital that momentum was breathed into the process.

In 2003 after the DUP became the biggest party within unionism myself and Gerry Adams met with Tony Blair. At that time Tony Blair told me that his strategy was to try and revitalise the UUP. He said that Ian Paisley would never share power with Sinn Féin. I challenged him directly on that. I told him that his plan to revitalise the UUP was going nowhere. I told him that I believed that we could reach an agreement with the DUP and that was what the British government needed to focus on. I also told him I thought agreement with the DUP would be possible – difficult yes – impossible no.

And so the process led to what I believed was an inevitable place – an engagement with Sinn Féin and the DUP – an engagement which energised the peace process, liberated the political process and resulted in stable power sharing institutions.

And next week we will see the 5th Anniversary of those institutions, led by Sinn Féin and the DUP. And I wish to pay tribute to the role played by Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson in bringing that historic situation about.

We have recently completed our first term of inclusive government, in the history of the North. 

Peter Robinson and I, are ministers, not only in the Assembly, but also the North South Ministerial Council, alongside the Taoiseach and his ministers, and also the British Irish Council with the British Prime Minister and the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales.

It was a long and sometimes frustrating road to peace. It is a road that took all of us involved, on a journey that we continue today. It is not a journey that has seen some change, but a journey that has seen dramatic change.

Our peace process has demonstrated that with belief in ourselves, imagination, leadership and dialogue and a commitment to achieve peace it is possible to overcome what many thought was the impossible.

Making peace can be hugely challenging and enormously difficult. It demands that we seek to understand what motivates, what inspires, and what drives our opponent. Ultimately, as  Nelson Mandela said, we have to make friends with our enemy. He also made the important point that in any peace process the most important constituency you negotiate with, is your own.

In all of this it is important to remember that I am still an Irish republican and that Peter Robinson is still a unionist.

But we each, unionists and republicans, now have a peaceful, democratic process in which we can pursue our political goals, while at the same time allowing all of us to tackle  important issues that impact our people, like the Economy.

The Executive of which I jointly lead has placed growing our economy and tackling disadvantage as the single biggest priority in our programme for government.

One of the economic successes of that strategy has been the high level of Foreign Direct Investment that we have attracted. Over the last four years, we have seen inward investors commit to over 150 investments and promote 13,000 jobs, giving us a very solid platform on which to build. This came about directly by interventions by myself, Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and other Executive colleagues. The boardrooms of the USA where open to us and we reaped rewards in terms of jobs. Only last week I was in Dubai and India with the same positive message about investment in the North of Ireland.

I firmly believe that investors recognise the potential and the expertise of an economy which is competitive, has a highly skilled and motivated workforce and access to the Irish, British and European labour markets.

A number of high profile companies are investing in the North.

However, we face considerable economic challenges and opportunities in the time ahead. We need an economy that delivers for all. 

The political agreements that we have reached define a dynamic approach to relations within the north and across the island that can and do deliver for all without changing our identities and core beliefs. We are stronger for those agreements.

Our Assembly and Executive has limited fiscal powers. Many economic policies are devised in Westminster.  We need more economic management in the hands of locally accountable representatives in the North of Ireland. We need increased fiscal autonomy. The British government, at our behest, has started a consultation on the devolving of corporation tax to North. This is crucial in helping us rebuild and rebalance our economy. The British Government need to go further. We need to transfer more fiscal powers from London to Belfast. 

The Economy is one of our most pressing issues. However, significant challenges remain arising from the legacy of the conflict.

Reconciliation is integral to our work in the years ahead.

Proper reconciliation is key to the future.

Reconciliation is essential between our communities, Republicans and Unionists, and also between my community and the British state. It will not be easy but must happen.

Republicans realise that dealing with the past will not be an easy process for us – Republicans inflicted much hurt during the conflict, and hurt was inflicted upon Republicans – but if we are to build a new future it is necessary and it is a road that I am not afraid to go down.

And in my experience of recent years many within the unionist community are up for that journey of reconciliation and dialogue.

For Republicans, increased dialogue and engagement with the wider unionist and protestant community is essential. That means being prepared to set aside our own assumptions about the nature of that dialogue, in order to better understand the fears and apprehensions of protestants and unionists. I believe we have to listen unconditionally to what they have to say.

Republicanism needs to become more intuitive about unionist apprehensions and objections, and sensitised in our response.  We need to be open to using new language and consider making new compromises.

Our conflict is over and the imperative of creating a better society, at ease with itself is a new challenge for us all. Republicans will approach that laborious work with compassion and imagination.

We will ensure our engagement is based upon listening carefully to unionists and others, and we must develop the capacity to explore what more can be done to help meaningfully heal our society’s divisions.

Dialogue, using new language and making new compromises to create trust, are the seeds of a new future for us all.

Sometimes in politics, compromise is a negative word.

We should not be ashamed of the compromises that we have made here. I am proud of the compromises that I and my party have made to bring about a stable peace. We should all be proud of where we have taken our people.

The war is over. The conflict is over. There will be no going back.

I am deeply committed to my goal of a united Ireland through a peaceful and political process.

A united Ireland makes sense. In many ways the political progress in the north over recent years has levelled the political playing field for nationalists and republicans to argue for the first time ever from a position of equality that Irish unity is a political and economic imperative.

And that debate should not be confined to Ireland.

There is a role for people in Britain to become persuaders for Irish unity.

Tonight I call on all those in Britain to become voices for an altered union, a union without Ireland, for a united Ireland, at peace with itself and its neighbours, including Britain. Our countries have had a fractious relationship over many centuries of colonial repression, and conflict. It is time for a dialogue on how we heal the hurt, and move into a new era.

This British government needs to embrace the inevitable constitutional changes rather than waste money, effort and time fighting progress.

The Irish peace process has showed what can be achieved in a short period of years.

My objective is to build a new Irish republic – one which lives in peace with its nearest neighbour on the basis of mutual respect and equality, but more importantly one which is at peace with itself and genuinely reconciled as we leave the political failures like union and partition behind.

As an Irish republican and as a democrat I remain convinced of the right of the people of the island of Ireland to shape our own future from outside interference.

In my view the future will be best served by ending the union and removing partition.

There is now a democratic and peaceful way to achieve these objectives.

This is the task ahead of me, and I will continue to work towards that goal.

Thank you. 

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Tá sé de phribhléid domsa glacadh leis an cuireadh oráid na Casca a
thabhairt anseo i mBéal Feirste trathnóna.

Treaslaim le ceannaracht na gluaiseachta sa chathair ar achan ghné
d’eagar an chomoradh bliaintiúl seo.

Agus molaim go h-ard Cumann na n-Uaigheanna Naisiúnta ar an leacht
cuimhneachain galanta seo, a athnochtaiodh inniu.

Easter is about commemoration of our Patriot dead.

It is a humbling thought that 40 years ago, when the greatest number
of all deaths occurred in the north, 34 Volunteers and 11 Fianna of
the Belfast Command were killed.

We extend solidarity to the families of our Patriot dead this Easter.
Our hearts are with you all today.

Easter is also a celebration of our republicanism; our ideals, vision,
where we came from – and, where we are going. The best aspect of
today’s celebration is to be found in the numbers of young people
participating.

I want to especially welcome and congratulate the members of
Republican Youth/Oige Phoblachtach, who paraded earlier.  They
represent republicanism at its best in Belfast.  I would urge all
young people to join Republican Youth.  We should be very proud of our
young republicans.

Go n-eiri go geal libh go leir.

1972 was a dark year in the political conflict in Belfast and right
across the north.

Thankfully this city and Six Counties are a different place to forty,
or even twenty years ago. The engine for that change was this
republican strategy and leadership.

Everything has changed.

The ‘B’ men, RUC, UDR, militarisation are all gone. These generations
of nationalists don’t do second-class citizenship or inequality.

Sinn Féin is driving an equality agenda through government in the 6
Counties, opposition in the 26 Counties, and the all-Ireland
institutions.

Our Party is the second largest in the north and on the rise in the
south. Republicanism has never been stronger since 1919.

Republican strategy is working. It is a roadmap for Irish unity.

And that’s where some who oppose Sinn Féin get it so wrong.

I look into this crowd and see veterans of the IRA’s campaign, from
those in their 30’s, to others in their 70’s.

Men and women political soldiers, who have committed themselves to
achieving a united Ireland by political and democratic programmes
since the IRA leadership declared the conditions of conflict, had been
removed.

That IRA fought the war to a conclusion.

Make no mistake; there is no other IRA, here in Belfast, or anywhere
else: and, there is no armed struggle to be finished.

Many of us here have been involved in persuading for, and helping

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