Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 Oct 1993

Vol. 137 No. 13

Atrocities in Northern Ireland: Statements.

Mr. McGowan

I welcome this opportunity to speak on this subject. We all regret the deaths of innocent people that have taken place in the North. We have a duty to spell out very clearly that deaths and killings in the North will not achieve anything politically in this island. The first thing that has to be clearly said is that hope lies in negotiation. I come from a part of this country that is very near the North and has suffered as a result of the troubles in the North. As a House our priority must be to send the message to the families who have lost dear ones. First, our deepest sympathy goes out to them. Second we must send a message to those who carry the bomb or the gun and mow down innocent people that that is not acceptable to the ordinary people on this island. This is turning the clock back 50 years.

The commercial border on this island has disappeared. There was hope that we could resolve our political differences within the context of a European Common Market, but there is still an element who have no patience and who seem to thrive on using the gun and slaughtering innocent people. That behaviour is alien to the vast majority of the Irish people. Whether you come from the Shankill or elsewhere, killing human beings will not solve the problem. I welcome this opportunity to extend the sympathy of this House to the families of those innocent victims.

I believe that the responsibility lies with the British and the Irish Governments to solve the problem and to come to grips with the present situation. The Irish Government have been honest and fair in their approach to the talks that have reached stalemate. The people who prevented the talks and created conditions and pre-conditions for talks, must bear some of the responsibility. The Irish Government has been enthusiastic and energetic about these talks. On taking office, the Taoiseach stated that he had two priorities — the troubles in the North of Ireland and unemployment. I accept that without question.

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste, and everyone who supports them, are totally committed to a peaceful process in the North of Ireland. We should stand together and condemn the people who kill and slaughter in the name of the ordinary people. They do not have our support or the support of any section of the people to continue that process.

Mr. Manning

There is a very dark cloud of despair hanging over the whole island, and in particular over the northern part. I do not believe there has been a time in the last 25 years when people have felt so fearful, helpless and hopeless in the face of the terrible events of the past couple of days. This is not a time for recriminations or divisiveness in this part of the island. Our only concern should be, and must be, for the safety of the people of Northern Ireland and of the whole island, and for peace as a prelude to political progress.

I spent the last two days in Belfast and I have never seen such widespread fear right across the city among all classes of people. A terrible monster was unleashed by that bomb last Saturday which killed so many innocent people. I am sad to say that that bomb acted as a recruiting sergeant, as nothing else has done, for the UVF, UFF and other terror forces on the loyalist side. Everywhere in Belfast today people are living in fear of massive, arbitrary, wanton and random retaliation, fear of an attack such as befell innocent corporation workers yesterday morning, fear of an attack such as, fortunately, did not succeed last night in Lisburn, where many other innocent people could have lost their lives. This fear extends to constitutional politicians, especially on the nationalist side who are living daily in physical fear of their lives. Many of them now feel themselves to be targets for murder or some form of retaliation.

Last night people in many parts of Belfast did not sleep because they were afraid who might come to their house during the night. I am afraid this situation is likely to continue. Side by side with that fear there is an extraordinary sense of frustration among the politicians who know that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland want peace. They want an end to the agony and weariness of the last 25 years.

Many of the politicians to whom I spoke over the last couple of days were drained, emotionally and physically, angry, frustrated and helpless in the face of events. Unfortunately, in these circumstances the gap between the constitutional parties is widening, not closing. Misunderstanding is growing and the inevitable natural tendency towards recrimination and blame is now the norm. This is something we cannot afford. We, the constitutional politicians who have borne the burden over these years, cannot afford to allow that gap to widen. Everything we can do to bring them together must be done.

I do not want to be controversial or divisive but I would like to refer in passing to the Hume-Adams process. I will not comment directly on it because I do not know what it contains. Like most Members I have the highest political and personal regard for John Hume. From my experience talking to people, especially in the last few days, I believe if this process is not brought to a head in the near future, if the British and Irish Governments are not in a position to give us their considered views on it and the rest of us do not have an opportunity to see whether it is realistic and unthreatening, it may do more harm than good. In the absence of hard information uncertainty, rumour and misrepresentation flourish. This is happening at present. The unionists see the process as a further attempt to isolate them. Many moderate nationalists see it as a betrayal of their opposition to Sinn Féin and the IRA over the years. Many others see it as marginalising the process about which the previous speaker spoke, that is, the major political efforts of both Governments to bring about talks between the parties in Northern Ireland. If the Hume-Adams process is to take place let it take place quickly. The last thing we can afford is further uncertainty which paralyses any attempt to get back to where the real action has to be.

I conclude by reaffirming my belief, which is shared by all parties in this House, that the best hope of a lasting solution in Northern Ireland lies in the three strand process established over the past two years with the constitutional politicians and the sovereign Governments working together. The message must go from this House today to our Government — its members are the only people to whom we can speak directly — that we expect it on our behalf to do everything to clarify its position and to get the process restarted in a way that can remove the ever growing gulf between the parties in Northern Ireland, to get the two sovereign Governments talking and to do something to bring hope to a people who today are utterly devoid of hope.

Ms O'Sullivan

I suppose we all question what good expressing our views here can do to alleviate the atmosphere of fear, despair and sorrow that exists in Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, we must express them. First, we must express our sympathy to the families of those who have been killed on all sides of the political divide in the violence of the recent past. We must unreservedly condemn all violence from whatever source. I hope there is a possibility that those who supported violence in the past because they felt they needed to be protected by people of violence will realise they have not been protected by such people but have been exposed to violence by them, that violence breeds violence and that no good has come to any community in the North as a result of violence. I hope that realisation will come to at least a small number of people and a larger number in the North specifically and everywhere in this country as a result of the terrible atrocities over the weekend. If this happens a small amount of good will have been achieved out of this terrible situation.

I support what was said about the need to restart talks between the sovereign Governments and those who represent legitimate political views in Northern Ireland. The Tánaiste spoke some months ago about a new covenant for the people there. He talked about securing the rights of both sides of the Northern divide under a new covenant where their political viewpoints, the right to have them and the right to exercise their political freedom, would be protected. I sincerely hope those talks can be resumed and that this view can be the overall guiding principle of a solution to the problem in Northern Ireland.

There is a growing number of people in the North and the South who realise there must be a break in the log-jam of violence. As Senator Manning said, there is despair at the moment but I hope that after a few days people will realise there must be legitimate progress in organised talks. I wish to extend the sympathy of my party to all those who have been bereaved and injured in recent events.

Mr. O'Toole

We on the Independent benches would also like to offer our sympathy to those who have been bereaved over the last few days in the North, we share their grief. We need to underline the sense of guilt which everybody on this island must feel. Those of us in constitutional politics — and ordinary citizens — have failed, no matter who we blame. We can blame the bombers and gunmen but the division of the funerals and the deaths are testament and witness to that failure which we must all share. I am not saying that to apportion blame but as constitutionalists and citizens we have failed to bring peace there. We need to work for peace and to recognise the fear and terror of parents and workers trying to go about their daily life in the North.

We also need to recognise the elements of violence endemic in the North. Violence is the great recruiter for both sides. It is its own agenda and it is, in the main, its own end. Violence for these people, instead of being a means of trying to achieve something is an involvement which is part of what they are. This is the greatest fear of all. In discussing the problems in the North it behoves us to extend a sense of concern to constitutionalists on both sides of the divide — those who are seeking to make a bridge, to eliminate violence, to improve the quality of life and to make constitutionality the base on which we make progress for peace. All we can do is to offer our sympathy to the families and our support to those representatives who are attempting to retrieve peace from the jaws of war and hope from its own ashes.

We must recognise that in the North we have all the signs of a civil war. It is hard to say those words, we thought all that was behind us but it is there and it is real. I talked to some of the members of my organisation in the North today and in my 20 years of dealing with the situation there I have never come across such a feeling of despair and hopelessness. There is no doubt that it is now running through the whole community. Five thousand of my members are going into classrooms this morning to deal with the fear, confusion, terror and utter sense of hopelessness and abuse which young people, who are at their most volatile, are feeling. We should also recognise that, even as we speak, violent men are using the funerals and the grief of families on both sides to recruit young people into more bombing, terrorism and shooting. That is the saddest part and it must be recognised that violence cannot be the answer.

It is important to put on the record that we had discussions here over the last number of weeks; I fully support Senator Manning's approach, that it is easy to apportion blame in the North. My heart goes out to any constitutional politician in the North, from any side, trying to make progress. I also recognise that they can be critical of each other. I also recognise that people have been critical of John Hume's initiative. I cannot make a judgment from this distance. However, I recognise that people who are doing their best to achieve a solution deserve our support from all sides. I think everybody is trying to do that today. We all share responsibility to improve the situation.

I extend my sympathy to frightened families in the Falls Road, the Shankill Road and in north and south Belfast who are worried about a knock at the door or whether a bomb or a bullet will come through the window. We are committed to finding a solution and we will renounce the cant of other generations. We will not look at tradition to find a way forward, but we will try to learn from the mistakes of history. We will try to make progress from the grief, loss and hopelessness which exists.

Mr. Dardis

Regrettably, this is not the first time Seanad Éireann has expressed its horror at an atrocity in Northern Ireland, Great Britain or on the Continent. It is proper to express our horror. However, it is virtually impossible to find the right words to express the depth of our anguish and horror at what we have seen over the past few days. Yet again, innocent people have been blown to bits by the bomb and have had their lives taken by the bullet.

You, a Chathaoirligh and the Members know that the sympathy expressed in this House is genuine. However, I suspect it is of little comfort to those who have been suddenly and devastatingly bereaved. The people of the Shankill Road, Andersonstown and other areas of Belfast and Northern Ireland have our sympathy, but it is not enough. It is not enough for constitutional politicians committed to the democratic process to express our outrage and sympathy here. We need to do more than this. We are at the point where we remember not only bloody Saturday and bloody Sunday, but every other bloody day as well. We remember Warrenpoint, Enniskillen, the La Mon bar and now the Shankill Road. How many more will there be?

If Mr. Gerry Adams and his lieutenants want dialogue and peace, as they say they do, then Seanad Éireann should send them one clear message: "Stop the killing now. Put away your bombs, bullets and guns because that is the road to peace." Mr. Gerry Adams speaks about a peace process and that peace could be the result of the process. Mr. Gerry Adams is wrong because peace is the beginning of the process, not the end. There is no ambiguity or lack of understanding of peace in this House or in the Republic. He said the bombing on the Shankill Road was wrong, but can he say in what circumstances he would think it was right?

The Government has a responsibility to politicians on all sides of both Houses to tell us what is happening. Otherwise, how can we be expected to contribute, as we wish to do, to any peace process? We assure people that we want to help. I doubt if many people in Northern Ireland are prepared to listen to us in Seanad Éireann, but that does not take from the fact that we must continue to add our small voice of reason, compassion and understanding. The alternative is further chaos.

We must support, as other Members said, the constitutional politicians on all sides who continue day in and day out, in the face of these atrocities, to try to find a way forward and a way towards peace and reconciliation. We will continue as constitutional parties in both islands to strive for that solution and to release the decency and energy that we know is in the Shankill, Andersonstown and other parts of Northern Ireland. If that were to happen, the sacrifice of the past week, however horrific, would have been worth while. May those people rest in peace, and we send our sympathy to their families.

Mr. Wilson

I hope that my emotions do not get the better of what I want to say. I certainly underline what has been said by many Members, including Senator Manning. The situation in Northern Ireland is very serious and thousands of people are now living in fear. On both sides people are asking if they will be next.

We in Enniskillen were very fortunate as there was no backlash. Enniskillen is not that kind of town; community relations in Enniskillen were always fairly, if not very, good. Unfortunately, Belfast is that kind of town and there has been a knee-jerk reaction. I would not want to make any statement which might be seen as a knee-jerk reaction but I assure you, a Chathaoirligh, and the Members of the Seanad that we live in fear.

This morning before I left home, I looked under my car for the first time in my life to ensure that there was nothing under it. I said to my wife — in fact I instructed her — not to open the door under any circumstances tonight after dark until she was certain who was there. If we are at that point in Enniskillen, what is it like for those who live in Belfast where evil, dreadful men are running loose and seem to be taking over from the politicians and the security forces?

It is not good to hear Reverend Magee, a man who has had close contact and, I would have thought, immense influence on the UFF say on television last night that young men are queuing up to join them. I get frightened when I hear community workers who have worked for years in Belfast say that the communities were never as divided as they are today or when the Chief Constable of the RUC says that the security situation is still under control.

I ask what I and we in this House can do. We can of course send our sympathy. I know a little of what those people in Belfast are going through this week and I know how much it helps if people send their sympathy, support and love. I hope that this Seanad, if it does nothing else today, underlines that support and sympathy for all the people going through hell in Belfast.

Where do we go from here? Millions of words have been spoken by archbishops and cardinals, by politicians and the man in the street and, after 24 years, we are still at each other's throats. What can this Seanad do? I have no answer except to say that the solution to Northern Ireland can only be found by elected politicians who must get together and constitutionally arrive at a solution which is achievable but not under threat of arms. There is absolutely no way that a sovereign Government — British, Irish or both — can sit at a table with a man who represents a terrorist organisation and who says that if people do not agree with him he will kill them.

The answer to Gerry Adams is simple and has been given by better men than me. He knows it very well. Let them, as Senator Dardis said, lay down their arms. If Gerry Adams says he can get the IRA to do that when peace is achieved, let him do it before we begin to talk about peace. My view — and I do not have a God given right to be correct — is that terrorists on both sides must lay down their arms. That will give them the right to state their position from strength and not under threat.

There are many things I could say but one other thought strikes me. I hope that the situation does not deteriorate. I am afraid that we are in a civil war, not just approaching it. I ask the Leader for some time next week, when we have had time to think the matter through, to have a discussion on the situation in Northern Ireland and in particular what the Seanad can do about it.

Mr. Sherlock

On behalf of Democratic Left I join others in condemning the atrocities that have been committed — not in the name of the Irish people — and in calling for an end to the violence. The opinion was expressed by my party leader in the past that the Hume-Adams talks were more likely to go in the direction they have now reached than in the direction of peace. There must be some effort at dialogue to end this. To see the carnage over the last few days — the people mourning their dead, innocent people being murdered at the hands of gunmen and bombers from both sides — is the greatest atrocity ever committed in this island and I condemn it out of hand.

An Cathaoirleach

There have been expressions of sympathy from the Leader of the House and other speakers. I propose one minute of silence and I ask the Members to stand.

Members rose in their places.