Irish Republican News and
Information, 27 June 2002, http://irlnet.com/rmlist/
The Memory of the Dead: Seeking Common Ground
The following is a speech by Mayor Alex Maskey in Belfast City
Hall last night, in which he reveals the unprecedented decision
to lay a wreath at the Somme commemoration on Monday.
The commemoration honours Irish soldiers who lost their lives in
the First World War's Battle of the Somme while serving in the
British Army.
First of all I want to thank all of you for your attendance. My
election as Mayor was a few short weeks ago. In the interim I
have been coming to terms with the many responsibilities and
protocols. The notice of this event has, accordingly, been very
short. I thank you all the more for your positive response in
attending.
Yesterday, in my Mission Statement as the first Sinn Fein Mayor
of Belfast, I said I would address the issue of commemorations
and in particular the issue of the Somme Commemoration to be held
here at Belfast City Hall on Monday next, 1st July 2002. To state
the obvious, I am doing so from the perspective of an Irish
republican; the first Irish republican Mayor of Belfast.
We live in a society which is divided; a society which is
emerging from 30 years of conflict. We live in political
conditions which challenge us all. I pledge that I will do my
utmost to rise to those challenges.
The related issues of flags, emblems, badges, memorials and
commemorations inevitably assume an elevated importance in a
divided society, where they become tools of the political
dispute. I have no magic wand to wave. I doubt if anyone else
does. But I am utterly convinced that the route to the resolution
of these matters is through good faith dialogue and discussion.
That is why, in my Mission Statement, I expressed my desire to
contribute in as meaningful a way as possible to a comprehensive
debate around how we commemorate historical events so as to find
formulas we can all live with now and in the future.
Seeking Common Ground
Today I want to address the issue of memory and the role personal
memory has played in the shaping of Ireland's history.
History, memory and associated rituals are important
psychological anchors in the cycle of any individual life. The
same can be said in relation to the life of a nation.
History helps define us as a people. And it is people by their
actions who make history.
We are often reminded that it is the victor who writes history.
History is laden with value judgements. We inherit history. It is
then up to us to make sense out of it for the times that we live
in. The history of the people of this island is complex, layered,
has many strands and indeed, many versions of those strands.
Ireland's history for centuries has been dominated by
colonization, conflict and division. In response to these
conditions there emerged the history of Irish rebellion. Parallel
with that history there is another history; the history of those
in Ireland who joined the British Army. For many nationalists
those who joined the British Army are dismissed as not warranting
esteem. This is reserved for those whom nationalists hold as
patriots. The flip side of that coin requires no elaboration.
In a recent book on the history of the British Army it was stated
that there would not have been a British Army but for Irish
volunteers, not conscripts mind you but volunteers. To some this
might be a surprising fact. Or perhaps an unwelcome or
unpalatable one. The reality is that a substantial number of
Irish men enlisted in Irish regiments of the British Army and
fought and died in Britain's wars; including British wars here in
Ireland.
As an Irish republican I, of course, have a republican political
view of history. I am a separatist. I am anti-imperialist and
anti-sectarian. I am for the unity of Ireland and its people and
for the political independence of a unitary all-Ireland state.
But the challenge for me, indeed for all political leaders, is to
recognise the worth and the integrity of the individual soldier
as perceived, honoured and commemorated by those he or she left
behind; to identify with the sorrow, the hurt, the suffering as
something we all share; even if we are not always prepared to
acknowledge it. That is, the common humanity at the centre of all
this.
Ireland has a long history of soldiering. In the context of the
politics of this island many soldiered for and against Irish
independence. Many others soldiered in the ranks of the British
military overseas. Yet others soldiered in the ranks of the
British Army and for Irish independence. This is our legacy. It
is complex. This is what we have to come to terms with.
Today we are challenged to find a way to remember without
necessarily adhering to the war aims and objectives of those who
fought and those who died. To find a common ground which, over
time, we can willingly acknowledge and share.
Many Challenges
There is no shortage of difficulties and impediments to any
attempt to address this. Our history is one of the factors and
not least the history of the past 30 years of conflict. Three
years ago, in the Irish Times, the Reverend Terence McCaughey
wrote;
"For too many.., the intense obligation to keep faith only with
our own dead is paramount, and the best we can expect from the
"other side" is that they face up to the deaths they caused. We
are still a very long way indeed from having a shared sense even
of who the participants in the conflict have been or what role
they played - not to speak of agreeing on who exactly the victims
of these years have been."
These are all challenges to be overcome. It will not be easy. But
this is an important part of the context in which we consider all
of the related matters.
As we approach the 86th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme on
July 1st it is worth recalling that the complexity of this
island's history was indeed reflected, perhaps encapsulated, in
this period.
The parliamentary leaders of the time - on the one hand Redmond
and on the other Carson and Craig - sent out a call to arms to
their supporters. A call to British arms; to fight variously "for
the freedom of small nations" or "For God and Ulster". Irishmen
responded in tens of thousands.
The political dilemma we face today was also faced by that
generation. The Irish Volunteers in the nationalist population of
Belfast, rather than join the 36th Ulster Division - the UVF -
joined the 6th Battalion of the Connaught Rangers. Many in the
Glens of Antrim rather, than join the 36th Ulster Division,
traveled to Scotland and joined the Scottish regiments of the
British Army. Many of these soldiers fought at the Somme. Two
Irish divisions fought there, the 36th and the 16th. The Dublin
Fusiliers fought in the 29th Division on the first day of the
Somme. The Irish Guards also fought during that battle.
The diversity of Irish political allegiances was reflected on the
battlefield. Although divided by political aspirations at home in
Ireland they died together side by side at the Somme.
In part - and commemoration is a sum of many parts - the initial
challenge facing us is to agree how best to remember all those
men who died during the First World War. Some 50,000 Irishmen
were killed. A quarter of a million Irish men fought in that war.
Writing History: A Tale of Two States.
When the soldiers came home from the First World War they found
Ireland a very different place to the one they had left.
The 1916 Rising had transformed the country. Those who adhered to
the Irish republican position, "We serve neither King nor
Kaiser", stayed in Ireland and fought against the British Army
and not with it. Sinn Fein had replaced the Irish Parliamentary
Party. John Redmond, who had made the call to arms to the Irish
Volunteers, had been electorally defeated. The British government
was moving fast to partition the island. Many Irish soldiers
returning from fighting with the British Army in Europe joined
the IRA and fought against the British Army in Ireland.
The outworking of all of this was the partition of Ireland.
Consciousness and memory were to be changed utterly in this new
political landscape. The context of memory, especially in
relation to the First World War, was shaped by the dominance of
either a republican or a unionist political ethos.
The new Irish State was emerging from the Tan war and all of the
trauma associated with it. Service in the British Army was seen
as disloyal to the very idea of an independent Irish State. The
memory of family participation in the 1914-1918 war was often
heard only in the privacy of family oral histories.
In the northern state the unionist leadership and the Orange
Order moved to fuse the two concepts of First World War memory
and loyalty to unionism. This policy ignored the broad social and
political base of those who volunteered for Kitchener's new
armies. It sought to construct an exclusive view of war service
and sacrifice, centered on the UVF - the 36th Ulster Division.
The unionist leaderships sought to have this war memory worn as a
badge of loyalty to their new state. Such a process excluded
Catholic ex-servicemen, many of whom had served with the 10th and
16th Irish Divisions, from the public expression of remembering
their fallen comrades.
Indeed, the public expression of this is best seen in the manner
in which Seaman James McGuinness was treated. The courage shown
by Seaman McGuinness and the V.C. he received were of little
relevance to the community from which he came. The fact that that
community happened to be the Falls Road ensured that the City
Fathers of Belfast chose to ignore it also. I am happy that I
played a part in ensuring, even years after his death, the City
of Belfast finally felt able to recognise his courage.
And, of course, utterly excluded from any consideration were the
hapless, shell-shocked young men who were shot by the score for
'desertion' and those shot for conscientious objection to the
war.
What to do?
And of course, it is not easy for republicans and nationalists to
open their minds to what happened during the First World War. And
this difficulty has been added to by the conflict over the last
thirty years which has seen members of the Crown forces, many
from a unionist background, involved in that conflict. The flip
side of this coin needs no elaboration either.
I approach this issue as one who has committed my entire adult
life to activism in pursuit of Irish national self-determination
and political independence. In respect of the commemoration of
the Somme, I am guided by a desire to use this occasion to unite
and include rather than divide and exclude. As an Irish
republican Mayor of Belfast, I believe that I have the duty to
point towards an agreed and durable formula for commemorations as
the desired destination. I do not have the formula. The
ingredients of that lie in the hearts and minds of us all.
Pointing in that direction is a start.
Irish republicans recognise the importance of commemorating those
who lost their lives in conflict. The Easter Commemoration is an
annual event throughout Ireland. Recently the Tirghra event was
held in Dublin to commemorate Irish republicans who lost their
lives over the past thirty years of conflict. We believe there is
a need for everyone living on the island of Ireland to be able to
take part in remembering the victims of wars and conflicts in
which their loved ones lives were taken.
It is Sinn Fein's desire to respect that memory, to acknowledge
the hurt and loss experienced by the families of those injured
and killed and to recognise the bravery and honour with which
many have served.
Part of the journey away from conflict must include an
examination of how we, as a people, can collectively discuss ways
in which our individual experiences and traditions can be
recognised and respected by each other. A meaningful examination
of how or if we can all remember our loved ones in an inclusive
way is an essential part of this process.
In furtherance of all of that, and as my contribution to it, I
will set out what I intend to do in respect of these issues, and
in particular, in respect of the Battle of the Somme
Commemoration to be held here next Monday.
Before doing so, I ask everyone, and I mean everyone, to accept
my good faith intentions. This has been arrived at after much
soul searching and discussion with many colleagues and
supporters.
I am fully aware of the difficulties this causes for Irish
republicans. I am fully aware of how it might be received in
sections of the unionist political leaderships. All other
considerations apart, I believe the quote I have used above from
the Reverend Terence McCaughey encapsulates the difficulties that
ordinary people - nationalist and unionist - can and will have.
Nevertheless I ask that it be accepted as a good faith, good will
contribution by me to addressing the issue and to the overall
political and peace processes.
My proposals are those of an Irish republican. They are framed
jointly by that reality and my desire to be positive and
constructive.
I believe no one expects a leadership figure from any of the
unionist parties to attend a Commemoration of the Easter Rising
in Milltown Cemetery in Belfast with all of the attendant
republican rituals involved in that. I suspect that no-one
expects that a leadership figure from Sinn Fein would attend a
highly militaristic unionist commemoration attendant with all of
the pomp and symbols of British military and political rituals.
These, I believe, are reasonable expectations. Nevertheless,
despite the difficulties, each of us within our own lights,
should be expected to do as much as we can to be positive and
constructive in making outreach to each other; to do our best in
the circumstances. That is what I am doing. People will make
their own judgement on this.
I am not naive about any of this. I suspect that others involved
in politics are not naive about these issues either. For, the
reality is that, for the foreseeable future, there will be
separate commemorations for those who died in the service of the
Crown forces as there will be for those who died in the service
of the IRA. As a minimum, old comrades associations from both
backgrounds will ensure that they recall the respective
sacrifices on their own terms and in their own ways. That is to
be expected.
But, there is a difference, and it is a big difference when any
level of democratically elected government is involved in
commemorations. Here we must endeavour to find ways to respect
all the dead. There is a duty and responsibility on all who hold
public office to represent all of the electorate. This is what we
collectively need to explore. That is, to seek to identify common
ground which we can willingly share so that our commemorations,
at this level, of those who lost their lives can be a unifying
source and a calming influence on the course of future political
developments; or at least a means of minimising division.
We should seek, as a bottom line to be equal.
We should strive beyond that, if possible, to be inclusive.
My Contribution
That is what is motivating me in struggling to demonstrate that
there is another road to take when local government is
remembering the fallen.
Accordingly, I pledge;
* I will, as Mayor of this City, lay a laurel wreath at
the Cenotaph at the City Hall on the morning of the 1st July at 9
a.m.
I am laying this wreath in memory of and tribute to all the men
who made the supreme sacrifice at the Battle of the Somme and
during the First World War. My initiative on this issue is
equally in recognition of the sorrow, hurt and suffering left
behind for their relatives, friends and comrades. My objective,
beyond this, is to seek to identify common ground for all of us
in this generation.
I would like to thank the leadership of Sinn Fein for their
support for me in dealing with this sensitive issue.
* I will not impede or compete with the form and substance
of the Battle of the Somme Commemoration initiated by Belfast
Corporation many years ago.
In the circumstances of today, I believe this should be reviewed.
I will contribute in a positive way to the development of the
public debate about the use of flags, emblems, badges, memorials
and commemorations.
I will seek to engage all sections of our society in that debate.
* I will also Chair the Council meeting before the
ceremony at the Cenotaph.
In line with the opinions I have voiced earlier I believe there
should be a different motion to initiate this commemoration.
Time, however, did not allow for an attempt to reach an agreed
political processing of a new formula, and I am mindful that this
occasion should not be marred by avoidable political controversy
in respect of its minutiae. At an appropriate time, however, I
will seek a full engagement with all City Councilors for purposes
of reviewing this in line with the desired political destination
I outlined earlier.
* I will seek to organise a civic commemoration for all of
those who died in this battle and will, as soon as possible, open
up discussions with all interested parties in an attempt to give
effect to this.
Historical events properly understood, especially in a divided
society, can be a source of inspiration for the living. We are
the inheritors of the past. Each generation writes it's own
history. Let not our children accuse us of distorting history,
thereby perpetuating division, when we have a chance of
establishing a new beginning. Let us seek to ensure that the
history we bequeath to our children enhances all of their lives.