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Updated 5.35pm
PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has told the Houses of Parliament in Westminster that Ireland and the UK have achieved a “closeness and warmth that once seemed unachievable”.
The President’s address marks yet another historic first on his five-day trip. It’s the first ever state visit by an Irish president, and comes three years after the Queen became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland, in May of 2011.
Prior to the speech the President laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey and paused for a moment at the plaque in memory of the Earl and Countess Mountbatten, relatives of the Queen, who were murdered by the IRA in the 1970s.
A short time later, the Irish delegation, including the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, were warmly welcomed in the Royal Gallery in Westminster Palace , a stunning gothic hall, decorated with portraits of monarchs from George I to Queen Elizabeth II. Previous speakers there have included Bertie Ahern, Nicolas Sarkozy, Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, and, most recently, Angela Merkel.
In front of a hall which included Prime Minister David Cameron, deputy PM Nick Clegg, Foreign Minister William Hague, Labour leader Ed Miliband and other senior British politicians, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, said that “historic” was an appropriate term to be applied to the visit, saying it would have been “very difficult to imagine a few decades ago”.
“You could not be more welcome than you are today,” he told Higgins, describing him as a president in the spirit of WB Yeats.
Queen Elizabeth drew widespread praise at the time for her remark in a speech at Dublin Castle, that in the shared history of Britain and Ireland, with hindsight “some things should have been done differently, and others not at all”.
Higgins echoed that sentiment in this afternoon’s speech, telling the assembled MPs and members of the House of Lords, “the pain and sacrifice associated with the advent of Irish independence inevitably cast its long shadow across our relations, causing us, in the words of the Irish MP Stephen Gwynn, to: ‘look at each other with doubtful eyes’.”
We acknowledge that past but, even more, we wholeheartedly welcome the considerable achievement of today’s reality – the mutual respect, friendship and cooperation which exists between our two countries.
Higgins paid a warm tribute to the Queen, and to her accomplishments in helping bring the two nations closer together.
That benign reality was brought into sharp relief by the historic visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland three years ago.
Her Majesty’s visit eloquently expressed how far we have come in understanding and respecting our differences, and it demonstrated that we could now look at each other through trusting eyes of mutual respect and shared commitments.
The assembled parliamentarians, including (front-row) Secretary of State William Hague, Leader of the Opposition Ed Milliband, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Prime Minister David Cameron. [Screengrab/RTÉ]
Higgins referred to the strengthening trade links between Ireland and the UK, and spoke of the huge contribution of the Irish diaspora to British society.
The ties between us are now strong and resolute. Formidable flows of trade and investment across the Irish Sea confer mutual benefit on our two countries. In tourism, sport and culture, our people to people connections have never been as close or abundant.
Generations of Irish emigrants have made their mark on the development of this country. As someone whose own siblings made their home here, I am very proud of the large Irish community that is represented in every walk of life in the United Kingdom.
That community is the living heart in the evolving British-Irish relationship. I greatly cherish how the Irish in Britain have preserved and nurtured their culture and heritage while, at the same time, making a distinctive and valued contribution to the development of modern Britain.
Higgins concluded his historic address as Gaeilge, telling the parliamentarians:
Gur fada a ghabhfaidh pobail agus parlaimintí an dá oileán seo le chéile go síochánta, go séanmhar agus sa chairdeas buandlúite idir Éire agus an Bhreatain.
[Long may our two peoples and their parliaments walk together in peace, prosperity and ever closer friendship between Ireland and Britain.]
The President concludes his address, to a standing ovation from the parliamentarians [Screengrab/RTÉ]
Among Irish attendees were the Fine Gael TDs Joe McHugh and Frank Feighan, Labour’s Jack Wall, and the Fine Gael senator Paul Coghlan – all chairs of Oireachtas British-Irish Committees.
Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister and Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness was also present. Sinn Féin MPs Paul Maskey, Michelle Gildernew and Pat Doherty were all in the hall, despite the fact none of the three take their seats in the House of Commons – a longstanding party policy.
After the speech, which received sustained applause and a standing ovation, the Lord Speaker Baroness D’Souza said that the joint efforts of the Irish and British have led to a “long overdue equilibrium in our diplomatic relationship”.
“You are a renaissance man for a renaissance era in UK-Irish politics,” she told President Higgins.
- additional reporting from Hugh O’Connell in London
Here’s the full text of the speech:
On the first day of this State Visit, I have been graciously and warmly
welcomed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, and I have come to this place from a poignant and uplifting visit to Westminster Abbey. I am greatly honoured to be the first President of Ireland to address you in this distinguished Palace of Westminster.As a former parliamentarian, honoured to have spent twenty-five years as a member of Dáil Éireann, and a further decade serving in our Upper House, Seanad Éireann, it constitutes a very special privilege to be speaking today in a place that history has made synonymous with the principle of democratic governance and with respect for a political discourse that is both inclusive and pluralist.At the very foundation of British democracy is, of course, the Magna Carta which includes this powerful statement:“To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay, right or
justice.”Those beautiful and striking words have echoed down the centuries and remain the beating heart of the democratic tradition. Their resonance was felt immediately in Ireland through the Magna Carta Hiberniae – a version of the original charter reissued by the guardians of the young Henry III in November 1216.They are also words which echo with a particular significance when we have so recently seen the adverse consequences of a discourse that regards politics, society and the economy as somehow separate, each from the other; this is a divisive perspective which undermines the essential relationship between the citizen and the State. Today, as both our countries work to build sustainable economies and humane and flourishing societies, we would do well to recall the words of the Magna Carta and its challenge to embrace a concept of citizenship rooted in the principles of active participation, justice and freedom.Such a vision of citizenship is shared by our two peoples. It is here, in
this historic building that, over the centuries, the will of the British
people gradually found its full democratic voice. It is inspiring to stand
in a place where, for more than a century, many hundreds of dedicated
parliamentarians, in their different ways, represented the interests and aspirations of the Irish people.Next month marks the centenary of the passing of the Home Rule Act by the House of Commons – a landmark in our shared history. It was also here that the votes of Irish nationalist MPs in 1911 were instrumental in the passage of the Parliament Act, a critical step in the development of your parliamentary system.History was also made here in 1918 when the Irish electorate chose the
first woman to be elected to this parliament – Constance Markiewicz – who, of course, chose not to take her Westminster seat but, rather, to represent her constituents in our independent parliament, the first Dáil Éireann. Constance’s sister, Eva Gore-Booth, who is buried in Hampstead, had been making, and would continue to make, her own distinctive contribution to history – not only in the Irish nationalist struggle, but as part of the suffragette and labour movements in Britain.Nearly 90 years earlier, the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 was secured by the leadership of our great Irish parliamentarian, Daniel O’Connell. O’Connell’s nationalism set no border to his concern for human rights; his advocacy also extended to causes and movements for justice around the world, including the struggle to end slavery. He was totally dedicated to seeking freedom, as he put it:“attained not by the effusion of human blood but by the constitutional combination of good and wise men.”While O’Connell may not have achieved that ambition during his own
lifetime, it was such an idealism that served to guide and influence, so
many years later, the achievement of the momentous Good Friday Agreement of 1998. That achievement was founded on the cornerstones of equality, justice and democratic partnership, and was a key milestone on the road to today’s warm, deep and enduring Irish-British friendship.Our two countries can take immense pride in the progress of the cause of peace in Northern Ireland. There is of course still a road to be travelled – the road of a lasting and creative reconciliation – and our two Governments have a shared responsibility to encourage and support those who need to complete the journey of making peace permanent and constructive.Mr Speaker, Lord Speaker:I stand here at a time when the relationship between our two islands has, as I have said, achieved a closeness and warmth that once seemed
unachievable. The people of Ireland greatly cherish the political
independence that was secured in 1922 – an independence which was fought for by my father and many of his generation. The pain and sacrifice associated with the advent of Irish independence inevitably cast its long shadow across our relations, causing us, in the words of the Irish MP Stephen Gwynn, to:“look at each other with doubtful eyes.”
We acknowledge that past but, even more, we wholeheartedly welcome the considerable achievement of today’s reality – the mutual respect, friendship and cooperation which exists between our two countries. That benign reality was brought into sharp relief by the historic visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland three years ago. Her Majesty’s visit eloquently expressed how far we have come in understanding and respecting our differences, and it demonstrated that we could now look at each other through trusting eyes of mutual respect and shared commitments.
The ties between us are now strong and resolute. Formidable flows of trade and investment across the Irish Sea confer mutual benefit on our two countries. In tourism, sport and culture, our people to people connections have never been as close or abundant.
Generations of Irish emigrants have made their mark on the development of this country. As someone whose own siblings made their home here, I am very proud of the large Irish community that is represented in every walk of life in the United Kingdom. That community is the living heart in the evolving British-Irish relationship. I greatly cherish how the Irish in Britain have preserved and nurtured their culture and heritage while, at the same time, making a distinctive and valued contribution to the development of modern Britain.
Mr Speaker, Lord Speaker:
As both our islands enter periods of important centenaries we can and must, reflect on the ethical importance of respecting different, but deeply interwoven, narratives. Such reflection offers an opportunity to craft a bright future on the extensive common ground we share and, where we differ in matters of interpretation, to have respectful empathy for each other’s perspectives.
This year the United Kingdom commemorates the First World War. In Ireland too, we remember the large number of our countrymen who entered the battlefields of Europe, never to return home. Amongst those was the Irish nationalist MP Tom Kettle who wrote that:
“this tragedy of Europe may be and must be the prologue to the two
reconciliations of which all statesmen have dreamed, the
reconciliation of Protestant Ulster with Ireland, and the
reconciliation of Ireland with Great Britain.”It is, I think, significant that Kettle refers to “this tragedy of Europe.”
We must always remember that this brutal and tragic war laid the hand of death on every country in Europe.Kettle died as an Irish patriot, a British soldier and a true European. He understood that to be authentically Irish we must also embrace our European identity. It is an identification we proudly claim today, an identification we share with the United Kingdom, with whom we have sat around the negotiating table in Europe for over 40 years. We recognise that it has been in that European context of mutuality and interdependence that we took the most significant steps towards each other.
Mr Speaker, Lord Speaker:
I have been struck by the imposing canvases in this room, these depictions of the Battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo, painted by the Irishman Daniel Maclise. They call to mind another famous painting by this great artist that hangs in the National Gallery in Dublin. It depicts the 12th century marriage of Aoife, daughter of the King of Leinster, to Strongbow, the leader of the first Anglo-Norman force to arrive in Ireland. Those nuptials took place in the context of conflict and did not become a harbinger of harmony. Neither was there to be a marriage of hearts and minds between our two islands in the following centuries.
Today, however, we have a fresh canvas on which to sketch our shared hopes and to advance our overlapping ambitions. What we now enjoy between Ireland and Britain is a friendly, co-operative partnership based on mutual respect, reciprocal benefit, and deep and indelible personal links that bind us together in cultural and social terms.
In the final days of his life, the soldier and parliamentarian Tom Kettle
dreamed of a new era of friendship between our two peoples – “Free, we are free to be your friend” – was how he put it in one of his poems.The journey of our shared British-Irish relationship towards that freedom has progressed from the doubting eyes of estrangement to the trusting eyes of partnership and, in recent years, to the welcoming eyes of friendship.
I am conscious that I am in the company here of many distinguished
parliamentarians who have made their own individual contributions to the journey we have travelled together. I acknowledge them and I salute them, as I acknowledge and salute all those who have selflessly worked to build concord between our peoples. I celebrate our warm friendship and I look forward with confidence to a future in which that friendship can grow even more resolute and more productive.Gur fada a ghabhfaidh pobail agus parlaimintí an dá oileán seo le chéile go síochánta, go séanmhar agus sa chairdeas buandlúite idir Éire agus an Bhreatain.
[Long may our two peoples and their parliaments walk together in peace, prosperity and ever closer friendship between Ireland and Britain.]
Thank you again for your kind welcome.
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Fascinating relationship, reconciliation is a powerful force for good.
If only the wicked old witch of the West had gone to bed when the bomb went off!
Only to have someone worse to come along in her place. That’s what happens anytime there’s a martyred leader. Don’t get me wrong though. I had a few drinks to celebrate when she died, as I’m sure many Irish and British people did. However, if she had been killed, we would probably still be waking up to news headlines of bombs in the North each week, having watchtowers and checkpoints still at the border, a few more Omaghs perhaps, and probably even harsher policies than the Witch herself had put into force.
The peace process, as we can now see owing to the declassified papers, was almost derailed by the bombing. If she had been killed, the process would have been entirely destroyed. On top of that, Thatcher would have become a martyr in the eyes of a huge chunk of British voters. The next election would have resulted in a large radical vote to the Tories, or worse even.
Just like how now, Le Front National in France is gaining because of recent attacks. People see France under threat, therefore they feel they must vote for the radical party to feel protected. In the 1980s, British people saw their country as under attack from Irish terrorists. Killing off the Prime Minister would just have made things a whole lot worse, both politically and in day-to-day life for the Irish in Britain in general.
The IRA never assassinated Paisley, despite his endless incendiary rants because that would make him a martyr.
Were they not concerned about making Thatcher a martyr, if the bomb had “succeeded?
Hi Willy. Most people in Britain could not stand Thatcher. She only got the vote because the alternative seemed so much worse. But Thatcher as a person made most people I knew, cringe.
Her replacement in my opinion was worse. John Major allowed in repressive and evil legislation that even Thatcher would balk at.
I refer of course to the Criminal Justice Laws which were a clear crime against democracy.
Nasty evil little man.
She’s a brave lady to do what she’s doing. I know I could never forgive someone who murdered a family member, I wouldn’t even see the point in meeting him.
Yes those are my sentiments exactly. She is an amazing woman and is doing something I certainly couldn’t do
@charles well said. Stephen the implicit threat of violence towards Charles speaks volumes for the person you are
I wonder would he have gone back and disarm the bomb if thatcher had cancel her plans of staying in the hotel .
Who’s name Dennis the IRA weren’t fighting any guerrilla war in your name they were fighting it fir the sub human conditions to Catholics had to endure in the north yes apartheid that many Irish in the south despised in South Africa and now in Israel but didn’t mind 4hrs up the road. Mandela is a hero here. Sometimes people will do things others cant so they do it and others don’t have to.
There was nothing in NI on par with South Africa, if you want to criticise Stormont then by all means do so but try and put a bit of honesty in your statements.
The south wasn’t exactly a utopia for protestants either after partition, their religion was constantly marginalised and hindered by the Catholic Church. They were murdered and forced of their land by republicans during the war of independence and civil war. If you are going to tell a story then tell it in its entirety.
And the PIRA were fighting to restore Irish national sovereignty across 32 counties, in other words “Brits out” and a full implementation of a socialist Irish Republic. That objective failed. If their original aim was to take their seats in Stormont and Leinster house (two parliaments they deemed illegal) then I’ll happily admit that they won, that wasn’t the case though.
When all this madness was taking place up here too the majority of Irish nationalists voted for the moderate SDLP so that gives an insight into the support the IRA and SF had, it only grew as a party after the guns were taken out of the equation, the PUL side was the same too, and political party aligned with terrorists got very little support, even the hardline DUP only gained more support when they decided to go the power sharing route along with SF. What’s in there now are two extremist parties that couldn’t agree on the colour of s****, they want their big share of the spoils but also want to live in the past. That’s why the peace process to date has been a farce.
Pure Horsedung B-Egan
Fleggerbot, you say the PUL didn’t align itself to terrorists? Well nationalists would say that’s bollox. The RUC, B specials, UDA, UDR…all at one time LEGAL organisations!!! You’re view of the north is so blinkered Flegger. Go read a history book.
All credit to the terrorist who admits that he regrets killing and maiming human beings. A pity a few ‘republican’ leaders don’t admit their own role and help the families of the disappeared deal with their loss.
Mary Lou was in nappies when that bomb went off.
Her Fuher wasn’t.
Mary Lou wore nappies when she was 15? Wow. (I googled her age on the Internet machine….What a time to be alive)
Considering that 800 yrs of constant conquest by invading armies and cultures the plight of the forgotten Catholics in the north will never be understood by a southern population spawned out of imperial forces it is the dna to the Irish to reject self defense and endorse oppression as as plain to see even to this day. The Celtic values died with the men and women who fought for it now all we have is the mindset of the generals lords and soldiers that stole it from us with the bible and sword. The IRA will never be accepted like Mandela’s organization were in South Africa because Mandela had the backing of the indigenous black oppressed population in Ireland the blood is Anglo Saxon Norman British.
What is Gerry Adams bloodlines B-Egan?
It is quite hypocritical that the original IRA General Collins, Cosgrove our first taoiseach, De Valera etc are Irelands eternal hero’s and those soldiers who were screwed by the treaty and forced into a gerrymandering sectarian state and continued to fight are deemed something else by people who by pure luck found themselves on the right side of a invisible line.
Every person in Ireland should ask themselves what if it was they who woke to find themselves on the wrong side of undemocratic line plucked out if the air and at the mercy of a bunch of sectarian bigots. Food for thought.
Antrim the Brits are gone the Catholics got the vote and now their power sharing with protestants the younger generation want to live in peace well except for a few knuckle draggers who don’t like the Irish flag been flown in Ireland. United Ireland will come some day . But Antrim British soldiers are gone and so is Loyalist domination. Job done.
IRA are gone too and no United Ireland, I know unionists are usually too stubborn to admit it but they should be happy enough with the outcome of the conflict. The British army were only here because of republican violence, all republicans had to do was cease it they really wanted the troops out. Hardly rocket science is it.
Aye it was that easy,catholics went the peaceful route remember?and when they did they were shot by the paras,what kicked off the troubles?bombay street,catholics being burnt out of their homes,the republic setting up refugee camps etc,its an unfortunate pill to swallow, violence may not have achieved the united ireland fought for,but it certainly got the british to the table,brute force is all they understand,collins fought them the exact same way,politics were never going to cut it with the brits
All the violence did was rip communities in NI apart, the majority of attacks resulted in ordinary Catholics and Protestants being hurt or killed, over 2000 civilians killed and 30000 hurt. All the IRA did was negotiate a way out of it for themselves because they were being hammered by the British intelligence services and their own communities who put pressure on them to cease. If this so called brute force put the British out then why am I still spending sterling, why is the Union flag still the official flag of NI? The British went nowhere, if you think they did then you are deluded or completely indoctrinated by republican preaching.
Try reading what i wrote,you can be part of the new age pc brigade concerning the north now if you want but the fact remains that the same as any country with an apartheid regime,there was legitimate resistance,and if you think the ruc being overhauled,one man getting one vote,the protestant parliment being forced to share power etc,could all have been changed by peaceful democracy then youre barking mad,the british state created the monster that was the pira,by their lies,false promises,inaction for 50 years in relation to northern ireland,and general classist arrogance
Fleggerbot, violence is inevitable when you create a two tiered gerrymandered statelet and allow it to be run in an absolute sectarian manner. Oppression breads resistance. You can only keep a people down for so long before they rise up. Bobby Sands was right. Our revenge IS the laughter of our children.
There would have still have been a Peace Process if Thatcher had of been killed-
Prince Charles uncle dicky was executed by the IRA- number 10 was bombed by the IRA- large sections of English city’s were obliterated in the Tonne bomb attacks-
Thatchers death would have made no difference-
Except to the sales of HB ice cream and Chivers jelly ;)
Hats off to this woman. I see him as a horrible person maybe trying to justify to himself his torment or maybe he feels nothing as most serial killers.
He didn’t kill my family and I still consider him and the ira vermin
Things like this give him and the IRA a degree of credibility when it’s no way deserved, the victims are the only ones deserving of credibility but more often than not they are classed as being lower than those than made them victims to begin with. It’s a funny old world sometimes.
the IRA’s degree of credibility comes from its victory against one of the biggest, richest and dirtiest armies in the world.
Flegger, the catholic people of the occupied 6 counties were victims for 50 years of horrible, sectarian oppression by unionists. Pat Magee took the fight right to the heart of the British establishment, an establishment who didn’t give 2 fooks about the situation in the north and used it as a playground for their military. A hero in my eyes. Just a shame Thatcher survived.
Sands vote was only so high because the SDLP agreed to pull their candidate out of the running, Sands stood as a nationalist unity candidate so it was either vote for him or vote for a Unionist, most nationalists obviously went for Sands.
No one went into the ballot box with them. They didn’t have to vote but they freely did. A vote doesn’t come with conditions attached.
The idea of election pacts are to maximise the vote for a certain candidate, the unionists do it too in order to try and beat SF, the UUP and DUP will let a Unionist independent stand instead of their own candidates, it takes the split out of the Unionist vote, same happened with Sands. It happens in elections all over the world.
I understand what a pact means, but it doesn’t mean you have to go along with it.
Well in the case of NI politics you have a choice, it’s vote Unionist, vote nationalist or don’t vote at all and let your opponent win instead.
Over 100,000 people attended Bobby Sands funeral.
Amazed my comment has been removed….why. Explain what I said that could offend anyone.
have your say