It has been a good year for symbols and gestures of reconciliation in Ireland.
The legacy created by The Queen and President MacAleese during the state visit to Ireland would appear to have led to the significant visit by the monarch to a Catholic Church in Enniskilen. The presence of the Irish premier at the anniversary of the Remembrance Day bombing in the town, coupled with an official representation of the Irish government at the Cenotaph in the grounds of Belfast City Hall were further evidence, it was hoped, of a turn of the tide towards reconciliation and greater mutual understanding after the mainly adverse flow of the past forty years.
This positive peace-promoting process ran into a brick wall of political hard knuckle reality on Monday night this week. Belfast is a city of divisions where, never mind flags and emblems, the very kerb stones painted in tribal colours betoken political allegiances. And these allegiances at times even stretch to foreign policies and symbols. Periodically on the lower Ormeau Road (Catholic) the flags of the PLO will be flown, and Sandy Row (Protestant) will be festooned with the Star of David. The current phase of Palestinian troubles have seen a most active propaganda war being waged by Irish nationalist sympathisers with Gaza. But back to the City Hall.
Individually the majority of Belfast City councillors are hard-working on behalf of their voters and the city. The majority are ‘decent people’. Those who have been elected to serve as mayor have attempted, and most have been successful, to set aside party political viewpoints during their year of office in order to serve all the citizens of the city.
The city has its financial challenges like every other city in these islands at this time. Whilst there is evidence of retail recession, there is also a tremendous upswing in the hospitality industry evidenced in hotel occupancy rates, in the increasing number of cruise ships coming into the port, and the benefits of new attractions such as the world class Titanic interpretive centre. Monday night’s scenes make hospitality marketing and securing job-creating inward investment development so very much more difficult.
Against such a background of necessary economic growth, Monday night’s demonstration may prove to be a costly indeed. Unionists need to adopt a position whereby they have not got to be seen as appearing to being more loyal than councils in Great Britain. There is a lot more to being British than flag flying, and once again the tax payers on a hard pressed mainland could be forgiven for thinking that the Treasury’s substantial financial circumvention to Northern Ireland could be better spent elsewhere.
When the Unionist grouping in the City Hall ponders the future, the one course which they should not follow is to insist on flying the Union flag daily at the Cenotaph. If there is to be a symbol of reconciliation in the city, let it be the Cenotaph. Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter served and died side by side to ensure democratic freedom. That vital memorial should not become a hostage to partisan political outlook or entrapped as a hostage to a dispute on flags and emblems.
Likewise the SDLP, in particular, should be more adept at side stepping Sinn Fein’s policy of confrontation on issues like this. Regrettably they are a mirror image of the Ulster Unionists who feel forced to dance to the DUP’s tune.
Unless the party political leaders and the various party machinery get a grip of the City Hall, it’s Corryvreckan pull may well lead to making the Stormont Assembly even more unworkable in terms of reconciliation and constructive community development. And the contagion could readily spread to other council’s – evidenced by the decision this week of the majority on Newry Council determining that a children’s playground should be named after a terrorist and hunger striker. This is the same Sinn Fein which laments the absence of sensitivity towards their community by the daily use of the Union flag at Belfast City Hall.
It was good to read the statement issued by both C of I bishops whose dioceses include Belfast city. Their words are economic but to the point. (See Irish news on CNI today).
That peace has not yet been secured is obvious this week. A much more robust policy and ongoing proactive engagement is required by the C of I, and other denominations. The body politic at all levels must be engaged by the Church to secure for all of society the biblical concepts of justice and peace – the very hallmarks of the gospel of the Prince of Peace and those disciples faithful to his mission.
Houston McKelvey
CNI Comment – Flags, finance and faith
It has been a good year for symbols and gestures of reconciliation in Ireland.
The legacy created by The Queen and President MacAleese during the state visit to Ireland would appear to have led to the significant visit by the monarch to a Catholic Church in Enniskilen. The presence of the Irish premier at the anniversary of the Remembrance Day bombing in the town, coupled with an official representation of the Irish government at the Cenotaph in the grounds of Belfast City Hall were further evidence, it was hoped, of a turn of the tide towards reconciliation and greater mutual understanding after the mainly adverse flow of the past forty years.
This positive peace-promoting process ran into a brick wall of political hard knuckle reality on Monday night this week. Belfast is a city of divisions where, never mind flags and emblems, the very kerb stones painted in tribal colours betoken political allegiances. And these allegiances at times even stretch to foreign policies and symbols. Periodically on the lower Ormeau Road (Catholic) the flags of the PLO will be flown, and Sandy Row (Protestant) will be festooned with the Star of David. The current phase of Palestinian troubles have seen a most active propaganda war being waged by Irish nationalist sympathisers with Gaza. But back to the City Hall.
Individually the majority of Belfast City councillors are hard-working on behalf of their voters and the city. The majority are ‘decent people’. Those who have been elected to serve as mayor have attempted, and most have been successful, to set aside party political viewpoints during their year of office in order to serve all the citizens of the city.
The city has its financial challenges like every other city in these islands at this time. Whilst there is evidence of retail recession, there is also a tremendous upswing in the hospitality industry evidenced in hotel occupancy rates, in the increasing number of cruise ships coming into the port, and the benefits of new attractions such as the world class Titanic interpretive centre. Monday night’s scenes make hospitality marketing and securing job-creating inward investment development so very much more difficult.
Against such a background of necessary economic growth, Monday night’s demonstration may prove to be a costly indeed. Unionists need to adopt a position whereby they have not got to be seen as appearing to being more loyal than councils in Great Britain. There is a lot more to being British than flag flying, and once again the tax payers on a hard pressed mainland could be forgiven for thinking that the Treasury’s substantial financial circumvention to Northern Ireland could be better spent elsewhere.
When the Unionist grouping in the City Hall ponders the future, the one course which they should not follow is to insist on flying the Union flag daily at the Cenotaph. If there is to be a symbol of reconciliation in the city, let it be the Cenotaph. Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter served and died side by side to ensure democratic freedom. That vital memorial should not become a hostage to partisan political outlook or entrapped as a hostage to a dispute on flags and emblems.
Likewise the SDLP, in particular, should be more adept at side stepping Sinn Fein’s policy of confrontation on issues like this. Regrettably they are a mirror image of the Ulster Unionists who feel forced to dance to the DUP’s tune.
Unless the party political leaders and the various party machinery get a grip of the City Hall, it’s Corryvreckan pull may well lead to making the Stormont Assembly even more unworkable in terms of reconciliation and constructive community development. And the contagion could readily spread to other council’s – evidenced by the decision this week of the majority on Newry Council determining that a children’s playground should be named after a terrorist and hunger striker. This is the same Sinn Fein which laments the absence of sensitivity towards their community by the daily use of the Union flag at Belfast City Hall.
It was good to read the statement issued by both C of I bishops whose dioceses include Belfast city. Their words are economic but to the point. (See Irish news on CNI today).
That peace has not yet been secured is obvious this week. A much more robust policy and ongoing proactive engagement is required by the C of I, and other denominations. The body politic at all levels must be engaged by the Church to secure for all of society the biblical concepts of justice and peace – the very hallmarks of the gospel of the Prince of Peace and those disciples faithful to his mission.
Houston McKelvey