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Congressman Peter King on how Queen's historic handshake could lead to a United Ireland

Broad support for historic handshake

MOLLY MULDOON,

Irish Voice Reporter

Published Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 8:47 AM

Updated Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 10:33 AM

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Rep. Peter King (R-NY), left, talks with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams during an impromptu press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, March 16 2000

Photo by jr/iw/Ian Wagreich UPI

The historic meeting of Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness and Queen Elizabeth II in Belfast on Wednesday has been heralded as a step towards a united Ireland by political figures in the U.S.

Republican Congressman Peter King, a long-time supporter of Sinn Fein, said Wednesday’s meeting will help advance the cause of a sovereign state.

“Martin McGuinness’s whole career has been based on the quest for a united Ireland,” King told the Irish Voice. “To have the Queen now meet him and acknowledge his leadership position shows that unification is now a viable possibility.

“I think the mechanisms are in place for a peaceful movement toward the unification. and Martin McGuinness as much as anyone personifies that.”

King said the meeting symbolizes Sinn Fein’s respect for their Unionist neighbors.

“This is Martin McGuinness’s way of sending a message not just to Republicans, but also to Unionists that Sinn Fein and the Republican movement understand and appreciate the traditions of the Unionist community,” King said.

In the past both McGuinness and Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams have served time in jail for their involvement with the now defunct IRA.

“Martin McGuinness couldn’t even be on Irish radio 20 years ago, and now he’s meeting with the Queen of England. So that’s just an example of how far he’s come, and he’s meeting with the Queen without sacrificing any principle,” King said.

The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, visited Northern Ireland on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of her United Kingdom-wide tour to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

According to King, who has compared Gerry Adams to George Washington in the past, the Queen’s visit to Ireland in May 2011 was a catalyst towards this symbolic move.

"The fact that she visited the 1916 memorial in Dublin, I thought the royal family was now willing to take this step,” he said.

“To me, the benefit of having basically the royal family of the United Kingdom acknowledging Martin

McGuinness’s leadership role is such a significant step forward that it would be actually foolish not to take part.”

But according to Sandy Boyer, producer and host of the Radio Free Éireann radio show on Saturday afternoons on WBAI in New York, many Republicans are outraged by the move.

“To committed Republicans, it’s breaking their necks,” Boyer said.

“It’s very hard. They have survived everything else, and they will survive this.”
Boyer insists that many people were not surprised by Friday’s announcement.

“This didn’t come out of the blue and people had a lot of time to get used to the idea,” he said.

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32 Comments

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barneyjo | Jun 29, 2012, 05:54 PM EDT

@FallsRNat - All Posters on this site have a view to which they are reasonably entitled. You, me, Sean, Sirpeter. I respect their right to hold their views, and I respect their right to disagree with MY views. I posted my earlier content on the basis of my own understanding of the history of this place; the changes that are taking place, and an analysis of the implications of those changes. I have to say also that I dont entirely hold with your analysis of the views of Seano and sirpeter, because in my reading of their posts, I dont get the wild fancifulness to which you allude.In an ideal world, why not have Orange Bands on the Falls Road, and AOH marches on the Shankill. However, its not an ideal world, at least not yet... but we'll get there (in the end)In this instance, I leave the last word on your assertions about Unionism's place within an all Ireland to the late David Ervine, who, in paraphrasing Gerry Adams, once said " I AM a part of the British presence in Ireland, and I am not going away you know" Anyone who claims its possible to airbrush that cherished view from history, I could never take seriously at best of times :)

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barneyjo | Jun 29, 2012, 05:52 PM EDT

@FallsRNat - All Posters on this site have a view to which they are reasonably entitled. You, me, Sean, Sirpeter. I respect their right to hold their views, and I respect their right to disagree with their views. I posted my earlier content on the basis of my own understanding of the history of this place; the changes that are taking place, and an analysis of the implications of those changes. I have to say also that I dont entirely hold with your analysis of the views of Seano and sirpeter, because in my reading of their posts, I dont get the wild fancifulness to which you allude.In an ideal world, why not have Orange Bands on the Falls Road, and AOH marches on the Shankill. However, its not an ideal world, at least not yet... but we'll get there (in the end)In this instance, I leave the last word on your assertions about Unionism's place within an all Ireland to the late David Ervine, who, in paraphrasing Gerry Adams, once said " I AM a part of the British presence in Ireland, and I am not going away you know" Anyone who claims its possible to airbrush that cherished view from history, I could never take seriously at best of times :)

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FallsRNat | Jun 29, 2012, 11:40 AM EDT

barneyjo - youse can't have a coversation with the likes of seano & sirpeter on the implications for the Unionist majority of a UI, as far as they are concerned, there are 2 options for them, they bow to a papist state & are treated to endless Republican/AOH/Irish victory parades for the next 10 yrs throughout Ireland & oh remember the anti Orange Order bile they spew, well the unionists will have no choice, but to listen as the AOH bangs its drum in the Shankill, as Ireland belongs to them now, after all, if they don't like it they can go back to Scotland where they came from in the 1st place. This is the politics of PIRA,don't do as i do, do as i say, well i don't think the combined voters of FG/Labour/FF are about to vote 'yes' over the heads of the Unionists, unless they are of course the unionists are allowed to vote in the 1st place, because their not irish, sirpeter professes that the ulstermen have no rightful heritage on the island of ireland as they have only been there 400 years, but that label could apply to non native americans, australians, European cultures stretching back as far as the Romans, ancient greeks, his political theory does not hold water, was ireland ever really united in its history other than under the brits, certainly not in 1916 & after, so what basis do the republicans base their history on, nothing, but an emerald dream.

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Aughavey | Jun 29, 2012, 11:19 AM EDT

Barneyjo - I think you are spot on re the federalism although I think it is going to encompass both islands. We already have such a system in place via the British-Irish council and the British-Irish Assembly both of which bring the various parliaments and assemblies from Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and channel Isles together. Molloy Molone - you need to read up on UK constitution a little - it is a constitutional monarchy not an absolute monarchy - the Queen swears to serve her country and her people just as the people swear allegiance to their queen and country - indeed if you watched the coverage she met a Northern Irish WW2 veteran who chatted away with her and told her that she had changed spark plugs in his car during the war whilst she was wearing dungarees.

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pilib04 | Jun 28, 2012, 01:52 PM EDT

Great to hear that Pete King is back in the Sinn Fein fold.

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pilib04 | Jun 28, 2012, 01:51 PM EDT

Rebelforce, great point.

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seamus60 | Jun 28, 2012, 12:20 PM EDT

Molloy. Martins queen wore green yesterday. As a consequence there will be those who really believe this as her being a fan of a United Ireland. lol

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seamus60 | Jun 28, 2012, 12:00 PM EDT

Slainte9. They were able to do it in S Africa because people were willing to admit their past. Not doable here with Gerry and Martin denying their past and their comrades to further their own and the brits agenda.

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seamus60 | Jun 28, 2012, 11:54 AM EDT

And what time did Adams and Mc Guinness do ?

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IrelandNorth | Jun 28, 2012, 08:41 AM EDT

If violence is the language of the unheard, Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien's/Pat Rabbitte's press censorship was/is a contributing factor to political violence. NI Assembly could encore an Act of Union experience by dissolving itself to Dublin - if bribes and peerages were substantial enough! EU/Treaty of Rome dictats that annual UK/NI subvention be re-routed through ROI. British Exchequer 'loan' (?) to ROI last year of STG£10b - a dry run? NI poll isn't an island one. Independent NI would be as solvent as ROI in an era of monopoly capital, and .5m Irish nationalist/republicans (Fermanagh/Tyrone) would seek to rejoin Cavan/Donegal/Monaghan. Closer cooperation between Ulster/Northern Ireland and Munster/southern Ireland is all very fine. But Lenister/eastern Ireland and Connacht/western Ireland need to get along a little better before considering the Island of Ireland's relationship with our insular neighbouring. It would make more sense to reunite the province of Ulster before Ireland as a whole. Can a gerrymandered neo-provincial statelet have a democratic process. Is the UK as moot a point as a UI in the EU. Would British-Irish Isles be smiling. There are 500,000 Irish Catholic/nationalists/republicans coralled into the neo-provincial statlet of NI. The numbers 6/26 are numerically meaningless. If(?) 1m Ulster Protestant unionists/loyalists wanted to remain in a UK which is progressively disuniting of itself, precedent dictates that .5m Irish nationalists/republicans have a right to secceed to a reconstituted 28(?) county proto ROI.

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barneyjo | Jun 28, 2012, 05:12 AM EDT

@sirpeter - The GFA is now in its 13th year of existence. And despite the entreatments of Sinn Fein, the prospects of a Referendum being carried out in NI to determine the will of the people as to whether they stay or go, has not even been proposed at this stage. Unlike Scotland, and the Falkland Islands where likely dates have been announced. the basic premise remains the same here; how you pursuade upwards of 0ne million Unionists into a new political dispensation that is predicated on a 32 county administration, when polls and elections have consistently shown their opposition to such a prospect? Its not going to happen that way. My view is that over time there will be an emerging consensus for a Federal model, with Regional Assemblies in Belfast and Dublin, just like now, but with an umbrella structure that will deal with common strands and by agreement with both Assemblies. If you look closely, that is getting pretty close to where things are right now; only bare bones I'll grant you, but over time I think you'll see this change. A good example of this is the new Acute Hospital in Enniskillen (Fermanagh, in NI) It is huge and far bigger than what is required for the catchment area in NI. However if you factor in that the Dept of Health in Dublin is either closing or downgrading acute hospitals in Monaghan, Cavan, and Sligo. It is likely that patients from these counties will now be treated in Enniskillen by agreement between both Health Departments. And we will go on from there!!

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Molloy Malone | Jun 28, 2012, 03:43 AM EDT

Why do people keep saying that the Queen expressed regret for British actions in Ireland. She did not. Look at the transcript. "To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy." She did not once use the word "regret," or express apology. This is a lie that Irish Central is perpetuation. Reconciliation is not about powerful elites shaking hands. It is about all sides being accountable to the truth, and then - and only then - being able to move forward and to heal. Let's not forget that, besides her - and the Monarchy's - involvement in the history of Ireland, she is also a symbol of gross inequality, bequeathed by birth. And to acknowledge her as Queen is to honor all the blood that is on that throne (Irish or otherwise... and yes, including the blood, sweat, and tears of working class English people). If McGuinness thinks that he met the Queen as an equal human being, he is wrong. He met her as an obsequious British subject. Plain and simple.

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sirpeter | Jun 27, 2012, 11:32 PM EDT

The problem with certain people here is that they don't want to see what is happening.It hasn't sunk in that the deal is already done.NI is of no strategic value or economic value to London.GFA.The British government was/wants/on it's knees COMMITTED to secure the repeal by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of the Government of Ireland Act 1920.The rest of the GFA is something about democracy.That's when democracy had to look good in front of the USSR.They call it Western Style Democracy now.That's where people vote till they get it right.

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fiddlinvet | Jun 27, 2012, 09:44 PM EDT

Keep dreaming. Maybe the people in the Republic of Ireland don't want to unite.....Who wants UDA, UVF and other loyalist criminals in their neighbourhood....

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ellenfromcork | Jun 27, 2012, 08:32 PM EDT

I think someday there will be a united Ireland. It will be done by peaceful means, not by violence. We've seen that doesn't work. Maybe not in my lifetime, but someday, please God.

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