RSS
News


Blogs


comment on article Make a comment
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn emphasizes progress in Northern Ireland

By
CAHIR O'DOHERTY
,
Irish Voice Reporter

Published Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 12:33 PM
Updated Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 1:49 PM

Vote now - Buzz this up!


NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn emphasizes progress in Northern Ireland | Irish News | IrishCentral




Read more: Christine Quinn, Belfast, European Politics, Irish Politics, Politics, World Politics, Local Politics, Brian Cowen
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn meets with Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson at Stormont
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn meets with Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson at Stormont

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was in Ireland last week for a series of high-level meetings in Dublin and Belfast. Quinn met with the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin in Dublin and with First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont in Belfast.

“I was invited to Ireland to attend an awards ceremony but I’ve been hearing the reports about growing tensions, and concerns that the issues of policing and justice might not happen in the timeframe that some of us had hoped,” Quinn told the IrishCentral’s sister publication the Irish Voice.

“With that in mind I decided to extend the trip and do a series of meetings with community leaders and government leaders to convey the message that Irish America’s perspective was that the time for devolution of power around policing and justice was now. I also wanted to offer support to move that process forward.”

In regard to the ramping up of dissident activity in the North in recent months Quinn was unequivocal.

“When you’re in tense situations and yet things continue to move forward it’s harder for those who want to pull it back to get any traction. Our message in Irish America is that there’s been tremendous progress -- it’s actually stunning to many people -- so don’t get stuck on policing and justice. Don’t allow there to be some kind of vacuum, which dissidents will fill in.

“Keep things moving forward. And I agree with Deputy First Minister McGuinness that in the best of all possible worlds we should wrap this up by the year’s end.”

In regard to the economic challenges facing the North, Quinn spoke of the host of initiatives being taken by business leaders there and of the growing ties between New York and Belfast.

“I had meetings with a host of business leaders from the Belfast area and we’re working on a conference in June called New York and New Belfast to bring an even greater partnership between the two cities,” she said.

Quinn held a meeting with Cowen about poling and justice but also about one of her signature issues, the need to invest in the development of a new purpose built building for the Irish Arts Center in New York.

1 2 Next page >

Vote now - Buzz this story up!


NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn emphasizes progress in Northern Ireland | Irish News | IrishCentral


print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


Be the first to make a comment.



IrishCentral on Twitter




remember me on this computer
forget your password?     
IrishCentral.com is also home to Irish Voice and Irish America magazine