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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > In NYC Martin McGuinness talks Queen Elizabeth and peace in our time -- Sinn Fein leader recalls historic handshake and how old enemies change

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

In NYC Martin McGuinness talks Queen Elizabeth and peace in our time -- Sinn Fein leader recalls historic handshake and how old enemies change

Posted on Friday, July 13, 2012 at 08:11 AM

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Martin McGuinness

Peace comes dropping slow in Northern Ireland.

In New York this week, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness recalled how just very recently hardline unionist Willie McCrea finally greeted him with a “hello” and recognized his existence—after 30 years or so of sharing the political space, first as enemies, now as government partners.

"That shows how the peace process has advanced nowadays," McGuinness said in an interview at our office.

Facts on the ground, communities working together, North and South, in ways that would never have been possible during the bad old days. New roads, new hospitals, and new business connections are all cementing the most successful peace process of the modern era.

Then of course there was the meeting and handshake between the former IRA commander and the Commander of the British Armed Forces, Queen Elizabeth, in Belfast recently.

“Haven’t washed my hand since,” McGuinness joked before getting serious.

He told the Queen that he acknowledged the hurt that the death of Lord Mountbatten, her relative and close confidante, who was blown up by the IRA in 1979, had caused her.

He didn’t try to slide the Mountbatten issue to one side or to elide the deep harm done in her majesty’s name to generations of nationalists.

It was an extraordinary moment he said, one that he had prepared for since the Queen made a major effort during her visit to the Irish Republic last year.

The debates in Northern Ireland these days are more likely about water rates than The Troubles. The fact that McGuinness was away from the North during the height of the Orange marching scene sends its own signal of normality.

We noted that all was changed, utterly illustrated by the fact that Lennox the dog who was condemned to die hogged the headlines over the July 12th build up.

The protestors outside the British and Irish consulates in New York last week were for Lennox, not the IRA, or attacking British perfidy.

Such is the new Northern Ireland that Martin McGuinness now jointly oversees with Peter Robinson the DUP leader.

It is a different landscape where much work needs to be done but the future looks bright indeed.

To insiders, McGuinness being greeted by Willie McCrea was every bit as big a deal as shaking hands with the Queen. Peace will continue to fall slowly but surely on the land.

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seamus60 | Jul 27, 2012, 01:55 PM EDT

See Martin and Peter have released their shared vision for the way forward in a statement released after Stornmont went into summer recession, even though it was to be put before the house for discussion and debate. lol

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seamus60 | Jul 20, 2012, 09:38 PM EDT

No wonder people get confused when such local issues get compared to others. Just educate Orange men to stop marching through area`s where they are likely to cause offence.

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seanomelb | Jul 19, 2012, 06:00 PM EDT

Deirdre was killed by Naoise he thought she was a swan I think she's a quacking duck with a brain to suit

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seanomelb | Jul 17, 2012, 08:14 PM EDT

Remember old schon was a serving member of the of the Brit army in the north shooting plastic bullets at children from his armoured car. BTW I never claimed OO had no right to march and I care less which lodge they are members of it's as irrelevant as your uneducated bull. BTW how many plastic rounds did you fire on Orange rioters.The answer to that is none because it was not allowed,so much for the BA terrorists(like you) protecting the nationalists community. Go post on your usual sites,The UVF or the BNP newsletters.AS for been a sectarian I married in the presbyterian church you fool.

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michaelidaho | Jul 17, 2012, 04:28 PM EDT

Barneyjo, I understand where you are coming from now and I agree with you. However, I was not making broadstrokes about Orangeism. I was referring to a specific group of them videotaped this past July 12, 2012 in Ardoyne. @Schon-It does not really matter who these group of clowns are. If they have be given the permission to parade, they should not be permitted to bellow out low class, vile sectarian chants in front of a place of worship. As for Wacko (sic), are you suggesting that the US government regularly engages in sectarian and violent acts against religious minorities in the USA?

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Schon | Jul 17, 2012, 04:10 PM EDT

barneyjo. Agh that was for my rabidly sectarian nemesis seanomelb to discover and correct me about. He tries, but, between you and me, he's not that clever. Possibility is he wouldn't have come up with you reply. Anywho... you are quite correct; some could have members of other lodges as you say. Now, come on seanomelb. You really need to pay attention!

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barneyjo | Jul 17, 2012, 03:45 PM EDT

@schon - point taken, however its probably too much of an assumption to make that that at least some of the band members werent also members of Lodges elsewhere in their own right.

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Schon | Jul 17, 2012, 03:41 PM EDT

Hi seanomelb me ol' mate. And there's me thinking that Martin was one of yous. He's a fair brave un, our Martin. He looks pleased as punch too. Great day for Ireland to see one of the murdering republican feckers show his true colours. He probably was a nark all the long, passing info to the Brits. He'll be Sir Martin or even Lord Martin shortly along with the bearded worder, Adams. Imagine our on Lord Martin and Gerry of Her Majesties' Own Sinn Fein Republican Volunteer Force. barmeyjo has the right line, if you want a masscecre, subcontract to the Yanks or the Froggies. They're better at it than the Brits. Oh, but just to make you feel good seanomelb ol' boy, your murdering republican heros aren't bad at slaughter... as long as its proddies, Brits and/or defenceless innocent civilians to kill. Luv & Kisses

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Schon | Jul 17, 2012, 03:39 PM EDT

barneyjo, don't forget the 1993 Wacko slaughter carried out by ATF, FBI and Army were 74 people were murdered. Also, the Orange men weren't walking in circles, they were standing around waiting for the parade to move on. The people walking in circles was the band and they weren't members of the Orange Order.

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barneyjo | Jul 17, 2012, 03:29 PM EDT

@michaelidaho - Firstly, I would reject the idea that my comments are tantamount to a "tirade". I like to think of them as conidered observations on your initial viewpoint on the Orangemen in Belfast; ie"However, let us not be too complacent that everybody in NI has bought into this process. Just look at the video of the Orangeman, marching in a circle several times in front of a Catholic Church belting out sectarian songs just two days ago" and subsequent comments. For the record, I find the behaviour of some, though not all sections of Orangism to be both objectionable and reprehensible. I am equally unimpressed by comments and viewpoints from posters, who it has to be said, in the main are not native Irish, nor do they live on the island of Ireland. In many cases, with one ill-informed broad brush stroke they are content in painting a sector of Irish society of whatever hue as having an exclusivity in the role of perpetrators of injustice, partial treatment or offence. There are many individual instances where this has been shown to have been undoubtedly true; but the attempts to portray Orangeism as a singular negative entitity within the historical narrative of Irish history, is both simplistic, and a distortion of reality. Put simply, the peace process would not be working now, if Orangeism had not bought into it. My challenges to Warrenpoint100 also should give you very clear indication that there is also a rump of Irish Nationalism that is in denial about the direction Ireland has now taken, on the back of multiple plebicites over the last 15 years.

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michaelidaho | Jul 17, 2012, 01:33 PM EDT

Barneyjo, Your original comparison was Koran burnings to Orange Order marches. I then made the point that many American Muslims and Vietnamese Americans have fled the oppressive regimes of their birth, immigrated to and have remained in the USA and are quite satisfied with life here. You have since been on a tirade about isolated massacres and human rights abuses perpetrated by the US military going back to 1890. I have no idea how this relates to your assertion that minority groups in the USA and NI are treated with the same degree of intolerance. If you know of any racial, religious or ethnic groups in 2012 living in the USA that are frequently victims of the same degree of intolerance by groups in NI (e.g. Orange Order chapters parading in front of Catholic Churches chanting sectarian songs while the police force does nothing), then I would like to you to give me an example. By the way, I have no wish to defend every aspect of American foreign policy, and like you, I could probably come up with dozens of examples of other atrocities committed by the US or any other country for that matter.

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barneyjo | Jul 17, 2012, 03:50 AM EDT

@michaelidaho - The wounded knee massacre occurred in the USA and typifies the concept of state sponsored terror perfectly. As do My Lai and Guantanamo also. my point is that there is an inherent danger in identifying the "splinter in the eye" of another (in this case the Orangemen) while ignoring the mote in your own (all that was and is done in the name of the United States of America and its peoples)

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seanomelb | Jul 16, 2012, 11:15 PM EDT

good retort Seamus.

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michaelidaho | Jul 16, 2012, 09:54 PM EDT

barneyjo, Your facts do little to support your argument. If the Vietnamese and Arabs have found it to be so oppressive and intolerant in the United States, then why have they been so desperate to flee their countries and remain in the USA. I have known several Vietnamese and many Arabs over the years, and I can tell you they are quite happy in the USA. Finally, I do not know of any American groups chanting to the Vietnamese or Native Americans, "The war is over, so why don't you go home."

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seamus60 | Jul 16, 2012, 09:07 PM EDT

Seano. The chicken took itself off to Co, Louth and stood in elections.

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