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Martin McGuinness - Mistakes of past can’t be repeated
Asked about a report over the weekend that the IRA leadership is reportedly considering an apology to victims of the Troubles, Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister of the North, responded pointedly that “the IRA are gone”.
It was an admission that stood in stark contrast with the famous declaration by Gerry Adams some years ago that “the IRA have not gone away, you know!”.Mr McGuinness told Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ on Saturday night that he met the British Queen “to show my respect to the unionist people of the North and to extend, through Queen Elizabeth, the hand of friendship, peace, and reconciliation to all of them”. He was quite clear that there were wrongs on all sides in the Northern conflict.
“Was it worth it?” asked Ms O’Callaghan.
“No,” said Mr McGuinness. “How could I say it was worth it?” He proceeded in forthright terms: “There is nothing glamorous, or glorious, or great about war. War is absolutely terrible. I regret the loss of every single life, including the lives of British soldiers.”
Apologies are worthless unless they are sincere. There may be no thanks due to any man who gives up violence or crime, but we should welcome it when such people admit that they were mistaken. It is obvious that there were wrongs on all sides in the Northern conflict. If each side were to recognise its mistakes, it would be a giant leap forward.
Many people may have been surprised by the assertion that the first minister and deputy first minister have met President Barrack Obama more often than they have met David Cameron, the British prime minister. But it should be remembered that Mr Cameron was very forthright in his response to the findings of the Saville Inquiry into the killings on Bloody Sunday in Derry.
“What happened should never ever have happened,” said Mr Cameron. The actions of the British soldiers were “unjustified and unjustifiable”, he added. “I am deeply, deeply sorry.”
In his own way, Mr McGuinness said as much on Saturday night. He also admitted that he personally expressed regret to the Queen on the losses that she and her family suffered. This was an obvious reference to the killing of Lord Mountbatten and members of his family. It is often forgotten that while Lord Mountbatten was a distant cousin of the Queen, he was an uncle of her husband, Prince Philip. Mr McGuinness had a valid point when he said that every side should be expressing sorrow.
All too often there are selective memories about horrors. People ignore the legitimate grievances on the other side.
Today the Irish Examiner begins the first of two articles on the events leading to the Civil War 90 years ago. Many of those events have never been properly examined. It is important that we should be aware of our history in order to learn from the mistakes of the past, so as not to repeat them.
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