‘We witnessed events that will define our time’

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday declared that “Ireland’s hour has come” in an historic address in Westminster to the joint houses of the English parliament.

Mr Ahern became only the 32nd world leader since 1939 to be bestowed with the honour of addressing the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The invitation was extended by the retiring British Prime Minister Tony Blair in recognition of the return of devolved government to the North of Ireland and Mr Ahern’s decade-long engagement with the peace process.

Both Mr Blair and the Taoiseach paid warm and personal tributes to each other.

Mr Ahern joins a distinguished list of world leaders including Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev and Charles de Gaulle.

The theme of his 4,000 word speech — delivered in the magnificent surrounding of the Royal Gallery in Westminster — was the transformation that has taken place in the relationship between Ireland and Britain.

“For decades our relations have been filtered through the prism of conflict. Now building on the peace and progress of the last decade, we can begin to pay greater attention to the wider partnership of common interest between our two islands,” he said.

In a confidently delivered speech the Taoiseach invoked the words of John F Kennedy to Dáil Eireann more than 40 years ago in saying that “Ireland’s hour has come.”

Mr Ahern did not gloss over history nor did he shy away from asserting his own sense of republicanism, in a surprisingly robust section of the speech.

He traced the roles of Daniel O’Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell in speaking for the “voiceless” of Ireland in parliament.

“The intertwined history of Ireland and Britain was — let us not deny the truth — in large measure indeed a story of division and conflict, of conquest, suppression and resistance,” he said.

And in relation to recent historic events in the north, he referred to the 3,700 who had died before commenting on the restoration of devolution.

“Tuesday, May 8, in Belfast was a day when we witnessed events that will truly define our time and the next.”

Earlier Mr Blair talked of his close friendship with the Taoiseach. He recalled to the packed hall the sight of Mr Ahern returning from his mother’s funeral during the good Friday Agreement negotiations in 1998.

“He was visibly upset but determined to finish the job,” he said.

Mr Ahern reciprocated and described the prime minster as “a true friend to me and a true friend to Ireland.”

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny flew over to attend. He paid ample tribute to the Taoiseach’s “fine speech” saying it was right for him to be there. He said that former FG Taoisigh Liam Cosgrave, Garret FitzGerald and John Bruton had also played pivotal roles in the process.

A Labour spokesperson said that Mr Rabbitte had already made other commitments and was not in a position to attend.

Those who attended included Mr Blair, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, former prime minister John Major, former northern secretaries Tom King and Paul Murphy, current northern secretary Peter Hain, SDLP leader Mark Durkan, former SDLP leader John Hume, Ken Maginness of the Ulster Unionist Party, former Assembly speaker Lord Alderdice, Home Secretary John Reid, former Irish EU Commissioner Peter Sutherland, former motor-racing figure Eddie Jordan and British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh.