Hand of history heavy on its shoulder as party looks to future
Every time someone tried to scrape it off by pushing a debate on broadband or genetic modification, someone else stamped it firmly back in place by calling for greater wearing of the Easter lily, or the printing of Amhrán na bhFiann on school stationery.
In the RDS canteen delegates may have dined on a sophisticated spread of breast of chicken wrapped in parma ham with tomato fondue, but in the main hall the fare was more like the political equivalent of nouvelle cuisine with egg and chips on the side.
There were genuine signs that the party has flown the coop of history — even if they were indicated by their absence. There were no metal detectors, little security, not a special branch car in sight.
But a browse of the official merchandise shows that the past still pays. Souvenir seekers could buy CDs of greatest Irish rebel songs, framed photos of Geronimo and Bobby Sands, copies of the Proclamation of the Republic and coffee mugs bearing the warning: “Still an unrepentant Fenian b*****d”. The uncensored version, that is.
It jarred with the announcement over the public address system asking delegates in the crowded hall to please keep their handbags, manbags and other accoutrements clear of the aisles. McGuinness and Adams never seemed the manbag type.
What Gerry had in his manbag of tricks was very new century, however: a small dig at the British government, a polite poke at unionists, a mild ribbing of Bertie Ahern, a fond farewell to Fidel Castro, and a warm greeting to all the mammies for Mother’s Day.
The greatest cheer from the floor came not for references to civil rights, conflict resolution or the Good Friday Agreement, but for criticism of the Irish Government for failure to end the occupations of Iraq and Palestine.
Delegates may have refused to pass a motion calling for a ban on use of the phrase “Brits Out”, but there seems to have been a secret vote that decided they certainly aren’t going to shout it.
Pragmatism rather than passion was the tone of the occasion, as underlined when Adams referred to the party’s recent groundbreaking voting pact with Labour on a Dáil motion on agency workers. He talked of building more such alliances in future.
In the relaxed atmosphere, veteran community activist and councillor Larry O’Toole was an easy target. “You should be in the Green Party”, he was slagged after revealing himself to be a non-driver. “Ah, but I’m in THE green party,” he replied.
To make his party a truly modern affair, Adams wants equal involvement by women, and he would have been pleased by the lunchtime gathering of female elected representatives and activists who met in such numbers that they ran out of tea cups.
Mary Lou McDonald makes a good recruiter. Recounting how she was forever being told she was very young to be in politics, she quipped: “Politics is probably the only walk of life where in your 30s you are still a young one.”
The meeting paid tribute to one who didn’t live to see much of her 30s. Mairead Farrell was shot dead by the SAS in the “Death on the Rock” incident in Gibraltar 20 years ago this week, three days past her 31st birthday.
A ballad named after her was sung in her honour, ending with “While Ireland lives, I do not die.”
Sinn Féin may be progressing, if not progressive, but the past clings on tightly.
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