McGuiness Says Irish Peace Process at Crossroads

When Sinn Fein heavyweight and Ireland’s Minister for Education Martin McGuinness appeared at Boston College on November 16 to speak at a symposium on education, few expected the fireworks that occurred. Both from the podium and at a question and answer session with the media, McGuinness used the occasion to attack several of his counterparts in Northern Ireland political circles, blaming them for violating the Good Friday Agreement and the potential collapse of the peace process.

Although he attended the symposium in his capacity as Minister for Education, McGuinness incorporated several politically laden remarks into his speech and his comments following the event. He focused his criticism on Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson, three men whom he fingered as hampering the peace process.

“We are currently facing the most destructive crisis that we have seen in the peace process,” McGuinness said. “The present crisis, sad to say, would see the destruction of the institutions created by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and the Good Friday Agreement itself.”

McGuinness’ criticisms were provoked partially by Trimble, who took steps to prevent McGuinness and fellow Sinn Fein leader Bairbre de Bruin from being involved with meetings concerning political affairs in Northern Ireland. Trimble has already said he would not allow either man to attend the upcoming North-South Ministerial Meeting on November 21, prompting a lawsuit from de Bruin. McGuinness vowed that he would do the same.

“A lot of damage would be done [if Trimble did not withdraw his mandate],” McGuinness told reporters after his speech. “I am considering legal action.”

But McGuinness placed the onus on the British government to intercede; “It is time for the British government to defend the agreement.

“The British prime minister in particular has a key role and it has to be made absolutely clear to David Trimble that what he has done is a blatant and flagrant breach of the Good Friday Agreement.

“These are people who have not learnt the lesson of how you resolve conflict,” McGuinness said.

Earlier, in his discussion of education, McGuinness preached bipartisanism. He pointed out that both Protestant and Catholic schools are funded by public capital and expressed desire to integrate the two cultures by using education as a common ground.

“Our school system remains starkly segregated along religious lines,” McGuinness said. “We in government have a statutory to both encourage and develop integrated schools.”

Appearing with Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Education Maureen A. McLaughlin and South African Ambassador to the US Sheila Violet Makate Sisulu, McGuinness spoke for nearly an hour, addressing the issue of incorporating the Irish language into the national curriculum, the importance of education in Ireland and the role of teachers in determining Ireland’s future.

“In many cases, the eradication of the Irish language was pursued by the school authorities. In many ways, the Irish language was stigmatized for many years,” McGuinness said, then noted that Irish has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.

He pointed to members of the Unionist party who criticized Sinn Fein speakers for using Irish in their speeches, saying that the Unionists were “not realizing that 120 years ago, all of Ireland, including their ancestors, were speaking the Irish language.” McGuinness said that he was “introducing means to encourage the integration of the Irish language … There is a responsibility on us to encourage and facilitate a full Irish education.”

“Irish medium schools are blossoming not just in the North, but all over Ireland. And why? Because children are learning to love speaking Irish.”

“We are a society emerging from thirty years of turmoil,” McGuinness said.

“It is vitally important that we recognize that and deal with it. We have to leave the wounds open to heal.”

McGuinness went on to emphasize education’s role in shaping future generations well equipped to deal with easing the wounds of the conflict. But, he said, “We cannot just ignore the injustice, inequality and violence of the past. We need to confront the prejudices and intolerance in our society … We need to remember that the education system does not operate in isolation from the political context.”

McGuinness credited teachers with playing a vital role in influencing Ireland’s youth.

“Our teachers have long sought to protect our children from the violence outside the walls of our schools,” he said. “Education is critical to who we are. It defines us as citizens and shapes who we are.”

The Minister offered an updated alternative to the traditional “three Rs” of education, proposing that the Irish education system focus instead on the “three N’s” – “encouragement, enjoyment and enlightenment.”

Discussing the nature of the textbooks used in the curriculum, McGuinness said, “We need to be very, very careful that we don’t end up sanitizing everything to the extent that we distort history and historical fact.”

Speaking to an audience of approximately 150 professors, students and other interested parties in Gasson Hall’s Irish Room on a Thursday afternoon, McGuinness said that he chose the position of Minister of Education because he believed he could use that arena to help resolve the conflict. “Education has a largely important role to play and I believe I have played an honorable role.”

Director of BC’s Irish Studies Program Kevin O’Neill noted that McGuinness was the first major leader from Sinn Fein to speak at Boston College in years.

“He’s become one of the major figures in constructing the peace process,” O’Neill told the Reporter.

“Within Sinn Fein, he’s been one of the major advocates for peace. On the national side, along with John Hume, he’s one of the major players in the new politics of Northern Ireland.”