Opinion

Deaglán de Bréadún: On north/south issues on this island, the US remains a significant player

File photo dated 27/06/1963 of US President John F. Kennedy acknowledging the cheers of the crowd when he visits New Ross Co. Wexford. Photo: PA Wire
File photo dated 27/06/1963 of US President John F. Kennedy acknowledging the cheers of the crowd when he visits New Ross Co. Wexford. Photo: PA Wire File photo dated 27/06/1963 of US President John F. Kennedy acknowledging the cheers of the crowd when he visits New Ross Co. Wexford. Photo: PA Wire

ARE you mad or are you mad? That was the question, with built-in implicit answer, running through my mind. A more detailed formulation might have been: “Are you out of your mind, buddy, sitting on a block of stone in the open air for an hour in Dublin with rain occasionally falling on you?”

In fact it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in recent times. Me and my umbrella were at the Yeats Memorial in St Stephen’s Green for a lunchtime performance of Jackie, written by Gerard Humphreys and directed by Anthony Fox. The play was originally due to be staged at the New Theatre in Temple Bar under socially-distant conditions but, because of the Covid situation, it had to be moved outdoors with the audience limited to 15 persons (little did I realise that even tighter restrictions might be looming.)

The play draws on the platonic friendship between Jacqueline Kennedy and an older, semi-retired Irish priest who became a mentor to the woman who married the ill-fated US president who was shot in Dallas. Father Joseph Leonard was a native of Sligo and their paths first crossed in 1950 when Jackie was visiting Ireland. They only met in person once more, in 1955, but she corresponded with him for 14 years until the kindly clergyman died in 1964.

I haven’t read the letters, which reportedly reveal her feelings on a range of issues, including JFK’s interest in other women and her grief and despair after his assassination, when she wrote: “I always would have rather lost my life than lost Jack.”

Full marks to the performances by Amy O’Dwyer who even looks like a young Jackie and Michael Judd as the good-humoured man of the cloth who nevertheless has dark memories of the First World War where he served as a chaplain on the Western Front.

It was only after the play ended that I realised its location was only a few minutes’ walk from the place where, as a young schoolboy, I saw JFK in person as he was being driven to a state dinner in Iveagh House. The crowd was ecstatic to catch sight of the person of Irish extraction who held the most-powerful position in the world.

With the exception of Bill Clinton, no US president since Kennedy has enjoyed similar adulation from the Irish. But the support of presidential candidate Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Richard Neal for the Good Friday Agreement has been greatly appreciated.

When it comes to north-south issues on this island, the US remains a significant player. No doubt when the time comes for unity referendums on both sides of the border, leading figures across the Atlantic will contribute to the debate.

The Latin phrase festina lente (“hasten slowly”) should be borne in mind. Yes, it’s 22 years since the GFA was approved and some nationalists and republicans are getting impatient. But they should bear in mind that, if a majority opt to retain the status quo, then another referendum cannot be held for a further seven long years.

If the vote takes place in 2023, for example, and there isn’t a majority for unity, then it won’t be on the table again until 2030. Some will point out that 2023 marks 25 years since the agreement but a counter-argument is that we are trying to end a relationship which goes back to 1169.

Another feature of the agreement is that the decision to call a referendum in the north is left to the British secretary of state, if it appears likely to him or her “that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland”.

The Irish government would have no formal role in calling the northern referendum but would doubtless express an opinion. Presumably a succession of pro-unity opinion polls would be a factor. Another key influence would be if parties other than Sinn Féin pressed for such a vote. I note that Alliance Party MP Stephen Farry has called for “civilised, rational and evidence-based discussions” on the issue. Now that would be a good place to start.

Email: Ddebre1@aol.com; Twitter: @DdeBreadun