There is an old Irish proverb which goes: “Ní neart go cur le chéile”.
Roughly it means: “We are better together”.
It sprung to mind as I listened to An Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaking in Newry last Friday.
To his core, Martin is a democrat and peacemaker.
A patient and cautious man who understands that peace building is a long game. It’s built with generosity, trust and mutual respect.
Martin is, in every sense of the word, a patriot. A man who loves his country and who serves it with tenacity, dignity and humility.
He is no plastic Paddy or armalite Annie.
When he said on becoming taoiseach that it was the greatest honour of his life, unlike other politicians, he actually meant it.
There is no teary green-fogged nostalgia in Martin’s sense of Irishness. His identity is forged by his family, his roots, his community and country.
In a short tenure as taoiseach, he has displayed courage and fortitude during exceptional and extraordinary times.
He had to make unpopular and tough decisions. That’s leadership.
Martin managed to sail Ireland Inc through stormy waters to safer harbours.
Sometimes his stewardship was rocked by internal dissidents. But they lacked his sense of purpose and personal passion.
Principles in politics and morality in leadership matter more today than ever before.
Blustery rhetoric, false promises and jam on the never never is the stuff of fantasy economics and delusional politics.
That’s not the Micheál Martin way. He is both principled and pragmatic. Dedicated and determined.
The taoiseach, in response to a question about the creation of a citizens assembly to discuss the future of Ireland, reminded the Newry audience that unity starts amongst people. It begins with listening. And ends with even more listening.
It’s not about being prescriptive. It’s not about authoring a New Ireland blueprint and then expecting everyone, immaterial of their political outlook, to follow it. It can never be about predetermining roles for our diverse communities and traditions.
Most of all, it’s not solely about the numerical supremacy of one tradition over another. That failed approach created two political entities in Ireland.
An agreed and unified Ireland doesn’t need a so called “super-majority” either. It does require tolerance, reaching out, mutual respect and confidence building measures.
This taoiseach gets that.
These are the principles which underpin the Shared Ireland Unit he created within the Department of Taoiseach. The fact that this unit is under the Department of Taoiseach rather than Foreign Affairs is significant. The buck stops at the top.
Speaking about the unit, he said: “There already have been enough words. There had to be actions from the Irish government. The Shared Island Unit was about action. Building capacity and capabilities across Ireland from Derry to Cork, Belfast to Galway”.
More importantly, apart from the research elements, the Shared Island capital projects are starting to take shape - such as the Ulster Canal and the long awaited Narrow Water Bridge.
The taoiseach pointed out that over 2,500 people have been taking part in actual shared island dialogues. All Ireland community and professional networks are strong and growing.
This is peace building at its most laborious and productive best. Putting cash and resources into real time initiatives.
At this moment, political unionism is shipwrecked. Scuppered by its own crew.
This doesn’t mean they, or those they represent, can be ignored, wished away or outnumbered by demographics.
The divisions, hurts, legacy issues and mistrust all still exist. While unionists may not like to admit it, Micheál Martin does understand their fears.
Hopefully, his wisdom and nuanced approach will continue to create good relations - North/South and East/West - should he become foreign affairs minister when he stands down as taoiseach.
Mandela said, to impact on society you had to change yourself. Martin understood this and did. Mandela also defined peacemakers as those with “integrity, honesty and humility”. By this criteria, the taoiseach passes with flying colours.
