I’m sitting at my favourite table end in the kitchen where I eat, read, receive visitors, pontificate and occasionally doze. In the background I can hear TV voices chuntering on about the year’s biggest story so far, but I’ve tuned out having had my fill from wall-to-wall radio coverage all day long. Yes, Martin has indeed passed but not unnoticed.
Now that I’m up to date with how a cross section of local, national and world opinions vary in their take on the man. I find myself reflecting on how, nearly half a century down the road, we should view the legacy of one Martin McGuinness.
In truth a variety of views will be strongly voiced and will range from adoration to vitriolic and others in between. People’s views will be tainted by their personal life experiences and how they perceive Martin’s influence on their country, community and family.
Christianity in all its manifestations will dominate and one wonders if true Christianity will float to the top.
I heard two individuals interviewed on radio and was struck by the contrast in their views. Both had lost a parent in two separate bombings and both had been IRA acts.
The lady from ‘pagan England’ expressed sad but reflective views and appeared to accept that if Martin’s organisation were the perpetrators of her personal grief then he had, in a personal capacity, made amends in his striving to bring peace to a divided people.
The gentleman from ‘super Christian’ Northern Ireland believed that a failure by Martin to verbally repent his actions in public proved his lack of remorse and he could not, therefore be forgiven. So, I concluded that if Martin had declared himself ‘born again’ and had made an impassioned and public expression of remorse, not only would his past sins have been forgiven but, more importantly all the victims of IRA actions including his political opponents would have accepted it and moved on. In fact, just like a succession of high-profile loyalists with criminal convictions, who became ‘born again’ in jail and secured their release. I don’t recall seeing many or any of these ‘repented souls’ starring in peace building activities.
And so the nature of repentance and forgiveness is very much in the ‘eye of the beholder’.
I hope and suspect that what’s in a person’s heart is best known by God and in earthly terms we should maybe stick to iconic words like ‘by their actions you shall know them’ and put less faith in the ‘sometimes empty’ words of men. May he rest in everlasting peace.
KIERAN McMULLAN
Randalstown, Co Antrim
Inter-community unity is in best interest of us all
It is obvious that the aspiration for a united Ireland will never be achieved while Northern Ireland remains disunited internally.
Paradoxically then, it would be in the best interest of nationalism to firstly promote inter-community unity within Northern Ireland and it would appear to be in the best interest of unionism to perpetuate disunity.
The logical choice for nationalists is obvious, and nationalists have indeed already conceded in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom as long as the majority of the population wish it to remain so.
Unionists however are caught on the horns of a dilemma. If they extend the hand of friendship and unity to nationalists they increase the possibility of a united Ireland at some future date, nationalists and unionists now each holding the same number of seats in the Stormont Assembly. If they perpetuate disunity by viewing and treating nationalists as untrustworthy, subversive, reptilian aliens Northern Ireland will remain unstable and unsuited to devolved self-governance by mutual consent. Consequential direct rule from Westminster would further alienate nationalists, encourage dissident republicanism, exacerbate sectarianism and further destabilise Northern Ireland.
The section of the Northern Ireland population who simply want a stable peaceful environment, whether the place be labelled British, Irish or neither, is ignored by the dominant extremist political parties. It would be in the best interest and common good of the whole population if those political parties and their supporters could put aside their traditional tribal identity labels and aspirations and strive for a united peaceful and stable Northern Ireland. That need not necessarily lead to a united Ireland. Nor need it perpetuate Northern Ireland as a constituent of the United Kingdom. There are other imaginative possibilities. Brexit-related circumstances might stimulate the imagination.
DENIS GOLDEN
Strabane, Co Tyrone
Appreciation rather than condemnation is in order
Allison Morris (March 16) rages against police investigations towards the suspected importation of illegal abortion inducing drugs. One would have thought appreciation, rather than condemnation towards the PSNI would be in order – after all a threat to give dangerous drugs to vulnerable women and children was investigated and thanks should be offered for such attention to duty. She states that such investigations are the result of a pious Judeo-Christian minority; rather was it not in keeping with the naturalistic legality of the Hippocratic Oath of ancient Greece, which saw medicines administered for an abortion was wrong, five centuries before the incarnation?
In following the well-worn path of lamenting injustice to innocent life, she castigates interfering legality with its apparent assault on the sacred cow of choice. Likewise, penned comments such as ‘crisis pregancies’ the mindset of reduction of the unborn to the banality of the non-personal with the condescending tone of the past can easily arise – product of sin, not worthy of life.
Allison is at pains to remind us when Jansenism, not Catholicism reigned supreme on this island and yet can we forget the nefarious trafficking of child’s body parts by Planned Parenthood; or is that discussion verboten?
JDP McALLION
Clonoe, Co Tyrone
Shame on local TV stations
The bbc and Utv should be ashamed by not showing live the funeral of the greatest irishman of our times. It was shown worldwide but not in his native homeland. They will say it was online but the elderly in our island would not have been able to see it. The huge amount of statesmen and women who attended, not to mention former US president Bill Clinton and the hundreds and thousands of ordinary people from all over the island of Ireland and beyond, in my opinion merited live coverage from local TV stations.
It was the biggest funeral to take place in Derry since Bloody Sunday.
The work Martin put in to get us to where we are today was reflected by the churchmen from other faiths who attended the service.
I do not believe there will be anyone who will ever come close to his prowess as a politician and as a Irishman. It was a pleasure to have met him and followed his life.
Rest easy big man in the company of all the greats – Connelly and Tone.
The list is endless.
SEAN CAHIR SCULLION
Bellaghy, Co Derry
Pivotal role in peacemaking
I think it would be fair to say that Martin McGuinness didn’t start ‘the war’ but he did play a pivotal role in successfully bringing it to a peaceful conclusion. And now thanks to those efforts – and of many others – we have several generations of European citizens living in Northern Ireland whose only knowledge of ‘the Troubles’ is gleaned from history books.
BERNARD J MULHOLLAND
Belfast BT9
