Shall we ever be free from the shackles of the past? Through his character Stephen Dedalus, James Joyce wrote: "History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake."
If he was around today, we could tell him the bad dream still lingers.
The entire island is burdened with the deeds of yesteryear and, sadly, nowhere more so than in the north. That is of course a reflection of the fact that the national question is more of a live issue in the part of the island that remains under outside rule - I shall resist the term `foreign domination'.
A fresh historical controversy seems to erupt every day, unleashing a new wave of “what-aboutery”. As a student, the present writer used to cross the Irish Sea in the summer to pick apples in Kent and, at the end of a long day climbing the trees, a Scottish workmate could be heard pleading in loud Caledonian tones: "My God, will it ever end?"
Can we just focus on the job in hand, please? Let the bereaved relatives of the Loughgall dead (average age 27) be comforted and let us allow Michelle O'Neill to reinforce her republican credentials. In a similar vein, try not to jump up and down when someone from another tradition pokes a bit of fun at the Irish language. Ná bí buartha faoi sin.
The immediate task, once the Westminster election is out of the way, will be to agree a new power-sharing administration. Yes, it must be on terms acceptable to both sides but there is nothing on the horizon that needs to be a deal-breaker, provided a few helpings of mutual generosity are added to the mix. Instead of a U-turn, maybe a “principled reversal” or two might be in order on both sides.
Nobody in their senses wants a return to direct rule. Unionists need to show the world the bad old days are gone and they can work with their nationalist neighbours. And Sinn Féin hardly needs reminding that the raison d'etre of Irish republicanism is to reduce and finally end British domination, not sustain and strengthen it.
It is fascinating to observe the manner in which the ultimate unity of this island has re-surfaced in political debate. The Brexit referendum and the surge in Scottish nationalism are among several contributory factors.
But pushing for a border poll at this stage is misguided and counterproductive. A more fruitful approach would be to focus on a cross-community alliance to allay the worst consequences of Brexit. Talking up territorial unity will only frighten away the unionists when the prime objective should be to build trust and solidarity between the two communities.
The rise of Sinn Féin in the south is mainly attributable to its social and economic policies, rather than traditional republican slogans, but the party's growing strength has major implications for the island as a whole.
The current Dáil has an uncertain life-span but, regardless of when the general election finally takes place, Sinn Féin will be strong contenders for coalition government. Sooner or later the party is likely to be at the cabinet table in Dublin.
If and when that happens, it will look strange if Sinn Féin is in the political wilderness and under direct rule up north. The party’s presence in government north and south at the same time would have a big impact at home and abroad –not least in Irish-America. It would therefore be foolish and self-defeating from Sinn Féin’s point of view to put impossible conditions in the path of a power-sharing deal in Belfast, sacrificing long-term objectives for short-term gain. People who like to remind us about `eight-hundred years of oppression' should be the first to realise that the cause of achieving full Irish nationhood was always going to be a long game.
The age of militarist republicanism is over for the foreseeable future and politics is the way forward. Daniel O'Connell said that `England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity' and there are grounds for believing that Brexit could greatly weaken the United Kingdom. Meanwhile the Scots are champing at the bit. But a 32-county state here can only be achieved through the Wolfe Tone formula of uniting `Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter'.
The renewed focus on the search for the remains of Irish republican Seamus Ruddy (32) and British soldier Robert Nairac (28) serves as a reminder of what a dreadful conflict we have been through. Violence impeded the cause of Irish unity, which can only be achieved through a peaceful, humane approach.
In the words of Martin Luther King Jr who was such an inspiration to the civil rights movement here: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
@ddebreadun
