THE leaders of the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael came together yesterday to in a historic gesture of solidarity to commemorate the death of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar - whose respective parties emerged from the rival factions of the Irish Civil War - made a joint address in a hugely symbolic gesture at Béal na Bláth in Co Cork to mark the centenary of Collins's death in an ambush.
It was the first time a Fianna Fáil leader has spoken at a commemoration for Collins, whose signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921 sparked a bitter civil war.
Thousands joined the ceremony at the spot where Collins was killed by an unknown gunman in circumstances which remain disputed.
Mr Martin said the assassinated leader deserved to be remembered as "one of the greatest Irishmen to have ever lived".
"It is perhaps the greatest tragedy of Collins' death that it deprived us of our best hope for reconciliation," the taoiseach said.
"The bitterness which grew out of the events of the following year showed how much was lost in this place."
There were occasional jeering and booing from the crowd during Fianna Fáil leader's speech. The crowd attempted to drown out the booing with large cheering and clapping.
Mr Varadkar said the Republic's two establishment parties were divided by "mutual antagonism".
"Undoubtedly, the Irish civil war was such a conflict and left a painful legacy which stunted our development in the years that followed," he said.
He said that while Ireland's "civil war politics ended a long time ago in Ireland" animosity in the Dáil had only waned with the formation of the current three-party coalition in June 2020.
The Fine Gael leader thanked the taoiseach for accepting the invitation to speak and for the "leadership and dedication he has shown over the past two years".
Dr Eamon Phoenix, regular contributor to The Irish News and a member of the taoiseach's expert advisory committee on centenaries, said yesterday's coming together of the Republic's two dominant parties was the "coping stone on the reconciliation between two sides who were once bitter rivals".
"At Béal na Bláth we saw an official attempt to draw a line under what was arguably the most shaping event in Irish history," he said.
"Micheál Martin is a moderate and Leo Varadkar has no baggage, so it has enabled these two conservative, centre-right parties to come together in an unprecedented show of unity, which also shuts out Sinn Féin."
