IF anyone, including the Irish government, were in any doubt about their central and indispensable importance in the affairs of the north then the events of the past few weeks should allay those doubts.
The visit by the Taoiseach, Leo Vardakar, to Belfast not only brought home the importance of the north, as part of this nation, it also brought home the changing circumstances within the north, its relationship with the Irish government and the Irish government's relationship with it.
The Taoiseach's visit touched base with all of the key ingredients of the north's political mix and did so in a thoughtful and thought-provoking manner.
At a time when the leaders of the unionist people of the north, the DUP, are hiding in the bunker in Downing Street and propping up a chaotic government in free fall, the Taoiseach is expanding his national role by engaging with pragmatic and dogmatic unionists; continuing his engagement with nationalists when he launched Féile an Phobal's 30th anniversary clár in west Belfast and upholding the rights of the LGBT community in Ireland when he called into the Maverick, a gay bar in Belfast, for a pint.
The visit was heavy on symbolism, with a practical and important knock-on intent: his first meeting of the day was with Eileen Paisley, wife of the late Ian Paisley, then a visit to Schomberg House, headquarters of the Orange Order in Ireland, followed by his trip to west Belfast, a constituency which was at the centre of the IRA's armed struggle and Sinn Féin's peace strategy, where the Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey and the city's new mayor Deirdre Hargey, welcomed him.
His pint in the Maverick and his comments in his speech in St Mary's University College, which plays a huge part in the life of the west Belfast community, that the people of the north are entitled to the same rights that the people of the rest of Ireland and Britain enjoy, was a direct criticism of the DUP and the British government who are accepting a denial of rights in the north in return for the DUP's support at Westminster.
The Taoiseach's visit and his government's recent and very welcome decision to support the 'Hooded Men' by appealing the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights on the issue of whether the men were tortured is also highly significant.
The decision followed an unprecedented debate and vote sponsored by Seanadóir Niall Ó Donnghaile, with whom I work, on the men's behalf in the Seanad.
The diligent work by the Seanadóir secured the support of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and independents in the Seanad and the Irish government were faced by a united Upper House in support of the 'Hooded Men'.
The pro-active and direct involvement by Irish government in the north has always proved beneficial. It was critical to the success of the peace process as was the leadership of Taoisigh Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern.
And it will remain so until a new and independent Ireland is achieved - a view that was never too far away from the minds of Sinn Féin's delegates at the party's Ard Fheis at the weekend in Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
Mary Lou McDonald, in her upbeat, uplifting and inspiring presidential speech, captured the optimism of the party when she said that Sinn Féin were already a party of government in the north and would be a party in government in the south, after the next election, provided it could shape and then support a programme for government that served the interests of the nation and the needs of those most in need.
A just, compassionate and caring society, where women are trusted and exercised the right to choose was also very much on the minds of the delegates, as the party's vice-president Michelle O'Neill, led the debate on motion 93 to change the party's abortion policy to reflect the result in the south's referendum.
Republicans of all ages and gender will have left the Waterfront confident and optimistic that the new leadership of Mary Lou and Michelle are seamlessly carrying on from the leadership of Gerry Adams and the late Martin McGuinness but doing so 'in their own shoes' and with a difference, particular to them and them alone.
