Mother Teresa said: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
First minister in waiting, Michelle O’Neill, seems to understand this as she wrote a gracious letter of congratulations to Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of the latter’s platinum jubilee.
O’Neill spoke of the Queen’s contribution to the peace process, her dedicated public service and for her “unfailing courtesy” on the occasions on which they met. She also used the words “value and respect” for the Queen’s commitment to reconciliation.
This was the right thing to do and demonstrated a growing maturity in the development of Sinn Féin, especially as it aspires to government office in the Republic of Ireland.
Sinn Féin are slow learners when it comes to diplomacy.
“Prince Charles should not be here at all,” said Gerry Adams in June 2000 following Seamus Mallon’s meeting with the prince in Armagh City.
Adams (and Mary Lou McDonald) boycotted the events during the royal visit to Dublin in 2011. This was despite the Queen laying a wreath in the Garden of Remembrance to honour those who fought for Irish independence.
The then Sinn Féin Mayor of Cashel, the late Michael Browne, was the only member of Sinn Féin to break ranks in 2011 to shake hands with the Queen and was castigated for his gesture.
It’s widely acknowledged that the Sinn Féin leadership made an embarrassing misjudgment in not attending the events during the celebrated 2011 visit to Dublin.
Speaking during an assembly debate after the historic events, the former Sinn Fein MLA, Mitchel McLaughlin, admitted as much when he said: “We have a lot of unlearning to do''.
The late Martin McGuinness was quick on the uptake and the lesson. He met and shook hands with the Queen at the Lyric Theatre during a Cooperation Ireland event in 2012. It was a symbolic moment in a very long process of reconciliation.
To the Queen, it was all quite matter of fact. She reportedly said about the handshake, “what’s all the fuss about”.
Hugh Gaitskell, former Labour leader in the 1960s, infamously quipped in 1977: “All terrorists at the invitation of the (British) government end up with drinks in the Dorchester”.
Many of the Commonwealth countries during the Queen’s reign were led by leaders who at one time or another rebelled against British colonialism and fought for independence. And yet, they still ended up dining at Windsor Castle and toasting the Queen just as Martin McGuinness did in 2014.
Whilst the late deputy first minister did express some concerns about the Windsor event, he needn’t have worried as at the royal reception, there were nearly enough Sinn Féin members present to have a quorum for a party meeting!
But ultimately Martin McGuinness made the right call. And he continued to make symbolic gestures of reconciliation.
Along with this writer, he attended the unveiling of the Queen’s portrait in London in November 2016. On that occasion he talked about how politically difficult it was for him to continue attending such events without reciprocal moves by the DUP leadership and in particular by Arlene Foster. The DUP did not heed his warnings. The collapse of the NI Executive came as no surprise in 2017.
Northern Irish politics is mostly devoid of generosity. But acts of reconciliation are a two way street. It seems for the DUP agreeing to be in government with Sinn Féin is the full extent of their generosity.
This is not enough and without more symbolic acts of joint and meaningful reconciliation, the executive (if it ever gets up and running) will limp on, punctuated by accusatory jibes and manufactured outrages.
One thing is for certain, those dimwitted loyalists who celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee by mocking in song the late Michaela McAreavey and her widower John should hang their heads in shame.
They have much to learn from Michelle O’Neill and the Queen about generosity and kindness.
