Archbishop right to wield crozier over Sinn Fein and SDLP
Eamon Martin reprimands parties for shunning NI centenary
ARCHBISHOP Eamon Martin, t he Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, has been vocal over the past week about matters on both sides of the border. Last Friday, he described a New Year’s Eve sketch on RTE, the Republic’s state broadcaster, as “deeply offensive and blasphemous”. The sketch, which was supposed to be satirical, had portrayed the virgin birth of Christ as “sexual harassment” by God.
Archbishop Martin also joined with the leaders of the three largest Protestant Churches in issuing a joint statement about the centenary of Northern Ireland.
Such a joint statement was obviously going to be fairly bland, but Archbishop Martin also wrote about the centenary and the future in the Irish Catholic newspaper.
He stated that he was an Irish nationalist and it is not the first time he has said that. Back in 2016, at the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising, he said: “I do believe that Ireland should be one and I would like to work for that and continue to work for that by peaceful means and by persuasion, recognising that there are many people on this island who do not want that.”
He was open and honest about his political beliefs, but it raised an obvious question: would the leaders of the main Protestant Churches today be as overt in publicly identifying as unionists, stating that they believe in the Union and committing to “work for that”?
Archbishop Martin was writing as a nationalist as well as a Church leader, but he went on to recognise that, “For unionists and, indeed, loyalist communities in Northern Ireland, it represents for them a significant moment in the establishment of the Northern Ireland state. I would like to see the 2021 centenary as an opportunity for greater mutual understanding, for opportunities to build further reconciliation and peace.”
However, he didn’t stop there and wrote: “I am somewhat disappointed that many of our nationalist and republican political leaders have dismissed the centenary of 2021 altogether, because for me I think it’s really important to seize it as a moment to reflect on where we’ve come from.” For “nationalist and republican” read “SDLP and Sinn Fein”. When the Northern Ireland Office set up the Northern Ireland Centenary Forum last year, the five largest political parties were invited to participate, but neither the SDLP nor Sinn Fein turned up for the inaugural meeting.
Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney MLA said his party had declined and added: “There is nothing to celebrate about the lived experiences of republicans, nationalists and democrats in the northern state.”
His message was clear and his use of the word “democrats” simply compounded the offence in that it implied that “democrats” must be anti-state.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said his party had chosen not to take part in the forum, because the party does not believe the UK Government “is truly interested in telling the difficult story of partition”.
The double standards of both nationalist parties was particularly evident in Derry City and Strabane District Council. In 2015, the council had agreed to establish a working group for an inclusive programme of commemorations covering “significant events” in the period 1913-1923. However, nationalist and republican councillors reneged on that commitment when it came to 2021.
It was a pan-nationalist decision that kicked equality, integrity and parity of esteem out of the Guildhall and it will be remembered in the same way as the naming of the Raymond Mccreesh playpark in Newry.
That is why the statement by Archbishop Martin, himself a native of Londonderry, was particularly significant. His “disappointment” at the approach of nationalist and republican politicians must have stung the SDLP and Sinn Fein and the Sinn Fein response came once again from Declan Kearney.
However, he failed to address the Archbishop’s “disappointment” and simply accused him of making “a misdirected political intervention”.
The SDLP seem to have been more reticent, looking over their shoulder at Sinn Fein and then settling on a strategy of silence.
So, what should unionists make of it all? As regards Archbishop Martin, it would be churlish of unionists to ignore what was a significant intervention and some unionists have already welcomed his comments.
It would also be foolish to ignore the response from Sinn Fein, or forget the perfidious pan-nationalist treatment of unionists in Londonderry and Strabane.
But this is not just a matter for unionists. What should nationalists make of it all?