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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
8 — village July - August 2012
Ê֮ĮÊÄ
The Rise of Sinn Féin
Pragmatic Martin McGuinness seemed open to meeting royalty as long as
twenty years ago
¹Ê«Ä¦ÊÙýù
A
T THE beginning of the peace process,
following the first ceasefire in 1994,
politicians were fond of quoting the
Yeats line: “…peace comes dropping
slow”. It has been slow. Painfully slow - as was
highlighted by the historic handshake between
Martin McGuinness and the Queen. Remember,
it’s now seventeen years since Prince Charles vis-
ited Dublin, and at the time many commentators
felt that within a decade Sinn Féin representatives
would have put aside their opposition to Royal vis-
its. Those who entertained such thoughts didn’t
understand the internal pressures and sense of
grievance within the republican movement. Nor
did they appreciate that Sinn Féin has always
played the long game. Adams and McGuinness
deserve credit for the way in which they have skill-
fully judged the mood in their own ranks, ensuring
never to get too far ahead of those with more fun-
damentalist views.
The Prince Charles visit pro-
vided me with a good insight into
McGuinness’s thinking at that time,
leaving me with the impression of
a man who was serious, pragmatic
and somewhat opportunistic. I was
Lord Mayor of Dublin and had pro-
voked outrage in certain republican
and nationalist circles by suggesting
that those who objected to the royal
visit to the Mansion House were “die-
hards”. Space doesn’t permit me here
to go into detail about certain inci-
dents surrounding this event (I’ll
save all that for my memoirs) but fol-
lowing the successful meeting with
Charles, I decided to meet represent-
atives of the Bloody Sunday families,
who had been leading the protests.
The families not only objected to the royal visit,
they also felt hurt that no politician from the south
had made an official visit to the site of the Bloody
Sunday atrocity. They invited me to visit the
memorial in Derry, an invitation which I accepted
a number of weeks later. I informed the commit-
tee that I would visit the memorial in the company
of the independent Unionist Mayor of Derry, Jim
Guy. Such a visit was a courageous gesture for any
Unionist politician and Jim asked politely that no
Sinn Féin representative be present.
Unfortunately, this request was not
respected. Just as we approached
the area to greet the families, Martin
McGuinness materialised from
behind the memorial with a photog-
rapher in tow. When the subject of
the Prince Charles visit was raised I
repeated my view that meeting him
was ‘the right thing to do.’
“That’s not the view of these peo-
ple”, Martin McGuinness said. It
was an interesting response. I noted
immediately that he did not say that
this was his view. He had managed to
convey the impression that while he
represented the families and under-
stood their grievance, he could also
understand why meeting Prince
Charles made sense. Seventeen years
later it made sense for him to meet
the Queen but only after the necessary obsta-
cles had been overcome such as vindication of
the families in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry. Sinn
Féin have shown that pragmatism doesn’t nec-
essarily mean the abandonment of principle: it’s
more about choosing a different path to achieve
the same end.
In Éamon Mallie’s seminal book on the
Provisional IRA, he gives an amusing account of
the split between the ‘officials’ and ‘provos’. While
Cathal Goulding and the brilliant Roy Johnston
theorised about sectarianism and class struggle,
the Belfast lads just wanted to get on with bomb-
ing the Brits. This ‘no nonsense’ approach has
so far stood the Shinners in good stead. They’ve
also had a little bit of luck along the way. After
their unsuccessful election of 2007, the global
recession gave them the necessary platform for
the 2011 General Election, when their message
resonated more strongly with a disillusioned
electorate. With no sign of an imminent recov-
ery – despite what the government says – and with
more cutbacks likely, Sinn Féin can look forward
to even further gains. Not only do they have some
very articulate TDs and senators, they also have an
excellent backroom team of highly-qualified and
motivated graduates. Many of the candidates they
are currently grooming are eminently electable in
middle-class areas.
While they will make gains, particularly at the
expense of Labour, claims by some pundits that
Sinn Féin will soon become the second biggest
party in the country are wide of the mark. Fianna
Fáil haven’t gone away, you know. If the PRI can
stage a recovery in Mexico within a twelve-year
period, then it’s certainly possible for the Soldiers
of Destiny to make some gains in the next election.
Sinn Féin won’t be daunted by this prospect. They
know that pragmatism and playing the long game
will ensure that - as far as a future coalition gov-
ernment is concerned - their day will come.
While Cathal
Goulding
theorised
about
sectarianism
and class
struggle, the
Belfast lads
just wanted
to get on with
bombing the
Brits
¨
SF again wins the All-Ireland prize for
hand-shaking (and bilingualism)
